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Remembered Today:

Silver War Badge - help, please. William Wallace Macgregor


GrahamMacgregor

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SWB found in my grand-father's effects. Number stamped on the button-hole insert is 860. Due to family strife and my father not talking about his father, we know very little about William Wallace Macgregor (maybe MacGregor in some records) from his WW1 service. We also have a NZ Returned Soldiers Association stick-pin with the number N 35383 stamped on the reverse. A watch-chain medal has South Africa 1900 on it, so he may have been in the Boer War. Any information on these items (and my grand-father's travels) would be much appreciated.

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Hello, and welcome to the Forum.

 

Ancestry has a NZ Army Reserve Rolls 1916-17 record for a William Wallace Macgregor, also an NZ Service Record (can't access them on my UK subscription though).

 

Cheers, Pat

 

 

Edits:

 

In the UK Military Campaign Medal Rolls there's a Lieutenant W. W. Macgregor, 2nd Gordon Highlanders, entitled to Queen's South Africa medal, also (as Captain) King's South Africa medal - does that sound plausible? Could be coincidence of names.

 

Same chap, surely, awarded a Delhi Durbar 1911 Medal while serving as Adjutant of the 2nd Calcutta Volunteer Rifles.

Edited by Pat Atkins
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  • ss002d6252 changed the title to Silver War Badge - help, please. William Wallace Macgregor

I've just added the name to the title so it gives a better chance that people may look in.

 

Craig

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2 hours ago, GrahamMacgregor said:

SWB found in my grand-father's effects. Number stamped on the button-hole insert is 860. Due to family strife and my father not talking about his father, we know very little about William Wallace Macgregor (maybe MacGregor in some records) from his WW1 service. We also have a NZ Returned Soldiers Association stick-pin with the number N 35383 stamped on the reverse. A watch-chain medal has South Africa 1900 on it, so he may have been in the Boer War. Any information on these items (and my grand-father's travels) would be much appreciated.

Any idea where he was from or when/where he was born ?


Craig

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Good points, Craig, should've asked this myself first. Have been assuming a Scots origin solely on the basis of his name.

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The William Wallace Macgregor referred to by Pat in post #2 is listed in the N.Z.E.F. Roll of the First Division of Reserve, No.9 (Christchurch) Recruiting District as

Macgregor, William Wallace, Marine Engineer, 12, Barrington St., Spreydon.

 

There is a family tree on ancestry for a William Wallace Macgegor, born 23 April 1887, Christchurch, Canterbury, N.Z.; died 24 September 1959, Katoomba, N.S.W., Australia. He had children George Wallace (1918 - 1998), Rita Elspeth (1920 - 2010), Mavis Oirig (1923 - 1991), and Malcolm Ian (1925 - 2014). The N.Z.E.F. Reserve Roll is attributed to this William Wallace Macgregor.

 

Does any of this fit family knowledge?  

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Thanks for the welcome Pat, and replies from you and HarryBrook. Yes! George Wallace was my father, and the other three aunts and uncle. William Wallace was a marine engineer, with a lot of time away at sea. He moved to Australia after divorce, leaving my father in NZ. Looking back at some family history that I have (my father's army record) I realized the number on the RSA pin is his service number.

Still curious about the SWB badge numbered 860.

Thank you for your time.

Graham

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Silver War Badge 860 was issued to Lieutenant Thomas Henry Crowther  of the East Kent Regiment, the search goes on.

 

Bob

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Apart from a small  number of Silver War Badges issued in the UK to Dominion troops and which are listed in WO 329 series of War Office records, I thought that the home country would issue their own badges, and with a prefix such as "NZ". 

I know that Canadian SWBs have been researched, but am unaware if there are any SWB rolls in the New Zealand archives.

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Thanks for the info, Keith and Bob. Only the three numbers on the back 860, no letter(s). If was issued to Thomas Crowther, I wonder how my grand-father came by it? I can't find my grand-father's records on file as they are still being digitised and not yet completed.

Graham

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The first 200 or so were issued in the UK, but it appears that about 40,000 were issued in total, based upon some notes I have taken. 

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4 hours ago, GrahamMacgregor said:

...SWB found in my grand-father's effects. Number stamped on the button-hole insert is 860...

 

A normal WW1 SWB doesn't have a button hole insert, only a pin fastening:

 

Image result for silver war badge

 

The WW2 version does have a button hole fastening, but no issue number however:

 

Image result for ww2 kings badge

 

Is it possible to see a picture of the badge in question please?

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