Guest whiteswan Posted 9 October , 2005 Share Posted 9 October , 2005 I'm trying to get all the information on my Grandfather Frederick Baston and so far have a copy of his medal card, the CWGC listing, plus I have the orginal letter enclosing his medals and the original letter posting him missing in action presumed dead 7th July 1916 What I'm now after is his service record but as a pensioner myself can't really justify the £250 for the CD and wondered if anyone can do a look-up or knows anything more about the regiment, like a copy of the war diary mentioned on the web site. All the info I have shows him a a private but on the CWGC web site it shows him as a Lance Corporal? does this mean he was promoted in the field? Thanks in hope. Carol Harmond (nee Baston) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambo Posted 9 October , 2005 Share Posted 9 October , 2005 Carol Welcome to the forum Some information is avaliable through "Soldiers Died in the Great War" which is as follows He is confirmed as a Lance Corporal 11693 Born in Hackney he lived in Homerton and enlisted in Shoreditch. He is listed as killed in action There are some Royal Fusilier experts out there who will no doubt fill in some more, I'll have a dig around for what I can find as to which action they were engaged in Good luck with your research, this is the best place to ask! Hambo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gord97138 Posted 9 October , 2005 Share Posted 9 October , 2005 Carol: Could this be him and family in 1901? gordon Name Estimated Birth Year Birthplace Relationship Civil Parish County/Island Ellen Baston abt 1890 Hackney, London, England Daughter Hackney London Florence Baston abt 1882 Hackney, London, England Daughter Hackney London Frederick Baston abt 1886 Hackney, London, England Son Hackney London Sarah Baston abt 1862 Shoreditch, London, England Wife Hackney London Thomas Baston abt 1863 Shoreditch, London, England Head Hackney London William Baston abt 1898 Hackney, London, England Son Hackney London Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest whiteswan Posted 9 October , 2005 Share Posted 9 October , 2005 Carol: Could this be him and family in 1901? gordon Wow, didn't expect replies so quickly. Yes it is him, thanks, I have a copy of this census in my family tree file, that's how I first became interested in him. Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest whiteswan Posted 9 October , 2005 Share Posted 9 October , 2005 Thanks for confirming he was a L Corporal as the CWGC web site was the only place that mentioned it. He is shown as living in Valentine Road, Hackney on my father's birth certificate for 1911. Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambo Posted 9 October , 2005 Share Posted 9 October , 2005 Carol I forgot to mention that his service record might be avaliable at the National Archives in Kew but the majority of the records were destroyed in the Blitz but it's worth a try. Quite a few of the members of this forum get there quite regularly so if you ask them nicely.........well you never know your luck! The 8th Royal Fusiliers were part of 36th Brigade ( which also contained the 9th Royal Fusiliers and the 7th Royal Sussex) of the 12th Division. On the 7th of July 1916 they were to attack the village of Ovillers on the Albert Bapaume road. In the early part of the morning they were pounded by a barrage as they awaited orders to advance, the Brigade lost an estimated 300 casualties as the men were packed in to the confinement of the assembly trenches. At 8.30am their "blood was up" and they assaulted the German postions carrying the first three lines of trenches in a "furious assault. No quarter was given in this terrible fight" They did however take "a great number of prisoners". Their ranks were to thin to hold all their gains so they consolidated the second of the German lines. The three battalions are estimated to have lost around 1,400 men, killed wounded and missing in the assault that morning. Hope this is of interest Hambo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest whiteswan Posted 9 October , 2005 Share Posted 9 October , 2005 I'm even more impressed, he was really brave to the end, by the sounds of it. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now