Mister Loco Posted 18 October , 2006 Share Posted 18 October , 2006 Could someone assist me please? My Grandfather, Edmund Foreman, joined The Buffs on 29/06/15 service number 5788. I have his medal card which also says he served in The Suffolks, service number 62101. I have a photo of him wearing his Buffs cap badge and another one of him wearing his Suffolks badge so the medal card is correct. I also have his three medals stamped East Kent Regmiment 5788. He was discharged on 27/01/19. How did he get from the Buffs to the Suffolks? Would an entire company or battalion of The Buffs been transferred as, maybe they were in the same division? Would this help me find out which East Kent regiment he enlisted into? I've been to Kew but his records seem to be among the ones destroyed in WW2. I've just bought a book entitled: Historical Record Of The Buffs 1914-1919 which I plan to read through. Is his Buffs service number of 5788 a clue as to which regiment he enlisted into? Any help given would be much appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 18 October , 2006 Share Posted 18 October , 2006 hello the medal rolls at the NA might give a Btn number - did you try them ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Loco Posted 18 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 18 October , 2006 hello the medal rolls at the NA might give a Btn number - did you try them ? Excuse my sorry lack of knowledge but is the medal roll different from the medal cards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 18 October , 2006 Share Posted 18 October , 2006 hello dont apologise medal rolls look like this - I ll post one in a minute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 18 October , 2006 Share Posted 18 October , 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 18 October , 2006 Share Posted 18 October , 2006 this is an example of a coldstream gds 14 star roll - details seem to vary hugely between regiments - the 14 star roll of the CG is great but the 15 star roll not as good and the victory even less so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Loco Posted 18 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 18 October , 2006 this is an example of a coldstream gds 14 star roll - details seem to vary hugely between regiments - the 14 star roll of the CG is great but the 15 star roll not as good and the victory even less so! Thanks. I'll follow this up pronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 18 October , 2006 Share Posted 18 October , 2006 keep us informed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunners dream Posted 18 October , 2006 Share Posted 18 October , 2006 Could someone assist me please? My Grandfather, Edmund Foreman, joined The Buffs on 29/06/15 service number 5788. I have his medal card which also says he served in The Suffolks, service number 62101. I have a photo of him wearing his Buffs cap badge and another one of him wearing his Suffolks badge so the medal card is correct. I also have his three medals stamped East Kent Regmiment 5788. He was discharged on 27/01/19. How did he get from the Buffs to the Suffolks? Would an entire company or battalion of The Buffs been transferred as, maybe they were in the same division? Would this help me find out which East Kent regiment he enlisted into? I've been to Kew but his records seem to be among the ones destroyed in WW2. I've just bought a book entitled: Historical Record Of The Buffs 1914-1919 which I plan to read through. Is his Buffs service number of 5788 a clue as to which regiment he enlisted into? Any help given would be much appreciated. Thanks. Hi there, To answer some of your other questions. It was not un-common to train in one regiment and then find yourself posted to another. I have seen evidence of this with the Buffs where a number of North Staffs did their basic training and then went to France. 2 days after they got there they found themselves in the 7th Battalion the Buffs. Does the MIC have a date that went to the front? On it will have theatre and number and date therein at the bottom left of the card. If he went to the front in 1914/15 it will record the date and this is a big clue as to what battalion he was in, although that might denote the Suffolks. However, if he went to the front in 1916 it probably won't. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Loco Posted 19 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 19 October , 2006 Hi there, To answer some of your other questions. It was not un-common to train in one regiment and then find yourself posted to another. I have seen evidence of this with the Buffs where a number of North Staffs did their basic training and then went to France. 2 days after they got there they found themselves in the 7th Battalion the Buffs. Does the MIC have a date that went to the front? On it will have theatre and number and date therein at the bottom left of the card. If he went to the front in 1914/15 it will record the date and this is a big clue as to what battalion he was in, although that might denote the Suffolks. However, if he went to the front in 1916 it probably won't. Steve Thanks Steve. The card says Theatre of War Served in 1 - France?? Date of entry therein 29/06/15 Is this the date he joined the army or date he went to France as I always assumed it was the former?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 19 October , 2006 Share Posted 19 October , 2006 1a is indeed France (and Flanders) - its the date to France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Loco Posted 19 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 19 October , 2006 Thanks very much. Off to Kew next week!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted 20 October , 2006 Share Posted 20 October , 2006 As he was transferred from the Buffs, he doesn't appear on their medal rolls. Therefore I can't tell which Battalion he served with. Although there is some connection between number and battalion for early enlistments, you should never make assumptions. There are men with adjacent numbers who stayed with the Buffs so he wasn't part of a block transfer. I can tell you that he enlisted in the 2nd week of February 1915 and that his number should be prefixed with a G Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Loco Posted 20 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 20 October , 2006 As he was transferred from the Buffs, he doesn't appear on their medal rolls. Therefore I can't tell which Battalion he served with. Although there is some connection between number and battalion for early enlistments, you should never make assumptions. There are men with adjacent numbers who stayed with the Buffs so he wasn't part of a block transfer. I can tell you that he enlisted in the 2nd week of February 1915 and that his number should be prefixed with a G Mick Thanks very much for this Mick. I'd planned to go to Kew next week to look at the medal rolls however, I'm a little unlear as to what information I'll find. Are there rolls for each regiment ? Do medals always show the regiment a soldier first enlisted into and not necessarily the one he finished the war in ?? Does his Buffs service number tell you that he enlisted in Feb 1915 ??? Will the Suffolks medal rolls tell me anything ???? Sorry for all these questions but I'm a novice amongst experts. Regards. Ralph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted 20 October , 2006 Share Posted 20 October , 2006 Ralph To answer your questions; Yes, each Regiment / Corps will have its own medal rolls. The rolls will show each Regiment / Corps they served with although some of them do not show which Battalion, etc. The Buffs rolls show which Battalion but I don't know about the Suffolks. Its definitely worth a look. It is the service number that is the key to enlistment date (until conscription is introduced). Let us know how you get on Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunners dream Posted 23 October , 2006 Share Posted 23 October , 2006 This is his MIC. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...resultcount=140 So the number corresponds to the Buffs. I'll have a look at a book I have that lists dates of when Battalions went to France. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted 24 October , 2006 Share Posted 24 October , 2006 Steve He joined to late to be in one of the original Battalions to go to France; the 8th arrived on 31/8/1915. Hopefully the rolls will tell you which Bn Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Loco Posted 24 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 24 October , 2006 Steve He joined to late to be in one of the original Battalions to go to France; the 8th arrived on 31/8/1915. Hopefully the rolls will tell you which Bn Mick Thanks folks. Going to Kew on Thursday of this week and dragging my wife along for assistance. Regards. Ralph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunners dream Posted 25 October , 2006 Share Posted 25 October , 2006 Thanks for that Mick, I'm not stating that he joined early, I'm merely showing everyone the numbers on the MIC so that you can see the difference in service numbers. My Great Grandfather was in the 8th Buffs, landing on the 31st Aug 15 and took part in the terrible events at Loos on the 25/26 Sep 15. With regards to the Buffs landing in theatre. This list comes from 'Locations of British Cavalry, Infantry and Machine Gun Units 1914 - 1924' by Robert W Gould. This lists where the Buffs lamded initially and not where they went afterwards. I am also quoting directly from the text which originally listed the battalions by theatre, and not country unless otherwise stated, hence the reason I have put France/Flanders etc. 1st Battalion France/Flanders 10/11 Sep 14. 2nd Battalion France and Flanders 17 Jan 15, detrained at Hazebrouck 21st Jan. 4th to Aden 2 Aug 15. 5th to Mespot 6 Dec 15. 6th to France/Flanders 2 Jun 15. 7th to France/Flanders 27 Jul 15. 8th to France/Flanders 31 Aug to 31 Sep 15. 10th to Egypt 1 Feb 17. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted 26 October , 2006 Share Posted 26 October , 2006 My Great Grandfather was in the 8th Buffs, landing on the 31st Aug 15 and took part in the terrible events at Loos on the 25/26 Sep 15. Steve He was lucky to get through that one. It maddens me when TV documentaries generalise by saying that Kitchener's army first went into action on 1/7/1916 when clearly a lot of them had seen some dreadful fighting many months before Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Loco Posted 26 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 26 October , 2006 Thanks again for everyone's help. We went to Kew today and found Grandad Foreman on the medal rolls. He was in the 2nd Battalion Buffs regimental number 5788 and then the 12th Battalion Suffolk Regiment number 62101. I read on this excellent website that the 2nd Buffs were posted to Macedonia and maybe this was a posting too far for him and prompted his transfer to The Suffolks?? He arrived in France on 29/06/1915. Maybe the 2nd Buffs were already there? If anyone has any more information on these battalions, or where he may have fought, I'd love to hear. Regards Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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