Dave_oram Posted 2 November , 2007 Share Posted 2 November , 2007 I am still a newbie to the Great War research and I have a few queries from the Protection certificate and certificate of Identity for SJT G.D McCullen. George Drake McCullen was born in 1892, he served in the Queens Reg with the No T=2311. On his WW1 medals it is inscribed as T=2311 PTE G.D McCullen of the Queens R on his 1914 - 15 Star 2311 SJT G.D McCullen of the Queens R on his B.W.M & Victory medals. On his Protection and Identity certificate it states the following which is confusing me George Drake McCullen, 5th Unit, Regtl No 240573, Rank SGT, Regiment Q,R,W,S. Can anyone help and inform me why there are 3 different Nos (maybe T= Territorial) for George, does it mean that he moved Regiments or was it because he became a SJT? Was Q.R.W.S part of the Queens Regt ? What does M.E.F mean as a theatre of war? Sorry if you are now confused Any help appriciated. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonmate Posted 2 November , 2007 Share Posted 2 November , 2007 Dave QWRS = Queens Royal West Surreys ,the full title for The Queens ! MEF = Middle East Forces.if you take the reference to the 5th unit in your posting to be the 1/5th Battalion it was in Mespot from 1915 onwards,viz MEF. Soldier's number,I believe it would have changed from a Territorial 4 digit to the 6 digit re-numbering around 1917,it apparently happened in a few regiments,if not all. Best wishes Sotonmate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_oram Posted 2 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 2 November , 2007 Thank you for that information Sotonmate, I am most greatful to you. I can now get to work and see what I can find out about my McCullen's service. Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonmate Posted 3 November , 2007 Share Posted 3 November , 2007 Dave http://www.1914-1918.net/mesopot.htm Sotonmate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmccullen Posted 29 June , 2010 Share Posted 29 June , 2010 I am still a newbie to the Great War research and I have a few queries from the Protection certificate and certificate of Identity for SJT G.D McCullen. George Drake McCullen was born in 1892, he served in the Queens Reg with the No T=2311. On his WW1 medals it is inscribed as T=2311 PTE G.D McCullen of the Queens R on his 1914 - 15 Star 2311 SJT G.D McCullen of the Queens R on his B.W.M & Victory medals. On his Protection and Identity certificate it states the following which is confusing me George Drake McCullen, 5th Unit, Regtl No 240573, Rank SGT, Regiment Q,R,W,S. Can anyone help and inform me why there are 3 different Nos (maybe T= Territorial) for George, does it mean that he moved Regiments or was it because he became a SJT? Was Q.R.W.S part of the Queens Regt ? What does M.E.F mean as a theatre of war? Sorry if you are now confused Any help appriciated. Dave Dave I have just found your rather old posting regarding George McCullen and was wondering what your connection with him is. George was my grandfather. I do not have the documents you have referred to, but I do have a large amount of other interesting stuff. George was an amateur photographer and took a camera to the Middle East. I have his album containing many of his photos and also postcards he collected on his travels. There is even a pressed wild flower between the pages of this album - a flower that is nearly 100 years old. George seems to have been promoted to Sergeant after he saved a soldier from drowning in the Euphrates river. I have a certificate somewhere. I also have various studio photos of George in uniform with his family. If you are interested, please make contact. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiluwins Posted 29 June , 2010 Share Posted 29 June , 2010 Hi All Also coming late to this thread, I cant really add anything new, this all I have on George T- 2311 Pte McCullen George Drake 15 Trio Landed 10/12/1915 (5a) Disembodied 15/11/1919 Sold Ebay October 2007 15 Trio £67.10 As a collector of medals to The Royal West Surrey Regt I have a number of medal groups to men who would of served with George. Kevin by the sound of it you have quite an archive of items regarding your Grandfather it seems that a number of men took cameras with them to India & Mesopotamia I have seen similar photo albums in the past, I'd be interested to know if any of your Grandfathers photos are named or give locations, dates etc? Cheers Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmccullen Posted 29 June , 2010 Share Posted 29 June , 2010 Hi All Also coming late to this thread, I cant really add anything new, this all I have on George T- 2311 Pte McCullen George Drake 15 Trio Landed 10/12/1915 (5a) Disembodied 15/11/1919 Sold Ebay October 2007 15 Trio £67.10 As a collector of medals to The Royal West Surrey Regt I have a number of medal groups to men who would of served with George. Kevin by the sound of it you have quite an archive of items regarding your Grandfather it seems that a number of men took cameras with them to India & Mesopotamia I have seen similar photo albums in the past, I'd be interested to know if any of your Grandfathers photos are named or give locations, dates etc? Cheers Neil Dear Neil Thanks for making contact. The photo album contains over 200 original photos from arrival in Port Said to departure. All photos are labelled with place names, but very few dates, other than the occasional mention of the year, for example there is a photo of: "General Brooking presenting football cup at Nasiriyah, 1917" or "The railway, Nasiriyah completed Xmas 1916", or "Alaunia, coaling at Port Said 1914 - Royal George in background" Most photos are of places, local people or the camp and fellow soldiers. There are no photos taken during any action. I do not know if George was involved in any fighting. I am curious about your reference to medals. Are you saying that you have one of George's medals? I am new to this forum and made contact because my father (George's only son aged 85) found this thread whilst surfing the web. We are both wondering who would be researching George since there are very few family members who we are aware of. If you can enlighten us we would be most grateful. This is only my second posting so cannot send you a private message - if you can contact me directly I can email a sample of George's photos to you. Regards Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiluwins Posted 29 June , 2010 Share Posted 29 June , 2010 Hi Kevin I dont personally have any of the medals to your Grandfather George, but I do collect medals and items to his regiment for the WW1 period and have a number of groups of medals to men who would of served with your Grandfather. As part of my interested in the Regiment I have been working on my own database of men who served in the Queen's and this information "T- 2311 Pte McCullen George Drake 15 Trio Landed 10/12/1915 (5a) Disembodied 15/11/1919 Sold Ebay October 2007 15 Trio £67.10 " was taken from my database, I keep track as much as possible medals to the regiment that have been sold on the open market hence my note "Sold Ebay October 2007 15 Trio £67.10" I was not the buyer but i'm guessing from the original date of this thread that Wolves_Guy bought them back in 2007. I have keen interest in the Mesopotamia campagain during WW1 and have a small collection of photographs taken during this time by members of your Grandfathers Regiment, It is quite likley that your Grandfather would of seen action during his time in Mesopotamia the War Diaries for the 5th (1/5th Bn) The Queen's are online here 1/5th Bn War Diaries although they dont seem to be working at the moment they where fine a few days ago. I can also email you some basic information regarding their time in India & Mesopotamia during WW1, I will try and send you a (PM) message via the forum. I would be most interested to see some of George's photos they may well aid my research. Regards Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiluwins Posted 29 June , 2010 Share Posted 29 June , 2010 Hi Kevin The forum wont let me send you a message as you dont have enough posts Email me at: and i'll send you some information Cheers Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmccullen Posted 29 June , 2010 Share Posted 29 June , 2010 Hi Kevin The forum wont let me send you a message as you dont have enough posts Email me at: and i'll send you some information Cheers Neil Hi Neil Thanks for that. I will email you with some photos of George. I have not scanned the album pages as yet - the book is very delicate now - the photos are OK but the black paper pages are a bit crumbly! I will see what I can do to get to you as many pictures as possible over the next few weeks. Many thanks for your interest. Kind regards Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiluwins Posted 29 June , 2010 Share Posted 29 June , 2010 Many Thanks Kevin drop me quick email and i'll send you some info. (Once you have noted my email address i'll remove it from the open forum) Cheers Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_oram Posted 8 July , 2010 Author Share Posted 8 July , 2010 Hi Kevin, Nice to hear from a decendant from George Drake McCullen. I have done a little research on your grandfathes family which I will copy below for you just to check we have the same person. As Niel said I brought the medals of George D McCullen in 2007 1914-15 Star named to T=2311 pte G D McCullen The Queens R B.W.M Victory Medal named to 2311 sgt G D McCullen The Queens R George Drake McCullen was born 1891 in Maldon, Essex. His parents were William McCullen (b 1862 Ireland) and Elizabeth Jane Drake (b 1863 Maldon, Essex) they were married in Maldon, Essex in 1891. Before George enlisted in the Royal Engineers his occupation was a apprentice reporter for a newspaper, and he resided at 19 Bartlett Road, Gravesend, Kent, with his family. In the 1901 census George and his sister Ivy (b 1893 Maldon, Essex) were living with their parents at 5 Wing Field Road, Gravesend, Kent. The occupation of his father William McCullen was Coast Guard (sea) In the 1891 census William and his wife Elizabeth,were living at Mill Road, Coast Guard Building, Maldon, Tollesbury, Kent. George Drake McCullen married Caroline Smith in 1921, Gravesend, Kent. They had 1 son John Drake McCullen born 1925. At the moment there is not alot known about George Drake McCullen or when he enlisted in the Queens Regiment. On his protection certificate and certificate of identity a date of 18th October 1919, for his date of dispersal from the Q.R.W.S regiment, has been stamped. I will PM Neil with my email so you can contact me Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmccullen Posted 8 July , 2010 Share Posted 8 July , 2010 Hi Kevin, Nice to hear from a decendant from George Drake McCullen. I have done a little research on your grandfathes family which I will copy below for you just to check we have the same person. As Niel said I brought the medals of George D McCullen in 2007 1914-15 Star named to T=2311 pte G D McCullen The Queens R B.W.M Victory Medal named to 2311 sgt G D McCullen The Queens R George Drake McCullen was born 1891 in Maldon, Essex. His parents were William McCullen (b 1862 Ireland) and Elizabeth Jane Drake (b 1863 Maldon, Essex) they were married in Maldon, Essex in 1891. Before George enlisted in the Royal Engineers his occupation was a apprentice reporter for a newspaper, and he resided at 19 Bartlett Road, Gravesend, Kent, with his family. In the 1901 census George and his sister Ivy (b 1893 Maldon, Essex) were living with their parents at 5 Wing Field Road, Gravesend, Kent. The occupation of his father William McCullen was Coast Guard (sea) In the 1891 census William and his wife Elizabeth,were living at Mill Road, Coast Guard Building, Maldon, Tollesbury, Kent. George Drake McCullen married Caroline Smith in 1921, Gravesend, Kent. They had 1 son John Drake McCullen born 1925. At the moment there is not alot known about George Drake McCullen or when he enlisted in the Queens Regiment. On his protection certificate and certificate of identity a date of 18th October 1919, for his date of dispersal from the Q.R.W.S regiment, has been stamped. I will PM Neil with my email so you can contact me Dave Hi Dave Thanks for getting in touch. Yes, George was my grandfather and your research is pretty accurate. I have of late been compiling a McCullen ancestry document. You can see a couple of pictures of George's grandfather on the Coastguards of Yesteryear website. The reason I started the project was to archive the hundreds of photographs I have, mainly taken by George throughout his life. However, since my first post on this forum a few days ago, Neil has kindly contacted me and provided some information about the Mesopotamia campaign and I have been able to put George's wartime photos into context. I intend to collect as much information as I can so as to trace his movements between 1913 and 1919. George never talked about his experiences to me, or my father, and I am not aware that he kept a diary (strange for a reporter), so his photos are all I have to go on. I do have some postcards he sent home whilst billeted in the UK and from Egypt before he left for India. They give a little information. There are also dozens of picture postcards from his travels, mounted in the album with his own photos - as yet I have not removed these from their mounts to check to see if any were sent home at the time and have anything written on the reverse.. I do have a query which perhaps any one reading this might be able to answer. George took several pictures at Jammud and in the Khyber Pass. There is a photo of a group of soldiers in uniform. There is also a photo of a fort and a field gun. The pictures are not dated and I cannot find any references to any of the Queen's going to that area. Can anyone help? Dave, I will contact you privately - I have masses of stuff which I am sure you will find interesting. Regards Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny_doyle Posted 8 July , 2010 Share Posted 8 July , 2010 Hi Kevin, nice to see you on here as well as the Coastguards forum. Welcome. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiluwins Posted 8 July , 2010 Share Posted 8 July , 2010 Hi Kevin & Dave I am totally confused by the forum update, I have an email from the forum saying Dave has sent me a message but when I click on the link the message does'nt come up, i'll try again in the morning maybe the boffins are still working on the update. In my previous message to you Dave I did send you my email address if you wish to contact me via that in the mean time please do Cheers Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiluwins Posted 9 July , 2010 Share Posted 9 July , 2010 Sorry Dave I cant get the message you sent me to appear, i'm guessing its gone missing in the update of the sites software could you please resend either via PM or use my email address I sent you previously Many Thanks Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_oram Posted 9 July , 2010 Author Share Posted 9 July , 2010 Hi Neil, I have lost all my original messages after the site was updated. I also had a email saying I had a message from Roy Evans but I cant seem to find it. How do we now look at our messages as I seem to have lost them all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiluwins Posted 9 July , 2010 Share Posted 9 July , 2010 Hi Neil, I have lost all my original messages after the site was updated. I also had a email saying I had a message from Roy Evans but I cant seem to find it. How do we now look at our messages as I seem to have lost them all Hi Dave, Many Thanks tonight message has arrived, I have sent you a quick message back and forwarded your email address to Kevin Many Thanks Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmccullen Posted 15 July , 2010 Share Posted 15 July , 2010 Hi Dave, Many Thanks tonight message has arrived, I have sent you a quick message back and forwarded your email address to Kevin Many Thanks Neil Hi Dave, Neil and all interested parties, I would like to thank Neil and Dave for their help in returning George McCullen's medals to my family. They disappeared without trace very many years ago - in fact George's son (my father) cannot remember ever seeing them. Also returned is the Protection Certificate, still in one piece after nearly 100 years - how did they make paper so thin in 1919? I have read some old threads regarding the debate about medal collectors v museums and although I have no wish to re-open the discussion, from my point of view the fact that my grandfather's medals were in the care of a historian/enthusiast enabled their return to the family. This would never have happened if the medals had been locked away in a museum drawer somewhere. And the benefit works both ways - I have been able to supply a wealth of other material including copies of the 200 photographs taken by my grandfather in Mesopotamia which might never have seen the light of day. This is of course one of the main aims of forums such as this - to share information and thus to remember those who fought in the Great War and bring their stories to life. The return of grandfather's medals has re-kindled my interest in his war time experiences and with information received as a result of discovering this forum, I have managed to link grandfather's photographs to the progression of the Mesopotamian campaign as seen through his eyes - his arrival at Port Said, his training in India, his arrival in Basra and the push from Nasiriyah to Baghdad, Ramidi, Hit and beyond, then eventually back to Plymouth. Thanks again Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 20 July , 2018 Share Posted 20 July , 2018 Dear Kevin, Your grandmother Caroline Smith was my great-aunt. I have quite a lot of information about her family and one picture of your father John - leastways I think it is him -- but none of his parents. I stayed with her once as a child, presumably at Gravesend, and met her occasionally when she visited her native Wymeswold. I remember that on these visits she was accompanied by her son John.. I would be glad to hear from you and exchange information. Sincerely, David Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 20 July , 2018 Share Posted 20 July , 2018 (edited) This thread is 11years old and kevin has not been back since 2010 Edited 20 July , 2018 by johnboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 20 July , 2018 Admin Share Posted 20 July , 2018 David, you could try sending a private message to Kevin. You need to have made 2 posts before you can do this. If Kevin is still using the email address he registered with, it should get to him. I have edited your post to remove your email address, never a good idea to place that on a public forum. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 22 April , 2019 Share Posted 22 April , 2019 Fao David Smith, hi David I have some information on the McCullen family from the point of view of their Irish history as my grandmothers mother was Annie Jane McCullen from Kingstown South of Dublin. Get in touch as we are undertaking an expansive search for my Dad who is 91 and trying to make sense of his ancestry. Best V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now