MIC Help Please

[jon_armstrong]

Attached is my great-grandfather's brother's MIC.

Unfortunately it is a little light on information, but I'm trying to work out whether there is anything else I can draw from it.

For exam, does the fact that his initial number - 2141 - is pretty low mean he may have been a territorial or regular?

Also, does the reference to the rolls for the BWM and Victory medals give any clues? There are a few on the same sheet of six that also have a bracketed TF. I'm guessing it might be just coincidence of initials and it's too much to hope for that means he was a territorial...?

Thanks in advance for anything anyone can offer.

[Chris_Baker]

The TF does indeed signify Territorial, and his number tells you he was in 1st Brigade RFA in the 50th (Northumbrian) Division.

[jon_armstrong]

Thanks Chris. That makes geographical sense as he was from Newcastle.

[KONDOA]

and his number tells you he was in 1st Brigade RFA in the 50th (Northumbrian) Division.

At the date of renumbering !!

Roop

[rflory]

Chris Baker wrote:

The TF does indeed signify Territorial, and his number tells you he was in 1st Brigade RFA in the 50th (Northumbrian) Division.

I am afraid this is incorrect. 1st Brigade, RFA was a regular field artillery brigade that served with 27th Division in France and Macedonia during the Great War. A service number of 750902 falls within the range of numbers reserved for the 1st Northumberland Brigade, RFA TF. During the Great War this TF brigade formed both a first and second line. The first line brigade, the 1/1 Northumberland Brigade, RFA TF, in 1917 became 250th Brigade, RFA TF and served with the 50th (Northumberland) Brigade, RFA TF in France from April 1915. The second line brigade, 2/2 Northumberland Brigade, RFA TF, in 1917 became 315th Brigade, RFA TF and served in France with the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division from 3 July 1916. From his service number it is not possible to tell with which of the two brigades your man served. The War History of the 1st Northumbrian Brigade, RFA, (TF) 1914-1919 which provides an excellent history of 250th Brigade, RFA TF on page 79 states that on 23 May 1916 "Here, as on every possible occasion when we were at rest, there were many impromptu "smokers," in one or the other of the usual local estaminets. Sergeant Hearty, Gunner Dinning, and the brothers Armstrong, of C, and Fitter-Staff-Sergeant Worth, of Headquarters, provided the talent, together with others of A, B, and D Batteries."

Regards. Dick

[jon_armstrong]

Thanks Dick.

I was talking to my Dad last night, and he said that in his family tree research he had found him on an absent voters list in 1918 recorded as being "315th RFA Bge".

This ties in with what you have said above, as it puts him neatly in the 2/2 Northumberland Brigade, RFA TF, initially in the 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division. It would explain why he doesn't get the 14-15 Star too, because 50th (Northumbrian) Division were in France in 1915 so you would have expected him to qualify, whereas in the 2/2 Brigade he would not have left the UK until they transferred to the RND in the summer of 1916.

It would have been fantastic if it was him mentioned in the book, but on balance of evidence he'd probably gone been put in the 315th rather than the 250th Bge.