Shazbaz Posted 28 April Share Posted 28 April (edited) Hello I wondered if anyone can help me with my great grandfathers history please? His name was James Harry Dunstan I believe he was a driver at some point but unsure if he held any other positions during his time. He served from around 1915 to 1919 DOB:25/07/1891 Service Number: 27027 Badge number: B232523 Regiment: Royal Artillery ( Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Field Artillery) He was invalided out of the service and passed away in 1943 from tuberculosis, my great grandma received a war pension when he passed away. I know that the service number listed above belongs to him as it is on the paperwork for his war pension but I have found some other service numbers that may also have been his during his service but I’m not sure if they belong to him, I have added a screenshot of these and would be grateful if anyone could tell me if these belong to him or another person with the same name? he was hospitalised twice during his service, once with a hole to his shoulder and once from being Gassed. I wonder if anyone could tell me anything else, is his uniform that of a privates? If anyone can tell me anything at all about where he would have been in France or what he would have done during his time in the service I would really appreciate it please. Thank you for reading sharon His Discharge Regiment says Base Details France R.F.A. Edited 28 April by Shazbaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matlock1418 Posted 28 April Share Posted 28 April 22 minutes ago, Shazbaz said: Sharon, Welcome to GWF This appears to be a different soldier. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matlock1418 Posted 28 April Share Posted 28 April 24 minutes ago, Shazbaz said: First image/screenshot - appears to be his widows pension claim The second image/card - is for his widow's claim [possibly from the above] as you have noted seeminlgy accepted due to a TB case recorded on a pension index card and pension ledger page [See below] There is another pension index card for his disability pension claim - for which he initially received a £35 Gratuity after discharge 18.2.19 - there appears to be a later/onging disability claim ledger page too - ref 4/MD/1281 at one point recorded as No grounds, but later being awarded 100% and 70%] and with other annotations including reference to the TB Section There is reference to Central Treatment - this is probably for TB treatment. No doubt/hopefully you have access & seen these too M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matlock1418 Posted 28 April Share Posted 28 April 39 minutes ago, Shazbaz said: I believe he was a driver at some point but unsure if he held any other positions during his time. 39 minutes ago, Shazbaz said: I wonder if anyone could tell me anything else, is his uniform that of a privates? Driver was typically both a rank and a role in the Artillery - typically working more with the horses rather than the guns though I suspect there was some cross-training and possibly cross-activity, as necessary [Driver being equivalent level to a Private in the infantry and some other corps] Such a rank being classed as a pension Class V for his and his widow's pensions [see above]. 43 minutes ago, Shazbaz said: The photo image looks like an artillery Driver with his leather ammunition pouches and shoulder lanyard [this typically being intended for a clasp knife in his left breast pocket] M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 28 April Share Posted 28 April Note that when he was wounded in Sept 1918 he was serving with 'O' Battery, 5th Brigade Royal Horse Artillery according to the hospital admissions record on Findmypast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazbaz Posted 28 April Author Share Posted 28 April 1 hour ago, Matlock1418 said: Sharon, Welcome to GWF This appears to be a different soldier. M Thank you, I did wonder but I just wasn’t sure as I had read that in WWI some soldiers would have more than one service number so I thought I would check ☺️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazbaz Posted 28 April Author Share Posted 28 April Hi Charlie Do you know where O battery 5th brigade were at that time? Do you know if there would be war diaries that would have details of what his brigade was doing around the time he was wounded and how he received his injuries ? thank you for your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazbaz Posted 28 April Author Share Posted 28 April Thanks to the helpful information from you all about his battery and brigade I’ve just read that O battery was known as the Rocket troop and were at Villeselve in 2018 so that would fit with where he was wounded I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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