Robuk88 Posted 30 December , 2021 Share Posted 30 December , 2021 Hello Troops, I am doing some research on 4623 Forewoman Mabel Hyde who served in the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps. I am very much an amateur at researching so found very little but i did find the Service Medal and Awards Roll. I believe she was in Theatre of War 21.10.17 to 18.10.18 but no idea where or where she born etc. Any help is always appreciated. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDWARD1 Posted 30 December , 2021 Share Posted 30 December , 2021 (edited) 1(a) at the top of the dates column is for France & Belgium Edited 30 December , 2021 by EDWARD1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robuk88 Posted 30 December , 2021 Author Share Posted 30 December , 2021 11 minutes ago, EDWARD1 said: 1(a) at the top of the dates column is for France & Belgium Thank you Edward :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDWARD1 Posted 30 December , 2021 Share Posted 30 December , 2021 Her Medal Index Card is free to download (after registration) here Medal card of Hyde, Mabel Corps: Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps Regiment... | The National Archives Cant find on Ancestry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robuk88 Posted 30 December , 2021 Author Share Posted 30 December , 2021 1 minute ago, EDWARD1 said: Her Medal Index Card is free to download (after registration) here Medal card of Hyde, Mabel Corps: Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps Regiment... | The National Archives Cant find on Ancestry. You star i checked Ancestry with no joy so thank you for finding that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmania Posted 30 December , 2021 Share Posted 30 December , 2021 41 minutes ago, Robuk88 said: You star i checked Ancestry with no joy so thank you for finding that. The Medal Index Cards for women are not available from Ancestry. The originals were retained by The National Archives. but now they only have the photocopies, the originals are now with The Imperial War Museum, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robuk88 Posted 30 December , 2021 Author Share Posted 30 December , 2021 55 minutes ago, Carmania said: The Medal Index Cards for women are not available from Ancestry. The originals were retained by The National Archives. but now they only have the photocopies, the originals are now with The Imperial War Museum, I think. I never knew this thank you I’ll drop them an email. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 30 December , 2021 Share Posted 30 December , 2021 EDWARD1's post shows where to get a download of her medal index card. This is free if you register with The National Archives {also free}. Regards, Alf McM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 30 December , 2021 Share Posted 30 December , 2021 There are a number of WAAC/QMAAC War Diaries available from The National Archives. Some of them give numbers, rank, names and occupations; others give less, and some only give a total number of women in each draft arriving on a certain day. Mabel is not named in any of these drafts, but, by a process of elimination I am fairly certain that she was in a draft to Boulogne on 21st October 1917. The relevant war diary can de downloaded free here, once you register;- https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/ea10f3431afb4398a7ff592ad1b019fe The draft arrived under command of Miss Irene John, Administrator [WAAC equivalent of an Officer]. It comprised the following;- 2 Assistant Cooks 3 Housemaids 1 Hostel Forewoman 2 Forewoman Cooks 2 Assistant Cooks [this may be a mistake and should read '2 Cooks'] 2 Shorthand Typists 18 Assistant Waitresses All these women, were destined for Wisques, a Commune in the Pas-de-Calais Department of France. It is likely that Mabel was one of the Forewomen Cooks, or the Hostel Forewoman. A Forewoman was the WAAC equvalent of a Sergeant. Do you know anything about Mabel which may help locate her in the 1911 Census? Do you know where she was born or lived, how old she was what her occupation was? This may help to decide which of the Forewomen she was. If you download the war diary you can search through it until Mabel left France on 18th October 1918. There is a small chance she will be mentioned by name, especially if given leave, took ill or was moved to another area, Regards, Alf McM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robuk88 Posted 31 December , 2021 Author Share Posted 31 December , 2021 14 hours ago, alf mcm said: There are a number of WAAC/QMAAC War Diaries available from The National Archives. Some of them give numbers, rank, names and occupations; others give less, and some only give a total number of women in each draft arriving on a certain day. Mabel is not named in any of these drafts, but, by a process of elimination I am fairly certain that she was in a draft to Boulogne on 21st October 1917. The relevant war diary can de downloaded free here, once you register;- https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/ea10f3431afb4398a7ff592ad1b019fe The draft arrived under command of Miss Irene John, Administrator [WAAC equivalent of an Officer]. It comprised the following;- 2 Assistant Cooks 3 Housemaids 1 Hostel Forewoman 2 Forewoman Cooks 2 Assistant Cooks [this may be a mistake and should read '2 Cooks'] 2 Shorthand Typists 18 Assistant Waitresses All these women, were destined for Wisques, a Commune in the Pas-de-Calais Department of France. It is likely that Mabel was one of the Forewomen Cooks, or the Hostel Forewoman. A Forewoman was the WAAC equvalent of a Sergeant. Do you know anything about Mabel which may help locate her in the 1911 Census? Do you know where she was born or lived, how old she was what her occupation was? This may help to decide which of the Forewomen she was. If you download the war diary you can search through it until Mabel left France on 18th October 1918. There is a small chance she will be mentioned by name, especially if given leave, took ill or was moved to another area, Regards, Alf McM Thank you Alf McM. That's a big help thank you i will give the war diary a read and fingers crossed something will turn up. Unfortunately i have no information on any of those things :-( i just have her medals with her name and number and thought i would give it a try researching to see if i could find out about her life. I did have a quick look this morning at the war diary and one thing i can say is at least it's typed up haha. I love going through the war diaries when you can see where a soldier was and what's going on but me trying to translate their writing and old English can be a minefield but so worth it :-) i appreciate this thank you so much. If i find anything out i will of course post it on here :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robuk88 Posted 31 December , 2021 Author Share Posted 31 December , 2021 It’s possible she did get married to a Stewartson? If I’m reading that correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 31 December , 2021 Share Posted 31 December , 2021 That's a good clue. Mabel Hyde married George Chalmers Stewartson in Barnsley in 1919. Marriage banns show she was a Baker, so she would have been one of the Forewomen Cooks. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/2253/images/32355_249276-01636?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=3bcb3c04f062d1305ba79ff9333d8c79&usePUB=true&_phsrc=GtI1675&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=16528720 You should be able to find her in the 1911 census and 1939 register. Regards, Alf McM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robuk88 Posted 31 December , 2021 Author Share Posted 31 December , 2021 12 minutes ago, alf mcm said: That's a good clue. Mabel Hyde married George Chalmers Stewartson in Barnsley in 1919. Marriage banns show she was a Baker, so she would have been one of the Forewomen Cooks. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/2253/images/32355_249276-01636?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=3bcb3c04f062d1305ba79ff9333d8c79&usePUB=true&_phsrc=GtI1675&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=16528720 You should be able to find her in the 1911 census and 1939 register. Regards, Alf McM You're a Diamond thank you so much. I should be able to find out more from this. Thank you so much. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 31 December , 2021 Share Posted 31 December , 2021 It's a good result Rob. There is a family tree on Ancestry for George Chalmer Stewartson which would help. If you would like to KNOW more about the WAAC/QMAAC I can recommend;- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Womens-Army-Auxiliary-Corps-France-ebook/dp/B01MZ88D2D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=WK03B2P2LZLM&keywords=philo-gill&qid=1640939437&s=books&sprefix=philo-gill%2Cstripbooks%2C91&sr=1-1 Regards, Alf McM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robuk88 Posted 31 December , 2021 Author Share Posted 31 December , 2021 1 hour ago, alf mcm said: It's a good result Rob. There is a family tree on Ancestry for George Chalmer Stewartson which would help. If you would like to KNOW more about the WAAC/QMAAC I can recommend;- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Womens-Army-Auxiliary-Corps-France-ebook/dp/B01MZ88D2D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=WK03B2P2LZLM&keywords=philo-gill&qid=1640939437&s=books&sprefix=philo-gill%2Cstripbooks%2C91&sr=1-1 Regards, Alf McM Thank you looking at his family tree do you think they misspelt her name and it should be Hydes? I will certainly get a copy of that it'll be an interesting read. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 31 December , 2021 Share Posted 31 December , 2021 Rob, A check on FREEBMD shows that Mabel's birth is recorded as 'Mabel Hydes', so this would be her correct name. https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl?start=1892&end=1892&sq=4&eq=4&type=Births&vol=9c&pgno=219&db=bmd_1639404358&jsexec=1&mono=0&v=MTY0MDk0NjM4ODpiYmY5MDI2ZGFhZmRkNTc5ZDgwMjU4NzNkMzJlOTkwNWQ3MjIxODI0&searchdef=type%3DBirths%26eq%3D4%26given%3Dmabel%26sq%3D1%26surname%3Dhydes%26db%3Dbmd_1639404358&action=Find Although Mabel wa a Forewoman Cook, it's interesting to note in some WAAC war diaries that female Bakers are sometimes recorded as 'Bakeresses'! The 1939 Register is on Ancestry and Findmypast. There are actually 2 on Findmypast with one of them giving more information than the one on Ancestry. Part copy of 1939 Register, courtesey of Findmypast. The family tree fills in the black bits shown abiove, Regards, Alf McM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robuk88 Posted 31 December , 2021 Author Share Posted 31 December , 2021 18 minutes ago, alf mcm said: Rob, A check on FREEBMD shows that Mabel's birth is recorded as 'Mabel Hydes', so this would be her correct name. https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl?start=1892&end=1892&sq=4&eq=4&type=Births&vol=9c&pgno=219&db=bmd_1639404358&jsexec=1&mono=0&v=MTY0MDk0NjM4ODpiYmY5MDI2ZGFhZmRkNTc5ZDgwMjU4NzNkMzJlOTkwNWQ3MjIxODI0&searchdef=type%3DBirths%26eq%3D4%26given%3Dmabel%26sq%3D1%26surname%3Dhydes%26db%3Dbmd_1639404358&action=Find Although Mabel wa a Forewoman Cook, it's interesting to note in some WAAC war diaries that female Bakers are sometimes recorded as 'Bakeresses'! The 1939 Register is on Ancestry and Findmypast. There are actually 2 on Findmypast with one of them giving more information than the one on Ancestry. Part copy of 1939 Register, courtesey of Findmypast. The family tree fills in the black bits shown abiove, Regards, Alf McM You're an absolute genius thank you for helping and sharing your knowledge and wisdom. Bakeress what a brilliant title :-) I am subbed to both so great i can scroll on there also. What a fantastic thing to do jumping down the 'Rabbit Hole' and coming out on top. I if i don't catch you the this side of the year then Happy New Year. I couldn't of put any of this together without so i am forever in your debt and extremely grateful. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 31 December , 2021 Share Posted 31 December , 2021 Rob, It's been an enjoyable search, and a better result than usual for a WAAC without a service record. A happy New Yearv to you to. Regards, Alf McM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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