Mentioned in Dispatches: How long after the event would it appear in the Gazette?

[rolt968]

How long after the incident concerned might a Mention appear in the Londin Gazette?

My interest is in Major David Wilkie, 5 Black Watch and Nelson Battalion RND. He was killed on 24 April 1917. His MiD appears in the London Gazette of 21 December 1917.

RM

[Coldstreamer]

The longer the war went on the longer the time between seems to have been .

That said I have read 3 months is norm between action and Gazette for medals 

 

[horatio2]

In the case of the Wilkie MiD, the CinC's despatch concerned covered from 26 February to midnight 20/21 September 1917. So the answer, in the case of Haig's GHQ list of 7 November 1917, is that the MiDs were as little as seven weeks and as much as eight months 'old' at promulgation by the CinC (and the LG was a month later). Bear in mind also that MiDs were not always for a specific "incident" but for an extended period of duty. Wilkie was  MiD as 2i/c Nelson Bn during the operations leading up to and at Gavrelle, where he was killed.

Edited 2 March , 2021 by horatio2

[rolt968]

4 hours ago, Coldstreamer said:

The longer the war went on the longer the time between seems to have been .

That said I have read 3 months is norm between action and Gazette for medals 

 

 

3 hours ago, horatio2 said:

In the case of the Wilkie MiD, the CinC's despatch concerned covered from 26 February to midnight 20/21 September 1917. So the answer, in the case of Haig's GHQ list of 7 November 1917, is that the MiDs were as little as seven weeks and as much as eight months 'old' at promulgation by the CinC (and the LG was a month later). Bear in mind also that MiDs were not always for a specific "incident" but for an extended period of duty. Wilkie was  MiD as 2i/c Nelson Bn during the operations leading up to and at Gavrelle, where he was killed.

Thank you both.

That's very useful. I think it might raise the (very unlikely) possibility that the MiD relates to service before he became 2i/c of Nelson Battalion. According to all the newspaper reports he went to France in early December 1916. He seems to have become 2i/c Nelson Battalion about the beginning of April 1917.

RM

[horatio2]

21 minutes ago, rolt968 said:

He seems to have become 2i/c Nelson Battalion about the beginning of April 1917.

RM

That could be about right. His predecessor as 2i/c Nelson was a Captain Houghton Griffiths, in post from 18 Jan 1917 (another of the Army types imported into the RND by General Shute to sharpen them all up). Griffiths was invalided home on 8 March and it is possible that an RNVR officer was appointed as acting 2i/c/ until Wilkie was posted in.

An alternative scenario: on 14 April 1917 Cdr Nelson RNVR was relieved as OC Nelson Bn by Lt Col Lewis from the Army.  It may be that at the same time (perhaps at Lewis's insistence) Major David Wilkie was brought over from 1/6 (Perthshire) Bn. BlackWatch, at that time part of 153 Bde. (2nd Highland Bde.) of 51st (Highland) Division. The problem with dates is that not one of the Navy Lists covering the period April to October 1917 (when Nelson Bn had an Army OC) has an entry for 2 i/c of the battalion, increasing suspicion that the incumbents were also Army. 

It remains a possibility that Wilkie's MiD was earned with the Black Watch in the period 26 Feb to early- or mid-April 1917.

[rolt968]

24 minutes ago, horatio2 said:

That could be about right. His predecessor as 2i/c Nelson was a Captain Houghton Griffiths, in post from 18 Jan 1917 (another of the Army types imported into the RND by General Shute to sharpen them all up). Griffiths was invalided home on 8 March and it is possible that an RNVR officer was appointed as acting 2i/c/ until Wilkie was posted in.

An alternative scenario: on 14 April 1917 Cdr Nelson RNVR was relieved as OC Nelson Bn by Lt Col Lewis from the Army.  It may be that at the same time (perhaps at Lewis's insistence) Major David Wilkie was brought over from 1/6 (Perthshire) Bn. BlackWatch, at that time part of 153 Bde. (2nd Highland Bde.) of 51st (Highland) Division. The problem with dates is that not one of the Navy Lists covering the period April to October 1917 (when Nelson Bn had an Army OC) has an entry for 2 i/c of the battalion, increasing suspicion that the incumbents were also Army. 

It remains a possibility that Wilkie's MiD was earned with the Black Watch in the period 26 Feb to early- or mid-April 1917.

I have seen the references to 1/6 Black Watch before. I have checked (but will check again) and can't find anything about him in 1/6 Black Watch's war diary. Mind you he isn't mentioned in the Nelson Battalion war diary either. He was an officer of 5 Black Watch spending most of 1914 to 1916 with 2/5 Black Watch. His officer's record does not contain any kind of record of service and only indicates that he was killed serving with the Nelson Battalion.

RM

[Jesse]

Interesting that you're working with Wilkie, I had done some research on him a few years ago, as I have a letter written by him during the war. Have you made much progress?

[rolt968]

On 06/03/2021 at 01:20, Jesse said:

Interesting that you're working with Wilkie, I had done some research on him a few years ago, as I have a letter written by him during the war. Have you made much progress?

I will send you a PM.

RM

Edited 7 March , 2021 by rolt968