DLI 15th Battalion 1 July 1916

[Sarah M.]

Hello,

I am researching my great uncle who was in the 15th service battalion of the DLI. He died on the first day of the Somme. Would it be worth my looking in the war diary for a Pvt? I am looking for Daniel Overfield, who as far as I can gather is not really mentioned anywhere (except at his grave at Gordon Dump). Generally speaking, what other information is out there about a low ranking undistinguished soldier? I have his service record, which I paid someone to copy for me, but it did not contain very much about him. Just a sad paper trail of letters from his widow.

What else should I be be looking for?

Thanks,

Sarah

[Bob Coulson]

Sarah,

In my experience private soldiers rarely get a mention in battalion war diaries.

Bob.

[SMG65]

Sarah

As Bob said, private soldiers rarely get a mention.

You can however through other sources build up a picture of his war career.

You say you have his service record?

What exactly do you have?

Do you have his medal card/medal roll. If you know what company he was in then you can build up a good picture of what he was doing. Do you have his SDGW record?

Have you contacted the DLI Museum, they have a website.

I have details on the actions of 15 DLI in the Great War however David Thompson can give you a much better picture, contact him on this site through the personal message system and he will send a copy of 15 DLI war record, tell him I recommended you.

Any problems, get back to me and Ill see what I can do for you.

Sean Godfrey

[Hambo]

Sarah

In case you don't have the SDGW info he is listed as Born in Yarm in Yorkshire, enlisted in Stockton and lived at Eaglescliffe and was killed in action

Hambo

[Sarah M.]

This is much more than I knew. Thank you for the help. In the service records, I have:

A list of medals in a letter about returning personal effects. It seems he received Victory Medal and the Brit War Medal. (Is that meaningful?) I have a barely legible casualty form which lists some injuries and eventually that he was MIA. Strangly, he is listed as wounded on 14-9-16, but his death is now recognized as 1 July. I have a page recording correspondance between his widow and the War office. There was a good deal of it and again it is hard to read the abbreviations. We have bits about requesting a will, requesting dock, dock returned... Anyone help on that? Then I have the short service record with "dead" scrawled across it in crayon or china marker, physical exam (he and I are the same size and weight), medical history, award of pension and list of relatives. That sounds like quite a lot doesn't it? I am just not sure how to create a picture out of this.

HOw do I find out which company he was in? And can you tell me what SDGW is and should I look at it for more information than the next poster offered? (Thank you, by the way)

Thank you all for your help.

I have been to the DLI website, but there is quite a lot there. I searched fo his name and had no luck with records or photos. Why would someone from Yarm enlist in Newcastle rather than York?

Thanks so much. Sarah

Sarah

As Bob said, private soldiers rarely get a mention.

You can however through other sources build up a picture of his war career.

You say you have his service record?

What exactly do you have?

Do you have his medal card/medal roll. If you know what company he was in then you can build up a good picture of what he was doing. Do you have his SDGW record?

Have you contacted the DLI Museum, they have a website.

I have details on the actions of 15 DLI in the Great War however David Thompson can give you a much better picture, contact him on this site through the personal message system and he will send a copy of 15 DLI war record, tell him I recommended you.

Any problems, get back to me and Ill see what I can do for you.

Sean Godfrey

[SMG65]

Sarah

First of all you need to go on the sister website of this Forum - The Long Long Trail.

This website is the holy grail to people with a Great War interest and will tell you how to research a relative.

The Medal Card can tell you if he served with other regiments and if he went to France before 1916 it will give an embrakment date. You can download it from the National Archives website for £3.50. However if he got two medals this could suggest that he went to France in 1916. His number I believe is 3/12604, this would suggest he was with 3 DLI,this was a reserve battalion in the UK, which sent drafts to where they were needed. 15 DLI had 450 casualties at the Battle of Loos in September 1915 and he may have been a replacement for this. 15 DLI had 119 men killed on 1st July 1916.

As for his records you can sometimes read them better if you can darken/lighten or enlarge them on a photocopier or a scanner, a magnifying glass can also be of help.

Failing that you can send a copy to me and I'll see if I can glean any further information from them.

I believe SDGW (Soldiers Died In The Great War) is also online now and you can download his record, if you have problems let me know and I'll send you a copy.

He lived in Eaglescliffe which is next door to Yarm and about a mile from Stockton where he enlisted, I don't know where you got Newcastle from.

Before you do anything Sarah go onto The Long Long Trail - things will become clearer.

Regards

Sean

[Sarah M.]

Thank you, Sean. Thanks also for spelling out what SDGW is. I have been making wild guesses for three days. I greatly appreciate your help and your deductive reasoning. I am amazed at how much information you experts can tease out of a few numbers. For example, he was indeed a replacement after the Battle of Loos.

Sarah

[ShirlD]

Hello Sarah

Not sure if you are still active on the Forum, but i wanted to let you know that I received a gift yesterday from UK, and it is a Somme 100 Commemorative Pin (The Royal British Legion), and a card that tells me the pin commemorates the life of Private D Overfield, 12604, Gordon Dump Cemetery, Ovillers La Boiselle.

I can picture clearly the battlefields there, as I visited the Somme  specifically last May, and I would like you to know that the next time we travel there, we will visit Gordon Dump Cemetery.

With regards

Shirley