Need Help ID'ing Great Grandfather's Uniform/Regiment/Battalion

[GeoH]

Hello everyone, I'm obviously new here but I'm so happy I found this forum. I'm hoping someone can help me figure out which Regiment/Battalion etc my Great Grandfather served in during WW1. Everyone who would know either can't find a family record or has forgotten what he told them when he was alive. I have a couple of pictures of him, one of the pics shows him in uniform with a cap and badge, kilt, etc. The other pic doesn't really show a lot except he is bandaged up having been injured at some point. I remember my grandpa telling me when I was a kid that my great grandpa had been wounded in action. Instead of receiving a pension, he chose some kind of payout and used the money to move the entire family to Canada in 1920. I've tried searching UK Government Archive sites but it's tough going and can't seem to get anywhere.

 

Here's some background info about him:

Born: 1887

Place: Laurieston, Falkirk, Scotland

Name: Robert Allison

 

 

[FROGSMILE]

He is a soldier of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.  As well as the general shape of the cap badge, the regiment’s Glengarry cap’s chequering design was unusual, because it had three rows of scarlet and three of white dicing, rather than the more common two scarlet, one blue or green alternating with scarlet and three white. He wears the standard 1902 pattern service dress jacket, rather than the style first informally and later officially modified with a cutaway front favoured by Scottish units.  The lanyard at his left shoulder is generally attached to an issued clasp knife retained in the adjacent top pocket.  Over the top of his regimental kilt is a drab cotton apron, and on his lower legs boots, puttees, hose top stockings and garter tabs.  His belt is from the 1908 web equipment and he clutches a regimental cane.  His overall outfit gives the impression at least of a soldier from a regular army battalion.

 

In the second photograph he wears the special blue hospital uniform issued by the medical administration to wounded and sick men until such time as they were fit enough to be discharged from care.

 

 

Edited 6 January , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[alf mcm]

Welcome to the forum.

There 5 Robert Allison's who served abroad with the A&SH.

Their numbers are;-

S/9327 A&SH {previously 11591 Machine Gun Corps}

8715 A&SH {previously 4561 Machine Gun Corps}

S/14798 A&SH, then 30739 A&SH

S/11204 A&SH

3/19618 A&SH, then 45797 A&SH 

There are medal index cards on Ancestry for these men. There may also be service records.

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

[Heid the Ba]

At the risk of being pedantic, he was injured or wounded but we don't know where.  We have only family lore to say he was wounded in action rather than at home.

 

Edit: on a more helpful note, I think the local paper was The Falkirk Herald, papers often covered local men being wounded.

Edited 6 January , 2020 by Heid the Ba

[GeoH]

@FROGSMILE @alf mcm

Wow, that was fast. I was hoping I could get some info but had no idea it would be so fast and so detailed. You guys are amazing, thank you!

@Heid the Ba I get your point about it being family lore however it was told to my grandpa by my great grandpa and was given as the sole reason he could afford to move his wife and kids to Canada. I'll follow your advice and check out Falkirk Herald and see if they have archives etc that may give more info.

I've been trying to find out this information for so long, thank you again!

[clk]

Hi GeoH,

 

Having been born in Laurieston, do you know if he always lived there prior to moving to Canada? For example there is...

 

Image sourced from Ancestry 

 

...and

 

Image sourced from Findmypast 

 

Regards

Chris

 

[GeoH]

@clk

I don't know if he lived there the entire time. I looked up Larbert on a map and it's not all that far from Falkirk, so maybe at one point he or his folks were living there.

He was married in 1908 (Elizabeth) and already had a couple of kids by the time he was active in the service.

When I searched for my other great grandfather's info online I found it in about 5 to 10 minutes on the Govt of Canada's website. I was able to find his signed attestation papers, when he sailed overseas to Europe from Canada, pretty much his whole service record which I was also able to download.

It seems to be a bit more challenging finding info in the UK Archives.

Thanks for your info!

Edited 6 January , 2020 by GeoH

[FROGSMILE]

2 hours ago, GeoH said:

@clk

I don't know if he lived there the entire time. I looked up Larbert on a map and it's not all that far from Falkirk, so maybe at one point he or his folks were living there.

He was married in 1908 (Elizabeth) and already had a couple of kids by the time he was active in the service.

When I searched for my other great grandfather's info online I found it in about 5 to 10 minutes on the Govt of Canada's website. I was able to find his signed attestation papers, when he sailed overseas to Europe from Canada, pretty much his whole service record which I was also able to download.

It seems to be a bit more challenging finding info in the UK Archives.

Thanks for your info!

GeoH, it’s understandable that you would not know this, but you should note that the vast majority of WW1 British Army soldiers had their entire service records either burned, or destroyed by fire-hose water damage during the Luftwaffe’s Blitz on London in WW2, when the warehouse where the records were stored was utterly destroyed.
 

Fortunately Canada did not experience bombing and it’s WW1 soldier’s records were not destroyed, so I know you will understand the reason why there is such a significant disparity in access to WW1 military records between Britain and Canada.  
 

The only widespread records that remain in Britain are those for medal issues, deceased soldiers effects, pension records, and absent voter’s lists.  All of these give only limited information in comparison with what could have been gleaned from service records had they survived.

Edited 6 January , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[GeoH]

@FROGSMILE, I actually just discovered that today while reading up on the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Thanks for letting me know.

Knowing this definitely helps understand why a search for anything UK WW1 Veteran related is a lot tougher than searching for a Canadian soldier.

Thanks to all who provide information and research guidance!

[Heid the Ba]

13 hours ago, GeoH said:

I don't know if he lived there the entire time. I looked up Larbert on a map and it's not all that far from Falkirk, so maybe at one point he or his folks were living there.

Larbert, Falkirk and Laurieston are essentially one town so it is possible he was born in one, moved to another, his wife was from the third and they lived together in any of them without ever moving any real distance.

[FROGSMILE]

Someone with access to the relevant census records before WW1 should be able to throw some light on this if a little more detail could be provided. Presumably Canadian records will hold his place and date of birth somewhere and you could then get Census data from Britain.

[alf mcm]

Robert married Elizabeth Erskine Symon in 1908 or 1909. There are 2 births which may give Robert's regimental number {both in Falkirk}. 

Isabella Symon Allison {1915}

James Reid Symon Allison {1917}

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

[GeoH]

14 hours ago, alf mcm said:

Robert married Elizabeth Erskine Symon in 1908 or 1909. There are 2 births which may give Robert's regimental number {both in Falkirk}. 

Isabella Symon Allison {1915}

James Reid Symon Allison {1917}

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

 

@alf mcm Yes, you're correct with the spouse information and they were married Dec 31 1908.

I haven't found anything military related yet that gives his spouse or any valid children's names.

Thanks!