Spr William Wiffen RE 181150

[shaymen]

Having just downloaded his MIC - No mention of MM award although I have found his mention in the Gazette 26 Aug 1918. Was it common for his MIC not to mention the MM ?.

Anyway of finding out the reason behind his MM ?

Speaking with his daughter - she thinks he was on the Railway section of the RE and was awarded the MM for saving a friend in the field.

Any info on this appreciated.

Thanks

Glyn

[Max]

Hello Glyn

If you use the search criteria "Wiffen" and "181150" you will find that there are two MICs for this man.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...1&resultcount=2

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...1&resultcount=2

I think that MMs are listed on completely different index cards.

Andy

[Stebie9173]

The WR/ prefix certainly denotes a "Waterways and Railways" man. They were renumbered in a similar way to how the Territorials were gaining the WR/ prefix after the renumbering. I'm not sure when but I think it was quite late in the war.

The 181150 number would have been his first number with which he entered the Theatre of War. I would suggest looking at the MIC for the MM that Max had found as they usually have pretty good detail on the unit served with at the time (though I have not looked at a WR one, so I cannot be definitive on that)

The top of the two cards Max posted will be the MM one in Series WO372/23.

I would think that the gazette date would suggest that the MM was won some time during April in the Spring Offensive as the Germans broke through the front lines and the Railway/Waterways Engineers et al. just behind the lines were exposed to the German Advance.

Best way for MM "citations" is the local papers from where the man or his family lived.

Steve.

[shaymen]

Andy / Steve

Thanks for the replies

I will download the other mic later and let you know.

Thanks

Glyn

[shaymen]

Thanks again lads

Here is the MIC I was looking for.

Any ideas when he might have won his MM - Were Gazette entries long after the event ?

Glyn

[Stebie9173]

At first MMs were in the gazette about 3 months after the event, BUT in 1918 the delay lengthened considerably. An army on the defensive has other things to think about!

By August 1918 it had certainly slipped but wasn't too long - about 4 to 5 months. I would at an educated guess put the time as sometime during April 1918.

Unfortunately, the MIC still hasn't given exact unit details so it makes it difficult to find a War Diary entry.

Difficult to be any more specific,

Steve.

[shaymen]

Steve

Thanks for you help again

Much appreciated

Glyn