Arthur Simon Price. Regiment?

[Paul Bradford]

Hello All,

 

I would be grateful if anyone can assist.

 

This afternoon I came across a photograph that I didn't realise that I had. It is of my Great Uncle Arthur Simon Price born 02.09.1900. He is standing on the right in the rear rank. He is holding a 'swagger' stick. I think that he might be of The Rifle Brigade, but the cap badges aren't that clear.

Arthur lived to be 87. He often visited us and vice versa. My Mum told me that he had been engaged to be married, but while he was away, he was jilted. He remained single the rest of his life.

He was younger by three months than my Grandfather, his brother-in-law, who served in the Army of Occupation in the Bedfordshire Regiment, but I thought that I was told he had lied about his age. Maybe that is incorrect, but I thought that he had also served abroad, but earlier in the War.

[David Earley]

He appears to have one chevron on his left arm, making him a lance-corporal. Ancestry has the Medal Index Card and Medal Roll for A/Cpl. Arthur S Price 10593 of the King's Royal Rifle Corps. although the cap badge doesn't look quite right.

If this is him, then he enlisted in August 1914, making him only 13 at the time!

 

David

Edited 13 November , 2019 by David Earley

[Pat Atkins]

Looks like the Rifle Brigade cap badge, to me. 

 

Pat

 

Edit: wasn't unheard of for men to be transferred between RB and KRRC, I believe.

Edited 13 November , 2019 by Pat Atkins

[kenf48]

Another vote for the Rifle Brigade, given his date of birth it's unlikely he saw active service overseas in WW1.  Therefore would not be in the medal records.

 

By 1918 it was difficult to misrepresent age, he could have joined up for home service earlier but the earliest he could have gone overseas was eighteen and a half, provided he had at least six months training in the U.K.  

 

If he served beyond 1920 it's possible his record is with the MOD https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records

 

There is a list somewhere on the forum but I can't place it at the moment.

 

I notice he is in a public tree on Ancestry, no military records shown.

 

Ken

 

 

 

 

[PRC]

2 hours ago, Paul Bradford said:

It is of my Great Uncle Arthur Simon Price born 02.09.1900

 

The 1918 Representation of the People Act is mainly famous for extending the vote to a small group of women. But it's most significant impact at the time was to remove property qualifications for men and reduce their voting age to 21 - 18 for those in the armed forces. The Act wasn't passed until February 1918 and as so many of the newly entitled voters were away from their home District on military service, the Absent Voters List, (AVL) took on an increased importance. Yiur Great Uncle probably doesn't feature on the 1918 version but I suspect he will be on the 1919 version, and given his young age his "home" address was probably that of his parents. So if you track down the relevant AVL you may be able to identify his unit and service number that way.

 

See: https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/how-to-research-a-soldier/finding-soldiers-through-the-1918-absent-voters-lists/

 

Hope that helps,

Peter

[BillyH]

Don't see a LCpl stripe, only damage on the photo?

 

BillyH.

[FROGSMILE]

I agree that there’s no Lance Corporal stripe, it’s a fold in the photo.  The cap badge is either Rifle Brigade or one of the London Regiment battalions with a similar badge.

[Paul Bradford]

14 hours ago, David Earley said:

He appears to have one chevron on his left arm, making him a lance-corporal. Ancestry has the Medal Index Card and Medal Roll for A/Cpl. Arthur S Price 10593 of the King's Royal Rifle Corps. although the cap badge doesn't look quite right.

If this is him, then he enlisted in August 1914, making him only 13 at the time!

 

David

Hi David,

Thank you for your reply. Your eyes are better than mine. My first thoughts were a stripe and then I convinced myself it was a crease on the photograph. He was born three months later than my Grandfather, but strangely, I always thought him to be older. I thought that he was older than my Grandmother too. There was also family talk about him having served in the War. Unfortunately, I never had the solid interest in the subject that I do now. I don't think it can be the same chap. More investigation needed!

Paul

[Paul Bradford]

13 hours ago, PRC said:

 

The 1918 Representation of the People Act is mainly famous for extending the vote to a small group of women. But it's most significant impact at the time was to remove property qualifications for men and reduce their voting age to 21 - 18 for those in the armed forces. The Act wasn't passed until February 1918 and as so many of the newly entitled voters were away from their home District on military service, the Absent Voters List, (AVL) took on an increased importance. Yiur Great Uncle probably doesn't feature on the 1918 version but I suspect he will be on the 1919 version, and given his young age his "home" address was probably that of his parents. So if you track down the relevant AVL you may be able to identify his unit and service number that way.

 

See: https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/how-to-research-a-soldier/finding-soldiers-through-the-1918-absent-voters-lists/

 

Hope that helps,

Peter

Hello Peter,

 

Thank you for that information. That was something that I was unaware of.

 

Regards

 

Paul

[Paul Bradford]

On 13/11/2019 at 22:13, PRC said:

 

The 1918 Representation of the People Act is mainly famous for extending the vote to a small group of women. But it's most significant impact at the time was to remove property qualifications for men and reduce their voting age to 21 - 18 for those in the armed forces. The Act wasn't passed until February 1918 and as so many of the newly entitled voters were away from their home District on military service, the Absent Voters List, (AVL) took on an increased importance. Yiur Great Uncle probably doesn't feature on the 1918 version but I suspect he will be on the 1919 version, and given his young age his "home" address was probably that of his parents. So if you track down the relevant AVL you may be able to identify his unit and service number that way.

 

See: https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/how-to-research-a-soldier/finding-soldiers-through-the-1918-absent-voters-lists/

 

Hope that helps,

Peter

Thank you for the information Peter. I have just been researching again and wasn't having any luck. Then it occurred to me that men didn't get the vote until they were 21, so Arthur would be too young to search for in the Absent Voters List. Arthur would have been conscripted. I'll have to apply for his service record, if it still exists.