Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derbys) - Volunteer

[Guest Jason]

Desperately trying to find out a little more about my grandfather - Wilfred Massey, a volunteer who signed up with the Sherwod Foresters (Notts & Derby Regmt probably) in 1916 or 1917

I remember him telling me that he went to France - and thats all.

He was born in 1899 - and so would have been 17 or 18 when he joined up.

My Father and my Aunt don't know anything about his service record as he never spoke of it - it was a case of he's home safe - thats an end to it.

To possibly add even more confusion, He was living in the village of Pleasley at the time - which is on the Nottinghamshire / Derbyshire border - so I guess that depending on where he joined up (e.g. Mansfield or Chesterfield) would have a bearing on which battalion he was assigned to?

Any advice on how to go about finding information about him would be great.

Or if anyone has done all the hard work already and my grandfather's name has turned up - that would be even better!

Like I said, any advice or assistance would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Jason

[Andrew Hesketh]

Hi Jason,

You've come to a good place for Sherwood Forester questions. Lurking invisibly in the shadows are several enthusiasts who will undoubtedly ambush this question!

However a rather large problem needs to be confronted first.....

Given that your family's knowledge is limited, are you certain that he was a Sherwood Forester? It's just that the Medal Index Cards (MIC's) do not record a man by the name of Wilfred Massey having served abroad with the Sherwood Foresters. There's a Wilfred Mason, but that's the closest name. He may well have initially joined the Foresters but then been transferred elsewhere you see.

The MIC's record 8 Wilfred Massey's as having served. The full list can be seen here:

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

Presumably your man is one of these?

Is there anything else at all you can tell us of him, no matter how trivial it may seem?

[HERITAGE PLUS]

Was his first name Wilfred?

See:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...&resultcount=59

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...&resultcount=59

Dave

[Andrew Hesketh]

Good idea Dave.

[Guest Jason]

Guys,

Thanks for the input

His birth certificate just shows him as Wilfred - so yes, that was his first name - no middle name.

I've spoken to my father and he says he is certain it was the Sherwood Foresters, My Aunt agrees - she tells me that there was a photo of him in his uniform - she remembers seeing it fairly recently when sorting through some old paperwork - but it appears that the photo has now been lost / destroyed.

I suppose it's possible that he could have been transferred to another regiment after he enlisted - I guess all of the volunteers would have enlisted into their local battalion (as the recruitment drives were held locally by the "home" regiment - e.g. Sherwood Foresters for Nottingham) - but get transferred if they held some special skill or talent - eg. a blacksmith might enlist into his local infantry battalion and then be transferred to something like the ASC ?

I notice that there are four Wilfred Massey's on the medal card index - but the index cards don't give date of birth or other personal information - so how can I be sure which is my man ?