British Red Cross and order St. John

[james_harvey]

Hi all I’ve just discovered my great grandfather served with the above unit

his war and victory medals were returned so I am able to reclaim them

he was in France in 1914-15 but cannot see a record for the star

my question is is there an archive of records, museum and would he previously been Red Cross or st john

can I find out where he served 

this is new to me as my expertise is Royal Navy

 

thanks in advance

 

james

[alf mcm]

James,

Check here first;- https://vad.redcross.org.uk/Volunteers-during-WW1

There are other records on Findmypast {including the one above}, just put 'red cross' in the search field.

Regards,

Alf McM

[ForeignGong]

Can we have a name please???

[james_harvey]

Thanks guys

I do not have find my past as I subscribe to ancestry 

My great grandfathers name was John William Harvey

 

regards

james

[alf mcm]

Hello James,

  The medal index card shows that John was not entitled to the 1914-15 Star, even althoug he arrived in France at some time in 1914, and left {according to the medal roll}on 24th July 1915.

  Perhaps one of our medal experts will come along to explain this.

Regards,

Alf McM

[kenf48]

On 28/11/2021 at 08:38, james_harvey said:

would he previously been Red Cross or st john

In 1914 in response to the war The Red Cross and St John's Ambulance formed a Joint Committee to undertake duties in response to casualties.

Often the first men to join had previous experience and first aid qualifications, for example many coal miners had first aid qualifications and were amongst the first to volunteer.

What was his religion? He may have served initially with the Quakers 'Friends Ambulance Service', who were awarded the 14 Star.  

The Roll is on Ancestry

in fact the William Harvey who appears below his entry on the BWM and VM Roll is is here on that Roll

The BWM Roll is rather strange, bear in mind the medals were issued by the last unit so at the moment we don't have evidence that he qualified for the 14 Star, other than the incomplete entry on the Roll

You would need to go the beginning of the Roll to see if he appears, though I guess without further research it would be difficult to show he was the same man.

He may have served with the British Committee of the French Red Cross, in which case no British medal as mentioned by @royalredcross on this earlier thread

 

I'm not a medal collector or expert but I know a man who is @collectorsguide and he may well be able to help you