damandblast Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 Hi All Can somebody point me in the right direction please? Ernest Frederick Cox enlisted in 1916 and was given the number 1020350, all I know is that is was a horse regiment. He survived the war and went into the reserves, then was called up again for the 2nd WW. The family claim he was allowed to keep his original number above and ended up a Sapper. He again survived but refused to talk about his "wars" and actually threw his campaign medals in the bin! Isnt it frustrating listening to family ramblings sometimes? You only get so much info and then have to fill in the blanks. Tried National Archives but they are coming up with 1000's of hits for Ernest Cox, so wondered if anybody could tell me how to search just the number to find the regiment? Thanks Di Edit: Another family member has confirmed regiment to be Royal Horse Artillary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshdoc Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 Medal card of Cox, Ernest Frederick Corps Regiment No Rank Honourable Artillery Company 2835 Private Honourable Artillery Company Second Lieutenant Date 1914-1920 Catalogue reference WO 372/5 Dept Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies Series War Office: Service Medal and Award Rolls Index, First World War Piece Cooke W E - Denham W Image contains 1 medal card of many for this collection http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...1&resultcount=1 possibly this Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshdoc Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 Dont know about the number its an extreemly high one, prehaps someone got it wrong in the distant pass and without the medals ? Do you think he ended up an officer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 (edited) Di The number you give is a post war one so it looks as though he re-enlisted. Im not so sure that the medal card illustrated is for him, but stranger things have happened. Did he have a middle name? Terry Reeves Edited 18 December , 2005 by Terry_Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshdoc Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 yor right Terry might be Medal card of Cox, Ernest F Corps Regiment No Rank Royal Horse Artillery 8th Reserve Brigade 622351 Gunner Date 1914-1920 Catalogue reference WO 372/5 Dept Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies Series War Office: Service Medal and Award Rolls Index, First World War Piece Cooke W E - Denham W Image contains 1 medal card of many for this collection probably makes more sence. Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 As a Sapper Ernest would probably been a Royal Engineer. So men in Artillery units are unlikely to be him unless he first served in the Artillery and then transferred to the Royal Engineers as, for example, a Divisional Signal Company sapper attached to the Divisional field artillery. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damandblast Posted 18 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 18 December , 2005 Di The number you give is a post war one so it looks as though he re-enlisted. Im not so sure that the medal card illustrated is for him, but stranger things have happened. Did he have a middle name? Terry Reeves Yes Terry, middle name Frederick, lived in Reading Born 1902 in London. Married a Hilda Stagg in Reading but finally died in Standon, Staffs. He seems very young to have "reputedly" enlisted in 1916. I do know that he was a fantastic horseman and lancer. Any help with this puzzle is appreciated. Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damandblast Posted 18 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 18 December , 2005 As a Sapper Ernest would probably been a Royal Engineer. So men in Artillery units are unlikely to be him unless he first served in the Artillery and then transferred to the Royal Engineers as, for example, a Divisional Signal Company sapper attached to the Divisional field artillery. Steve. I would agree but I suspect he may turn out to be an Sapper engineer in WW2 (he was an engineer by trade too). Family are fairly incistent that he went from a horse regiment, through into reserves and then beack in for WW2. Can WW2 war & medal records be searched online at all? Only really looked at WW1 before. Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 There is the fact that he served after the war according to his "late number" per Terry, and that he served in WW2. Therefore his WW2 records should be availaible to next of kin, and his post-WW1 service may mean that his records were stored with the MOD rather than in the Burnt Records. It may be more reliable to look at WW2 service and work backwards, not withstanding the time it takes for WW2 records to be delivered... Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 (edited) For WW2 records you need to contact: MOD Historical Disclosures Mail Point 400 Brown St Glasgow G2 8EX It will be worth visiting the Veterans Agency web site before hand though, to take a look at the rules governing WW2 service records. He would have had a completely new number by the time WW2 came around by the way. The system changed again, to an eight figure number. Terry Reeves Edited 18 December , 2005 by Terry_Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damandblast Posted 18 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 18 December , 2005 Having had the Royal Horse Artillery Reserve Brigade confirmed by the family as the Regiment, I have searched the national archive again, both for the one above and, just in case, for any others too. Only the chap above showing. Info on the MIC is as follows: It's a type 2 card with the Medal section showing on the bottom left hand side. Name, rank and number as above plus the following marks and roll numbers. Would like to try and identify theatre of war to cross check with family records. Medals Victory, British Star with a single asterisk above RHA/105B Page 856 The below: What looks like SWB dist RA/4481 Nothing else showing on card. Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshdoc Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 So he wasnt cavalry was not a WW1 sapper and the number was not from WW1 strange how family memories are so distorted with time. Amazing how memories clear when presented with the facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 Hi, This chap is a Sapper and in the cavalry in WW1, could this be him. Cox, Ernest Corps Regiment No Rank Household Cavalry 1162 Sapper Army Veterinary Corps SE/35084 Sapper Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 18 December , 2005 Share Posted 18 December , 2005 The MIC, http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...&resultcount=12 Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damandblast Posted 19 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2005 So he wasnt cavalry was not a WW1 sapper and the number was not from WW1 strange how family memories are so distorted with time. Amazing how memories clear when presented with the facts. I think I said he "ended up a Sapper". I suspect the journey from Gunner to Sapper will become clear with time and even more facts. He actually was in the Royal Horse Artillary, again the association from family "he was in something to do with horses" lol so they did at least get that partially right. Dad has since recollected that he used to gallop with carriages and, looking at pictures of the RHA, I suspect this would be right. I cannot though, for the life of me, work out if the RHA ever used lances? Dad claimed Ernest (his Dad) was a fantastic Lancer? But, as Ernest was from a reasonably privalidged family he learnt his horse skills from a very early age, I suppose it is feasable that he could have learnt this skill anywhere. His MIC has roll info on, posted earlier but I suspect he was a reserve for most of the WW1 due to his tender age? I worked out that as he was born in 1902 and enlisted into the Reserves in 1916, he would only have been 14??? Wonder if the Army knew? But you are right, my father is adament that his regiment number is 1020350 even though people better than I have failed to make any connection to it. But as he is a stubborn 77 year old himself now, I think I will just cease to argue with him and dig out even more facts. With your help of course Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damandblast Posted 1 January , 2006 Author Share Posted 1 January , 2006 I have been given a photograph of Ernest Cox taken in the early to mid 1920's, he is still in uniform having just returned from Turkey. His number is (despite my fathers disagreement) 622351. The photo shows him with his new wife, Hilda, and he has the single chevron of a Lance Bombadier. The photo is not in brilliant condition so I will need to be a bit careful with it when I scan it later. Would anybody be interested in seeing it? You might be able to confirm the uniform is still the RHA And, does anybody know when the forces came back from Turkey? Thanks Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted 2 January , 2006 Share Posted 2 January , 2006 (edited) The number 1020350 is a 1920's post war Royal Artillery number. All RA men still serving at the time were renumbered, which would eventually include RHA, RFA, RGA and later Anti-Aircraft units. The new RA number series was 721001 - 1842000. Unlike WWI when changing units in WWII you actually took your number with you and were not renumbered on reception into your new unit. Graham. Edited 2 January , 2006 by Graham Stewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KONDOA Posted 2 January , 2006 Share Posted 2 January , 2006 There was alarge RASC base in Constantinople and one up in the Black Sea. The Black Sea depot closed in 1921. RASC had plenty of horses too especially there. Roop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damandblast Posted 2 January , 2006 Author Share Posted 2 January , 2006 The number 1020350 is a 1920's post war Royal Artillery number. All RA men still serving at the time were renumbered, which would eventually include RHA, RFA, RGA and later Anti-Aircraft units. The new RA number series was 721001 - 1842000. Unlike WWI when changing units in WWII you actually took your number with you and were not renumbered on reception into your new unit. Graham. Thanks Graham that explains a lot. Things I have found out, the Greco-Turkish war ran 1919-1922 with the treaty (Lausanne?) being singed in October 1923. Turkey then became a recognised Republic lead by Temel (previously part of the Ottoman empire?) My father mentioned that Grandad (Ernest Cox) was out there to stem the Temel uprising. The photo I have is taken about 1925 (we think) and he is still in uniform. In tghe process of moving my office around at the mo and havent yet connected my printer and scanner. Really must finish it off so that I can scan the photo for you guys. Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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