CGreee Posted 5 October , 2005 Share Posted 5 October , 2005 Hi folks, I am trying to find information about my Grandfather William James Greer and his brother Tommy Greer who served as regular soldiers in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Remarkably both survived the 4 years of conflict. I believe my Grandfather was in the 2nd Batt and I know that he was captured at St Quentin in 1918. He did not return home until 1920 or 1921. Can anyone help provide information or advice regarding a good source of information. Thanks in advance and all help is much appreciated. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 6 October , 2005 Share Posted 6 October , 2005 Can you tell us where they were from? Des Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGreee Posted 6 October , 2005 Author Share Posted 6 October , 2005 Hi Des, Thanks for the reply. I have had a chat with my father and have some more info. probably should have done this in the first place (but I'm learning). My Grandfather was known by his middle name - James. His Army no was 7766. His brother Tommy's no. was 6674. Both joined as young boys, i.e. James Greer joined up in 1903. As to where they were from...Belfast I think...but then again they were in the Army for most of the time. Take care Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 6 October , 2005 Share Posted 6 October , 2005 Starting points: Medal Index Cards show the units served with and if overseas early in the war then where and when. Medal card of Greer, James Corps Regiment No Rank Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 7766 Private Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 7766 Private http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...1&resultcount=1 Medal card of Greer, Thomas Corps Regiment No Rank Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 6674 Private Labour Corps 703217 Private http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...1&resultcount=1 The MICs are in a PDF form and can be downloaded for £3.50 each or looked at a the National Archives. The references given on the MICs can be checked to Medal Rolls at the NA in Kew to ascertain battalions. The NA also has the surviving 30% of WW1 soldiers service records. If they survived then you should be able to follow theire army careers fairly well. If one or both left the army before the war there is also a (better) chance that his eralier service record is in a different set of files. We do have some Irish Regiments experts here, not least Desmond, so I'm sure you'll get any help you need. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 7 October , 2005 Share Posted 7 October , 2005 Re the 2nd Inniskillings at St. Quentin ... for a synopsis of what happened see Martin Middlebrook's 'The Kaiser's Battle' which gives a one-day account of the actions on that day. Be back with more. If you can, by any chance, track down which street they came from in Belfast, there may be more I can do. Stebie's started off well. Also, check the 'parent' of this forum: 'The Long Long Trail' .. a link to which can be found at the top of the screen. Go to infantry and you can track the Btns. movements right through. If you download and post a scan of the MIC cards which Stebie has referred to, I'm sure we can rely on the MIC experts who abound to chip in with more insights. Des Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGreee Posted 7 October , 2005 Author Share Posted 7 October , 2005 Hi Des, Steve - Thanks a lot for all the info. I must say that this is a great site. It's like a drug. I will certainly read the 'The Kaiser's Battle'. My Grandfather's address has always been a stumbling block. He was orphaned at the age of 9 and lived with various relatives before joining the army. Consequently he didn't have a fixed address. He always lived in the Sandy Row area of Belfast. I do know that just prior to the war he gave his address as Majestic Street. Steve - Thanks for taking the trouble to provide the MIC links. I will download and post them - probably will have to wait until Monday. PS - Currently reading '11th Month, 11th day, 11th Hour' by Joseph E Persico. Not sure of you have come across it. It's charts the history of the war by using the last day as it pivotal theme, describing some of the crazy events running up to 11am on 11/11/18 It's a good read (made my commute to work more interesting). Thanks again Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 8 October , 2005 Share Posted 8 October , 2005 Go here and search for Greer Majestic Street .. bingo. The rest of the site will explain about the covenant. http://www.proni.gov.uk/ulstercovenant/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGreee Posted 9 October , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 October , 2005 Hi Des, Thanks for this and the PM. This is definitely my Grandfather as the signature matches that on other documents I have belonging to him. Thanks for the info. I will post the MIC's later in the week. Cheers Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 11 October , 2005 Share Posted 11 October , 2005 Scanning Middlebrook for ya .. hold on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 11 October , 2005 Share Posted 11 October , 2005 Well I was .. but I can't find it. Anyway. From Orange,Green and Khaki. 2nd Innis. Fus are in thge forward zone section of 109 Bde. (the left of the 36th (Ulster) Div. on March 21. Darn .. wife's been tidying again. Back to you again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGreee Posted 11 October , 2005 Author Share Posted 11 October , 2005 Hi Des, Thanks for continuing with this quest. I have download both MIC records. It would seem that they both earned the 1914-Star, British War medal and Victory Medal. Do you know if it is possible to attach .pdf files? - I have a problem with my scanner at the moment. Cheers Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 11 October , 2005 Share Posted 11 October , 2005 You should be able to 'save as' the downloads as pics and then re-size as required before posting. I think. I'm starting to worry about Middlebrook by the way. Aaargh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGreee Posted 11 October , 2005 Author Share Posted 11 October , 2005 Des, Found the following on the Web. The article quote's Middlebrook. http://brew.clients.ch/StQuentin.htm the article also states... ''Meanwhile, the rest of the 108th Brigade was ordered to form a defensive flank half way between Essigny and Lizerolles, and the 9th Inniskillings of the 109th formed up behind the 9th Irish Fusiliers' positions in support, where the front remained steady until dusk. The oncoming darkness gave the Germans the opportunity to bring up reinforcements, which began assembling for the next onslaught. During this, the fighting continued elsewhere; 17:30 the positions held by the remnants of the 15th Rifles' (107th Brigade) and 2nd Inniskillings' (109th Brigade) were surrendered and captured, following the earlier fall of the 108th's 12th Rifles around 16:00.'' I would imagine that this is the action my Grandfather was engaged in. My dad has told me that he was gassed and taken to a German hospital. Do you know of any POW records? Cheers Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 11 October , 2005 Share Posted 11 October , 2005 For the MIC use the Snapshot tool to select the MIC you want, right click and copy the selection. Paste the MIC into a Paint program and save as a jpeg. You may need to resize the image to say 75% to get it to fit the maximum image size. Attach an image in the "Add Reply" section. (Not Fast Reply) Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGreee Posted 13 October , 2005 Author Share Posted 13 October , 2005 Cheers Steve, Hope these are legible. Not sure if there is any additional info, other than Victory, 14 Star and British War medal. Thanks Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGreee Posted 14 October , 2005 Author Share Posted 14 October , 2005 Hi Steve, Thanks for the reply. Not sure there is much info on these, other than British War, Victory and 14 Star. Take Care Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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