royg Posted 10 January , 2006 Share Posted 10 January , 2006 Hello everybody, Didn,t have much luck with my first post so am trying again. I am trying to find out what happened to Private C F Gibson, 1st. Battalion Middx. Regt. after he was wounded in April 1918. He was shot through the arm and was not pronounced fit for duty until Armistice Day, some 7 months after he was wounded. Would he have been hospitalised in England? Does the Times list all casualties,including wounded, by name? Any help would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 10 January , 2006 Share Posted 10 January , 2006 The Times does but only to mid-1917 when it switches to only naming the dead and by the end of 1917 ceases to do even that. (Exact battalions for infantry are given until about April 1916) Official casualty lists exists for later in the war, but I don't know exactly what format they are in and where they are. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliff brown Posted 10 January , 2006 Share Posted 10 January , 2006 Hi roy, Best bet is to look through the April/May 1918 local paper for the area he lived at the time because it might well have had a small story that he was wounded and was now in such and such hospital. The Times should list him being wounded, but will not give a date and the listing is likely to be several weeks behind at least. The trick is to look at the Killed in Action men from the same battalion (check them against SDGW) to see the date range covered and that will give you a clue to the actual date of his wounding. Not totally scientific, I know, but it helps. You can then check the war diary for the day(s) that crop up. Other pals will also have some good suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliff brown Posted 10 January , 2006 Share Posted 10 January , 2006 Stebie got in while I was typing, but I believe he may be right about the Times. However, you can consult the War Office Weekly Casualty Lists at the likes of the British Library and some of the major university libraries (such as Cambridge Uni Library). However, your best bet is still the local paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royg Posted 10 January , 2006 Author Share Posted 10 January , 2006 Stebie got in while I was typing, but I believe he may be right about the Times. However, you can consult the War Office Weekly Casualty Lists at the likes of the British Library and some of the major university libraries (such as Cambridge Uni Library). However, your best bet is still the local paper. Many thanks for the help.I will check the local paper. Any thoughts on wether or not it would have been a "Blighty" wound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliff brown Posted 10 January , 2006 Share Posted 10 January , 2006 If he didn't recover for such a long period it is a fairly safe to suggest he was shipped back to a UK hospital. Just another point, have you checked at National Archives, Kew, to see if his service records still exist. If he gained a war pension, due to wounds, there could be some archive material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royg Posted 10 January , 2006 Author Share Posted 10 January , 2006 The only record is his MIC. I found out about his wound from a copy of a letter that he wrote to the Ministry of pensions in 1928, applying for a disability pension. At the time he was discharged from the Army, the wound did not affect the job he was doing at the time but he 1928 he applied to become a bus driver and was turned down because the wound had affected the thumb and little finger of his hand. He had no use in them. Needless to say, he didn,t receive his pension but he did eventualy get a job as a bus driver. I have a postcard that he sent to his wife and it is a picture of Tipperary Barracks. On it he writes that he will be home soon. Can I assume that his was hospitalised there or sent there to convalesce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliff brown Posted 10 January , 2006 Share Posted 10 January , 2006 It would be worth finding out which units used Tipperary Barracks during 1918. It might be possible that he was in hospital there, but more likely a base for men about to distributed to battalions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royg Posted 10 January , 2006 Author Share Posted 10 January , 2006 Thanks for that Cliff Any ideas how I would go about getting that information. Kind regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliff brown Posted 10 January , 2006 Share Posted 10 January , 2006 It was the HQ of 16th Irish Division in WW1. Take a look at this site... http://homepage.tinet.ie/~tipperaryfame/barracks.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliff brown Posted 10 January , 2006 Share Posted 10 January , 2006 If you look on this site under Middlesex Regt.. it says... 20th (Service) Battalion (Shoreditch) Formed in Shoreditch on 18 May 1915, by the Mayor and Borough. July 1915 : attached to 118th Brigade, 39th Division. February 1916 : transferred to 121st Brigade, 40th Division.6 May 1918 : reduced to cadre strength. 31 May 1918 : transferred to 16th Division. 16 June 1918 : transferred to 43rd Brigade, 14th Division. 20 June 1918 : reconstituted by absorbing 34th Bn Perhaps your man was intended for 20th btn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royg Posted 10 January , 2006 Author Share Posted 10 January , 2006 Many thanks again Cliff, you,ve given me a few new ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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