MIC help please!

[tradguide]

I think I may have found the correct MIC for my grandfather, Robert Edwin Wallis, but cannot be sure.

From his marriage certificate I know he was a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, address in France, when he came back home to East Yorkshire in June 1917 to marry. My uncle says he had 3 medals but no-one I've spoken to knows what happened to them.

On the card, his regiment number is 58917. Please does this tell any of you company/division/ trade etc that may help me to find out what he did during the war?

Also, the date at the bottom left looks like: 1 - 6 75. Am I right to assume it's 15 and not 75?

Is the only way to find out more about his life in the army to go to Kew or pay a researcher or is there anything else I can do, maybe online?

Any help or advice would be appreciated as I've only just started on this. Thanks.

JayB

[welshdoc]

1/6/15 date of entry to theatre of war, should have 1915 star , war and victory medals. Sapper he dug things maybe mines etc. Number will not help much . Gareth

[MelPack]

Hello Jay

It is often very difficult tracing the path of someone in the RE.

It may be worth engaging a researcher to establish whether the service records still exist in WO 363/364.

If not the Medal Rolls (they are the references by the medals) may provide the details of a unit - again a researcher can look those out for you.

Another source of information could be the Absent Voters List for the constituency which might contain a unit refernce.

It would also be worth posting the detail on the marriage certificate - what is the 'adddress' in France?

Regards

Mel

[Stebie9173]

You sometimes can tell what unit a man was first posted to from his number, but not that often.

R.E. Medal Rolls will more often than not, not give you a unit for the R.E.

Nevertheless, I shall have a look at the list I have later.

A Sapper could have done many things - dig trenches, build bulidings, be a signaller, drive trains or construct railways (both light and standard ones), sail or maintain barges, to name but a few.

Steve.

[tradguide]

Hello Jay

It is often very difficult tracing the path of someone in the RE.

It may be worth engaging a researcher to establish whether the service records still exist in WO 363/364.

If not the Medal Rolls (they are the references by the medals) may provide the details of a unit - again a researcher can look those out for you.

Another source of information could be the Absent Voters List for the constituency which might contain a unit refernce.

It would also be worth posting the detail on the marriage certificate - what is the 'adddress' in France?

Regards

Mel

Hi Mel

Thanks for your help.

I have been looking at the thread about Absent Voters List this morning but as yet I'm not sure where to find it, I need to ring some local libraries.

As for his address in France, that's all the marriage certificate says, 'address in France', it doesn't say where. So that doesn't help.

Regards

JayB

[tradguide]

You sometimes can tell what unit a man was first posted to from his number, but not that often.

R.E. Medal Rolls will more often than not, not give you a unit for the R.E.

Nevertheless, I shall have a look at the list I have later.

A Sapper could have done many things - dig trenches, build bulidings, be a signaller, drive trains or construct railways (both light and standard ones), sail or maintain barges, to name but a few.

Steve.

Hi Steve

Thanks for replying. If you do find anything on the list you have I'll be very grateful.

JayB

[Stebie9173]

I've had a look at the list I have. Most of the 57000 numbers can be narrowed down to units, but the 58000s are more varied, so I can't hazard a guess, I'm afraid.

Sorry,

Steve.

[tradguide]

I've had a look at the list I have. Most of the 57000 numbers can be narrowed down to units, but the 58000s are more varied, so I can't hazard a guess, I'm afraid.

Sorry,

Steve.

Thanks for looking Steve.