Pte. Leonard Frank Joyce

[mvsdavies]

Hello,

I wondered if anyone can help me please with the dates I have for Leonard Frank Joyce? On the CWGC he is listed as a private who died 18th June 1918 and is on a panel of the Jerusalem Memorial.

At Langton Long Dorset he has an inscription on his brother in laws headstone which says 'Leonard Frank Joyce, Lc coprl CCOY. Brother in Law of the above. Missing in Palestine November 21st 1917 age 29 years'. He is also on the war memorial there as L. cpl.

Why would the date he was missing and his date of death be 6 months apart? As he doesn't have a grave would Nov be when his dog tags were found ? Also why would he be recorded as a private in Nov 918 but a L. cpl when he went missing in 1917?

Any thoughts gratefully received

Thanks

Michelle

[Dave Phillips]

Michelle

Not much to add I'm afraid:

From Soldiers Died in Great War CD Rom

Pte 230289 Leonard Frank Joyce

Dorset (Queen's Own) Yeomanry

Born: Anderton, Whitchurch, Blandford

Enlisted: Sherborne

Resident: Blandford

Died of Wounds

Egypt

18.6.18

Here is his medal card, but you have to pay £3.50!

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

As to the grave inscription I don't have a clue!!

All the best

Dave

[Northern Soul]

Michelle,

The only thing I can think of - and it ties in with him being commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial - is that he was taken prisoner by the Turks on 21/11/17 and died in captivity on 18/6/18. The location of his grave could not subsequently be identified - not uncommon PoW's of the Turks.

The Turks may well not have transmitted back the information that he was a prisoner and so his familiy believed him to have been killed on the earlier date. It could have been some considerable time after the war before the truth was established by which time his in-laws perhaps had died (what date did his Brother-in-Law die?)

Andy.

[mvsdavies]

Thank you very much Dave and Andy.

I will have a look at Leonard's medal card and thank you for the enlistment information.

Leonard Joyces' brother in law James Thomas Brown was buried at Langton 13th Feb 1918, the head stone says it was 'erected by their sorrowing wives'. The wives were sisters and also cousins of James Brown. If the head stone was ordered soon after James died that would have been 4 months before Leonard 's date of death.

I don't really know much about the war so thank you for the information about the Turks. I did watch Laurence of Arabia over Christmas and am sorry to say that is the extent of my knowledge

Michelle