pandabean Posted 15 November , 2007 Share Posted 15 November , 2007 I have been doing a bit more of the family tree and I have found another couple of possibles. One being Sjt Peter Stevenson of St Ninians, near Bannockburn Stirlingshire. He is listed on the Bannockburn war memorial and this got me thinking so i tried to find if he fitted in with my Stevenson family and there is a possible who was born around 1894 to Peter Stevenson and Margaret Stirling. Doing a search on the 1901 census only reveals two Peter Stevenson's in Bannockburn & St Ninians. After doing a quick search on the CWGC I found his record: Name: STEVENSON Initials: P Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Serjeant Regiment/Service: Royal Field Artillery Unit Text: "C" Bty. 106th Bde. Date of Death: 07/06/1917 Service No: 541 Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Enclosure No.4 I. F. 23. Cemetery: BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY I was wondering if anyone had any more information on him or even the action in which he could have been killed. Also does anyone think that I am trying to clutch at straws trying to put this person with the person in my family? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rflory Posted 15 November , 2007 Share Posted 15 November , 2007 As you indicate, 541 Sjt Peter Stevenson, RFA was born in Bannockburn but he enlisted at Glasgow. Dick Flory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandabean Posted 15 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 15 November , 2007 Thanks for the confirmation. I have now done a search on all Peter Stevenson's born in Bannockburn and there were four in total. One born in the 1870s, which would make him 50 years of age in the war. The others were born around 1902 & 1906 and my relation born in 1893. Now to find out if he appears in the local newspaper. As you indicate, 541 Sjt Peter Stevenson, RFA was born in Bannockburn but he enlisted at Glasgow. Dick Flory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battiscombe Posted 17 November , 2007 Share Posted 17 November , 2007 106th Bde was in action at Zillebeke (Ypres area) at the start of an offensive (Battle of Messines) on 7th June .. there is a published diary by the brigade commander Ralph Hamilton .... with a map showing Battery positions at that time .. .7th June "at exactly 3.10 am Armageddon began ......" he mentions casualties in A Battery that day .. including 3 serjeants .. nothing specific on other batteries 'The War Diary of the Master of Belhaven' is the book - pretty much day by day account of Hamiltons time with the Brigade from when he joined in mid-May 1917 .. david Sjt Peter Stevenson Unit Text: "C" Bty. 106th Bde. Date of Death: 07/06/1917 Service No: 541 I was wondering if anyone had any more information on him or even the action in which he could have been killed. Also does anyone think that I am trying to clutch at straws trying to put this person with the person in my family? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandabean Posted 17 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 17 November , 2007 Thanks David. That now pins down the action that Sjt Stevenson was in. I am guessing with his very low service number he was involved quite early on in the war? Are there any online archives of photos of the 106th Bgde? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battiscombe Posted 17 November , 2007 Share Posted 17 November , 2007 The low service number is a bit unusual I suppose ... most of the regulars who went to France in 1914 had numbers in the range 1-80,000 ...(most war time soldiers then had higher numbers..) they had been using an ongoing series of numbers over the pre-war years so numbers around 35000's signed up january 1905 , 45000's in 1907 etc ... 65000's in 1910 ..etc etc -- -- but there are other number series being used, for example from pre-war territorial units which are often low..; which might explain where he got his number from ... Photos of units are hard to find .. and no public source of them as far as I know .. for individuals I get the feeling that local pictures often carried photos of local casualties .. david Thanks David. That now pins down the action that Sjt Stevenson was in. I am guessing with his very low service number he was involved quite early on in the war? Are there any online archives of photos of the 106th Bgde? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandabean Posted 18 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 18 November , 2007 David, I checked out his MIC and he went to France on the 29/8/1915. I too was a bit curious about the number. I did know that lower numbers tended to be from the start of the war and higher as the war went on. A number as low as 451 has got me puzzled. As far as I know he wasnt a territorial. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battiscombe Posted 18 November , 2007 Share Posted 18 November , 2007 29 August 1915 was when the 24th Division troops were crossing to France - Major Hamilton describes his trip over on the 31st August with the 108th Brigade (he was then with them) .. about the last of the division to cross to France, he said.. I also note another Stevenson with the same number on another medal card - whic seems a little strange - then renumbered to 655167. ... Medal card of Stevenson, William Corps Regiment No Rank Royal Field Artillery 541 Gunner Royal Field Artillery 655167 I checked out his MIC and he went to France on the 29/8/1915. I too was a bit curious about the number. I did know that lower numbers tended to be from the start of the war and higher as the war went on. A number as low as 451 has got me puzzled. As far as I know he wasnt a territorial. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandabean Posted 18 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 18 November , 2007 Could that possibly be explained when one soldier changes Regiment? However this William seems to have changed service number within the same regiment. There is a difference in ranks though. William is a Gunner and Peter is a sjt. Could it be that William changed to 655167 for some reason and Peter took that place? 29 August 1915 was when the 24th Division troops were crossing to France - Major Hamilton describes his trip over on the 31st August with the 108th Brigade (he was then with them) .. about the last of the division to cross to France, he said.. I also note another Stevenson with the same number on another medal card - whic seems a little strange - then renumbered to 655167. ... Medal card of Stevenson, William Corps Regiment No Rank Royal Field Artillery 541 Gunner Royal Field Artillery 655167 I checked out his MIC and he went to France on the 29/8/1915. I too was a bit curious about the number. I did know that lower numbers tended to be from the start of the war and higher as the war went on. A number as low as 451 has got me puzzled. As far as I know he wasnt a territorial. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battiscombe Posted 19 November , 2007 Share Posted 19 November , 2007 Gunner William's ... change of number is not unusual as a lot of territorials (who tended to have sub-1000 numbers I gather) were renumbered later in the war to 6 figure numbers; I was merely struck by the coincidence of shared numbers but presumably the odds are not so long (if both in units bearing 1-1000 numbers) ... while the christian names are different, MICs commonly juxtapose first names (and soldiers often avoided using one or other christian name, for whatever reason..) or even get them wrong .. I would guess that William Stevenson was a territorial, then renumbered .. I would still see a possibility of Peter St having been a Territorial once .. I was just looking at a CWGC list from a cemetery where all the 3 figure gunners were from ex-London Territorial Brigades .. maybe worth thinking about, but I don't know how easy it was to transfer to a New Army unit .. Could that possibly be explained when one soldier changes Regiment? However this William seems to have changed service number within the same regiment. There is a difference in ranks though. William is a Gunner and Peter is a sjt. Could it be that William changed to 655167 for some reason and Peter took that place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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