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Remembered Today:

Green "C" notation on ORs medal roll to indicate automatic issuance of clasp to 1914 Star


Keith_history_buff

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The purpose of the thread is covered by the title. The scope of the thread is other ranks who were automatically issued a clasp with their medal. These ORs were predominantly infantrymen in county regiments of the British Army. Men of different armies who were not ORs are out of scope and have no place on this thread. Anything irrelevant will be reported. An important thread about ORs reenlistment was nearly derailed, and this is best avoided.

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It was proposed that the clasp be automatically issued to the next of kin of the deceased. This proposal was made by Colonel Gilbert Robertson Frith (1873-1958), Assistant Adjutant General of A.G.10 Medals Branch on 16 July 1919. It was approved by Winston Churchill, the Secretary of State for War, on 17 July 1919. The image and the transcribed text of this primary source are documented elsewhere on the forum, sourced from file WO 32/4986.

This was explicitly documented in the aforementioned Admiralty Fleet Order 4036, but was not in Army Order no. 361. Nonetheless, those fatalities whose next of kin were automatically issued a clasp by the War Office are denoted with a green letter "C" on the respective 1914 Star medal roll for their unit. 

A cursory glance at the medal rolls, and their summaries of automatically issued clasps for those battalions administered by the Shrewsbury Infantry Record Office show inconsistencies in how this policy was applied:

 

 

  • 2nd Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers have one set of ORs who were automatically issued clasps. The roll summary indicates this covers 91 men, and that a green "C" should appear against that man's entry on the medal roll.
  • 1st Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers have seven sets of ORs who were automatically issued clasps. The roll summary indicates this covers 398 men (41+99+100+91+22+20+25), and that a green mark ("C", "C1", "C2", "C3", "C4", "C5", "C6") should appear against that man's entry on the medal roll.
  • 1st Bn South Wales Borderers have seven sets of ORs who were automatically issued clasps. The roll summary indicates this covers 434 men (41+60+167+100+19+22+25), and that a green mark ("C", "C1", "C2", "C3", "C4", "C5", "C6") should appear against that man's entry on the medal roll.
  • 2nd Bn Welsh Regiment have four sets of ORs who were automatically issued clasps. The roll summary indicates this covers 296 men (119+99+20+58), and that a green mark ("C", "C1", "C2", "C3") should appear against that man's entry on the medal roll.
    https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/279923-1914-clasp/?tab=comments#comment-2947796
  • 2nd Bn Monmouthshire Regiment have no ORs whatsoever with a green C notation against their medal roll entry.
  • 1st Bn Cheshire Regiment have four sets of ORs who were automatically issued clasps. The roll summary indicates this covers 203 men (20+63+100+20), and that a green mark ("C2", "C3", "C4", "C5") should appear against that man's entry on the medal roll.
  • 1st Bn King's Shropshire Light Infantry have three sets of ORs who were automatically issued clasps. The roll summary indicates this covers 130 men (20+100+10), and that a green mark ("C", "C1", "C2") should appear against that man's entry on the medal roll.
  • 2nd Bn South Lancashire Regiment have one set of ORs who were automatically issued clasps. The roll summary indicates this covers 459 men, and that a green "C" should appear against that man's entry on the medal roll.

    These automatic issuances are associated with dates in 1921. To what extent the men on the voucher were all fatalities from the period 4 August to 22 November 1914, or were men who died later in the war, or if any eligible fatalities were omitted from a voucher are questions worthy of asking, but it is only through researching all the men on a given medal roll for ORs that this can be answered on a case-by-case basis. 

    I am currently in the throws of compiling data for one of these automatic issue vouchers from August 1921, which I will post here in due course.
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Medal roll archive reference: WO 329/2446 with a total of 1,358 ORs.

2nd Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers have one set of ORs who were automatically issued clasps. The roll summary indicates this covers 91 men, and that a green "C" should appear against that man's entry on the medal roll.

 

Issue Voucher 1450/C dated 9 August 1921Clasp 2/2803
 

Whilst there are 91 mentioned, I was only able to identify 83

 

Rank No Surname Forenames Entry Death WO 363 Birth
Private 11067 Allcock George 13/08/14 04-Nov-1914 N 1895
Lance Corporal 11093 Allen Albert Henry 13/08/14 30-Oct-1914 N -
Lance Corporal 9548 Allen John 13/08/14 17-Jun-1915 N -
Private 9171 Broderick Michael 11/08/14 25-Sep-1915 Y 1892
Private 8727 Browning Charles George 29/08/14 04-Nov-1914 Y 1887
Private 7930 Bradshaw Thomas 14/09/14 07-Nov-1914 N 1884
Lance Sergeant 9452 Bowen Frederick William 13/08/14 14-Nov-1914 Y 1886
Private 9453 Barlow Sidney 27/08/14 30-Oct-1914 Y 1885
Private 10330 Baxter Arthur Nigel 11/08/14 27-Oct-1914 Y 1891
Private 10678 Barnes Charles Henry 13/08/14 03-Nov-1914 N 1893
Private 9639 Condick Ernest 11/08/14 27-Oct-1914 N -
Private 8181 Dolman Albert Victor 11/08/14 25-Sep-1915 Y 1888
Private 8227 Davies Frederick William 11/08/14 25-Oct-1914 N -
Private 10606 Dike Frederick 11/08/14 30-Oct-1914 Y 1890
Private 11024 Davies Thomas 13/08/14 07-Nov-1914 N -
Private 9618 Douglas George Samuel 29/08/14 04-Nov-1914 N 1890
Private 8067 Essex Albert Edward 13/08/14 04-Nov-1914 Y 1886
Private 9368 Edmunds James 29/08/14 08-Nov-1914 N -
Private 7969 Farrell James 11/08/14 25-Oct-1914 Y 1881
Private 8114 Field Charles 13/08/14 14-Nov-1914 Y 1885
Private 7797 Grocott Frank 13/08/14 01-Nov-1914 Y 1885
Corporal 6636 Handley Samuel 14/09/14 06-Nov-1914 N 1883
Private 8784 Higgins Gregory 01/09/14 22-Oct-1914 N -
Private 8963 Hill Frederick James 29/08/14 04-Nov-1914 Y 1887
Private 11238 Ham William 13/08/14 26-Oct-1914 Y 1895
Private 7242 Jenkins Gomer 11/08/14 25-Oct-1914 N 1878
Private 8159 Jones Thomas 11/08/14 12-Nov-1914 N 1874
Private 8252 Jones John Thomas 13/08/14 31-Oct-1914 N -
Corporal 8945 Jones George James 01/09/14 06-Nov-1914 Y 1887
Private 10500 Johnson Charles Edward 13/08/14 26-Oct-1914 N 1892
Corporal 8372 Kesper Carl 13/08/14 25-Oct-1914 N 1889
Lance Corporal 10172 Keepax Walter 13/08/14 26-Oct-1914 N 1885
Private 9144 Kynaston Joseph 13/08/14 23-Oct-1914 Y 1886
Private 7741 Lawley Tom 22/08/14 28-Oct-1914 N -
Sergeant 8397 Langford Sydney 11/08/14 24-Oct-1914 N -
Private 8817 Lane John 22/08/14 24-Oct-1914 N -
Private 9511 Leaker Ernest George 01/09/14 10-Nov-1914 N 1888
Private 9842 Lloyd Frederick Charles 11/08/14 04-Nov-1914 N 1889
Private 9849 Lavers Alfred George Leslie 11/08/14 16-Sep-1917 Y 1886
Private 10530 Lafferty Henry 11/08/14 05-Nov-1914 N -
Private 11088 Lowe Elijah 11/08/14 25-Oct-1914 N -
Sergeant 2909 Maunton Edward 13/08/14 29-Oct-1914 N 1872
Private 7227 Metcalfe William 13/08/14 28-Oct-1914 Y 1876
Private 7602 McNulty Paul 13/08/14 25-Oct-1914 N -
Private 9596 Miles William Smith 29/08/14 03-Nov-1914 N 1889
Lance Corporal 10406 Mandy Henry Edward 13/08/14 31-Oct-1914 Y 1891
Drummer 10966 May John Edwin 13/08/14 02-Nov-1914 N 1897
Private 8138 Nelson Charles 13/08/14 27-Oct-1914 N -
Private 8215 Norton Alfred 11/08/14 25-Oct-1914 N -
Private 9632 Osborne George William Joseph 13/08/14 26-Oct-1914 N -
Private 7279 Pennington Frank 11/08/14 25-Oct-1914 Y 1879
Private 8297 Price Thomas 22/08/14 26-Oct-1914 N 1881
Private 9088 Perks William 13/08/14 26-Oct-1914 Y 1887
Private 9512 Price Charles Henry 13/08/14 29-Oct-1914 N -
Private 9560 Probert William Henry 13/08/14 25-Oct-1914 N -
Corporal 9773 Pardoe Ernest John 11/08/14 10-Nov-1914 N -
Private 10767 Parry Isaac John 13/08/14 24-Oct-1914 N -
Private 6679 Roberts Llewellyn 13/08/14 09-Sep-1914 Y 1880
Private 8780 Rowley William 29/08/14 24-Sep-1917 N 1887
Private 9065 Rogers George 11/08/14 16-May-1915 N -
Private 9083 Rowlands John 11/08/14 25-Oct-1914 Y 1887
Private 9319 Rogers William 11/08/14 07-Nov-1914 Y 1888
Private 9686 Round James 13/08/14 09-Jul-1916 N -
Private 9705 Rowe John 13/08/14 21-Aug-1916 N 1889
Corporal 9714 Rowley Samson Edwin 11/08/14 16-May-1915 N 1887
Private 6299 Rhoden Joseph Charles 22/09/14 28-Nov-1917 Y 1880
Private 7776 Sherwood Alfred 13/08/14 16-May-1915 Y 1882
Corporal 8389 Speed Robert 13/08/14 30-Oct-1914 N -
Private 8843 Simmons William Henry 13/08/14 29-Oct-1914 N 1888
Lance Corporal 9500 Shepherd George Sidney 29/08/14 24-May-1915 N 1884
Lance Corporal 9529 Stead Richard 13/08/14 26-Oct-1914 N -
Corporal 9741 Sheppard Charles 11/08/14 20-Jul-1916 N -
Lance Corporal 10496 Thorman Arthur Horace 11/08/14 30-Oct-1914 Y 1892
Private 10922 Tomlin Henry 11/08/14 27-May-1917 N -
Private 11410 Tozer Ronald Claud 13/08/14 13-Nov-1914 Y 1895
Private 8629 Tydd John Thomas 13/08/14 03-Nov-1914 Y 1886
Private 8092 Woodier William 22/08/14 02-Nov-1914 Y 1887
Sergeant 8521 Wathen John 11/08/14 10-Nov-1914 N 1883
Private 8883 Wilding James 13/08/14 25-Sep-1915 Y 1887
Private 9069 White Richard 11/08/14 19-Jun-1917 Y 1880
Private 9670 Wetton Ernest 13/08/14 26-Oct-1914 N 1890
Private 10996 Wills William Charles 13/08/14 01-Nov-1914 N 1892
CQMS 5632 Parsons Oliver 13/08/14 26-Oct-1914 N 1879


I have no further interest in these fatalities of 2nd Bn RWF, but thought it would be interesting to see how many of the fatalities were during the qualifying period, and those - marked pink - who died after that period.

I had wondered if there was some consistency for a given Infantry Record Office, but for Shrewsbury, it appears these were compiled in an ad-hoc manner in 1921. 

 

 

 

 

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