Pte. Edward DAYNES d.5/1/1920

[GnrEaton]

Hi all,

Have been a visitor to the forum for months but finally plucked up the courage to actually post, so here's my conundrum...

I'm researching the war record of my wife's great, great grandad Edward DAYNES who was born in Bradford in 1882. He enlisted into the army on 11th November 1915 (according to the Bradford Roll of Honour which is normally pretty accurate). He died on 5th January 1920 at his home of 42, Wootton St. Bradford and was interred in Bowling Cemetery.

The CWGC lists his death and because we still live in Bradford I have been to his grave - it is the typical headstone inscribed to his regiment the A&S Highlanders. His service number was S/27501 (confirmed on the headstone) and he served in the 14th battalion.

Unfortunately this is where it all falls apart. I can't find any record of him serving overseas - he has no MIC card even after looking for different spellings and doing a search for the same service number. We visited the A&S Highlanders Museum/Archives in Stirling whilst on holiday last year - his name is in the book of remembrance but they couldn't add any more detail other than letting us see the 14th's war diary. I've since been down to the records office for Bradford cemeteries and his internment record shows him as having died of 'wounds received in action' (or some similar wording). The one clue I haven't checked is his death certificate but I'm not entirely sure how useful that would be as he died over a full year after hostilities ceased. The bradford press has absoloutely nothing in the way of obituaries or remembrance notices.

Can anybody suggest what he might have been doing for the 3 years he was supposedly fighting even if he was stationed in the UK? Wouldn't he still be entitled to some form of medal at the end of it? Is there any way of seeing what he did because if he was in the 14th battalion then he should have gone overseas. Finally, his wife and also her second husband are buried in the same grave with him and 'tagged on' to the bottom of the headstone - is that common (I've done a fair bit of research in the past and have never come across this before)?

Many thanks,

GnrEaton

[Coldstreamer]

Hello

the death certificate might be worth a look. I have the medals to an officer who died in 1925 and his death (in an asylum I think from memory) was attributed to the war

Have you checked the local paper ?

MIC are not 100 % fool proof. There was an Edward Daynes in the Yorkshire Regt but he died before this so you can rule him out.

Ian

[Chris_Baker]

Here is his medal index card. They have him as Paynes.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...1&resultcount=2

[GnrEaton]

Many thanks for the replies guys, they've been of some use.

I've got his MIC now (finally!) but to no avail, it has no comments other than the units already shown (at least we now know he joined the Seaforths first - although I don't know why or how 'cos the family has no connection to Scotland). I've trawled the local press and cannot find anything at all. Looks like a death certificate might be the best bet - I'll start on that next. Any other ideas?

DAN

[auchonvillerssomme]

Try looking up Paynes, Edward. A&SH, on MIC. I always search on the service number. If it is him good luck.

Mick

[GnrEaton]

Many thanks - I'll keep going!