Raindancer411 Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 I am back asking for more help, sorry. I have my great grandad going into the navy in the first WW. His records show that he was awarded chevrons on October 18 for 1914 to 1917. Where and how can I find out more about why he was awarded these? Were these just as he served in the war? many thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPT Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 Sea Service Chevrons - https://www.godfreydykes.info/Sea Service Chevrons.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 The following article was hosted on the pbenyon domain, prior to Paul Benyon passing awayhttps://freepages.rootsweb.com/~pbtyc/genealogy/Cond_of_Serv/GCBs.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raindancer411 Posted 19 May , 2023 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2023 Thank you both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 Sorry, my mistake, I did not read this properly. I was immediately thinking of GCB chevrons on the upper forearm, rather than the smaller WW1 service chevrons on the sleeve.https://www.commsmuseum.co.uk/dykes/smallsnips/familiar/chevrons.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raindancer411 Posted 19 May , 2023 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2023 6 minutes ago, Keith_history_buff said: Sorry, my mistake, I did not read this properly. I was immediately thinking of GCB chevrons on the upper forearm, rather than the smaller WW1 service chevrons on the sleeve.https://www.commsmuseum.co.uk/dykes/smallsnips/familiar/chevrons.pdf Are these different then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 If you can post the part of the service record that you are referring to, it would be useful in respect of answering your question. Also when did he join the Royal Navy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raindancer411 Posted 19 May , 2023 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2023 He joined as a boy in 1907 at the age of 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 Given that the first line item is mentioning those individual years, I'd say it references the issue of the sleeve chevrons. When I initially saw the post, and saw mention of 1914 to 1917, my immediate thought was that it was a 3 year time period, which warranted a Good Conduct award, and associated chevron on the forearm. Thanks for taking the time to share the image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raindancer411 Posted 19 May , 2023 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2023 I know someone said he had the GCBs as these we taken away from him at some point, and they were on his forearm. These ones the record reflects are different then? And would have been on the lower arm? Oh my, you lot know your stuff but it’s all going over my head! 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 War Service Chevrons - one each for 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918. Red chevron for 1914, blue chevrons for subsequent yrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 Another example of RN War Service chevrons.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 1 hour ago, Raindancer411 said: He joined as a boy in 1907 at the age of 12 Not possible. You are probably confusing his 12-year Continuous Service (CS) engagement (which commenced at age 18) with his age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raindancer411 Posted 19 May , 2023 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2023 Sorry, yes my maths is off with the dates, so his record starts at 18. He was previously in the navy before that as a 12 year old as a penalty for a crime, I was told (apparently you had the option back then to do either a sentence or time in the services?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KizmeRD Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 No, the Royal Navy was not an alternative to penal service, and would only accept boys of good character - however its possible that he may have been sent to a reform ship or (more likely) an industrial training ship (for boys not actually convicted of a specific crime, but where the magistrate thought it in the boys best interests to remove him from an environment that would most likely have seen him getting into bigger trouble with the law further down the line). MB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 The photo of him, in tropical whites, clearly displays his first GC chevron on his forearm. On 23/04/2023 at 20:33, Raindancer411 said: His previous trade was as a Baker's boy. He commenced service in the Royal Navy on 7 September 1907. His first two Accounting Bases were HMS Ganges & HMS Impregnable. His man service commenced on 10 February 1909, his declared eighteenth birthday. He left the service 12 years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raindancer411 Posted 19 May , 2023 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2023 Thank you, I am only going by what I have been told, so it is nice to try and find out some truths. That sounds more believable. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KizmeRD Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 If he attended GANGES and IMPREGNABLE then fair to say he was not already a criminal delinquent at the age of 12. MB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 On 23/04/2023 at 17:08, horatio2 said: His ADM 188 record lists different ships in Hong Kong... https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D6741338 His early WW1 drafts to shore bases meant that he did not qualify for the 1914-15 Star. He only claimed Victory and British War Medals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 23 minutes ago, KizmeRD said: The Royal Navy was not an alternative to penal service, and would only accept boys of good character Not so for the army, and I am wondering if this is how some kind of family myth came into being that he served as a Boy, as a result of a brush with the law. The info on his service record, and the opinions of some forum experts, have busted this myth. Link to an army thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KizmeRD Posted 19 May , 2023 Share Posted 19 May , 2023 (edited) His ADM shows service in the Royal Navy as a boy, however with a D.O.B. of 1891, he clearly wasn’t 12 when he joined GANGES in 1907. Therefore its still possible that he may have been sent to one of the (civilian) industrial school ships aged 12 - however his naval record indicates that he was a baker’s boy at the time that he joined up, so the story doesn’t really tie-up. MB Edited 19 May , 2023 by KizmeRD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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