Royal Berkshire Regiment

[minoula]

Hi

I have tracked down my g.grandfather John Page using the 1919 Absent Voter's List for Birmingham, he is listed as

2498 Pte Royal Berks

I have checked the Medal Rolls and there are 2 possible John Pages though neither have the number given above. Could this number be incorrect - it does seem short

If so could anyone provide any help in tracking him down - he survived the war so the war graves sites are of no help.

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks

[Jonathan Saunders]

You could try contacting a chap called John Chapman I think, via The Wardrobe (Berks/Gloucs/Wilts Regiment Museum) - they may be able to help.

[Coldstreamer]

is the Bham AVL on line or in the library ?

[mac]

Send your enquiry to the Regimemtal Museum at Salisbury on www.thewardrobe.org.uk or post to the RGBW Museum, The wardrobe, 58 The Close, Salisbury Wiltshire SP1 2EX. They are shut up for Christmas at the moment. John Chapman has done a lot of work on the Regimental numbers and advises the Museum. The four figure number you have appears to be a Territorial number (but I'm not an expert).

Cheers

MAC

[minoula]

Send your enquiry to the Regimemtal Museum at Salisbury on www.thewardrobe.org.uk or post to the RGBW Museum, The wardrobe, 58 The Close, Salisbury Wiltshire SP1 2EX. They are shut up for Christmas at the moment. John Chapman has done a lot of work on the Regimental numbers and advises the Museum. The four figure number you have appears to be a Territorial number (but I'm not an expert).

Cheers

MAC

Thanks for the replies (sorry for the delay in replying I have been away for a few months)

I did contact John Chapman at The Wardrobe and he provided me with the following information:

The number 2498 could have been a territorial Series number. It was allocated to someone who volunteered in August 1914 but who left the regiment before mid 1916 when the renumbering to the 200,000 series was done.

If he were born in 1896 he could have been still under 18 when war broke out and have been chucked out or reclaimed by his family for being under age.

However on 11/12/1915 a John Page from Birmingham attested under the Derby Act and opted for the Royal Berks. He was 19y and 4 mo old and gave his occupation as stamper. He was called up 29/6/1916 and given the number 27133. He was posted to the 12th Royal Berks 4/7/1916 He would then have been transferred to the Labour Corps but we have no details of this.

However, I still cannot find his MIC; the 12th Royal Berkshires did serve in France and so I assume that he should have a MIC. I have also found out that this regiment became part of the 162nd/163rd Labour Companies in April 1917 - would he have changed service number?

Any ideas would be much appreciated as I seem to have hit a brick wall (apart from waiting for the service records to come online - sadly I don't have time for a trip to Kew )

Thanks again

[MelPack]

Hello minoula

There are at least six MICs for John Pages that served only with the Labour Corps in the theatre of war:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...Spec=score+desc

Service with any previous unit is not included so any one of them could have been the John Page that John Chapman pointed you towards. Although that John Page was posted to the 12th Royal Berks for training, he probably entered the theatre of war after the formation of the Labour Corps in April 1917.

If you contact Ivor Lee via this link: http://www.geocities.com/labour_corps/ , he will be able to tell you the block numbers of the Labour Corps for the 162nd and 163rd LC Companies that the 12th RBs became - you can then match the numbers with the MICs.

The alternative is that the AVL service number that you found is just plain wrong (not unusual). In which case, there is a MIC for a R Berks and Labour Corps John Page.

Regards

Mel

[MelPack]

By the way, the only John Page who appears in the actual Medal Rolls of the RBs is Pte John Page 25529 who served with the 5th and 2nd Battalions.

He was awarded the SWB. Enlisted 4/12/15 and discharged 29/10/18 as a result of wounds.

Regards

Mel

[MelPack]

Minoula

Some further thoughts.

The 2498 number is plainly wrong. The only Territorials holding four figure numbers by the time the AVL was compiled had long been dead. As far as I can recall the information for the AVL came from the men themselves in about April/May 1918.

I am sure that your gg knew which regiment he was in - so that will leave you with one of the three R. Berks MICs for John Page. My favourite would be 25529 but you cannot entirely exclude the other two because a late 1918 transfer to the R.Warks or the Labour Corps respectively could have occurred after the AVL information had been submitted.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...mp;mediaarray=*

The only way to be really certain is to establish whether the service papers have survived.

An alternative is to order copies of the original MICs from here:

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...showtopic=67598

You have your gg's address from the AVL so one or more of the MICs may have an address reference written on the back.

Regards

Mel

[minoula]

Thanks all for your advice - it explains why I am getting a little lost. I will follow up on the links posted and let you know if I find out anything more.

Thanks again

[minoula]

is the Bham AVL on line or in the library ?

Sorry I forgot to say in my last reply - the Bham AVL is on microfilm in the central library - free to use but book a machine or get there early.

[minoula]

Update

I managed to find John's service record on Ancestry which answers some of my questions.

He enlisted with the 12th Royal Berkshires on 29.6.1916 with the number 27133; but was discharged as he was deemed 'not likely to become an efficient soldier' - he had one leg shorter than the other.

He re-enlisted with the Royal Berkshires on 15.6.1918 and was given the number 43423. There is no further information after this, and there is no MIC for this number either.

Could anyone provide any information on which battalion he would have joined - can I find this out from his service number?

I assume that the batallion was a labour corps (or similar) as he was deemed unfit for active service, though his medical says that he was 'fit for labour abroad'.

thanks again

[MelPack]

Minoula

What was the full name of your GG? I ask simply because the MIC for John B Page has the RB service number of 45333 which is sufficiently close enough to 43423 to be a transcription error.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...p;resultcount=3

The RB 40000s have no discernible pattern of Battalion affiliation.

Regards

Mel