Paul Dahl Posted 27 November , 2007 Share Posted 27 November , 2007 Greetings from the states! My grandfather, Oscar Wallace Measom, Private, MGC, Regiment number 121758, served in WWI. He passed on in 1977 and we never knew anything of his actual service other than he was a machine gunner and was hospitalized for trench foot. I obtained the above information from his MIC, but further leads as to where he served is pretty sparse. O.W. Measom had emigrated to the states in 1912, but whenthe war broke out, he returned, joined the British army and fought in the war. After the war was over he returned to the states and eventually became a U. S. citizen and lived the rest of his life there. He never talked about the war. In his later years, he lived in my boyhood home and occasionally would moan loudly in his sleep and was unable to awaken himself. We would have to go in and softly shake him, then he would wake up, thank us and go back to sleep. I didn't know it then but now recognize it as PTSD, his wartime service haunted him the rest of his life. He was born in Southend-on-Sea, England on 9 January 1885. As to where and when he enlisted is unknown. I'd be very greatful to anyone that could enlighten me as to how to find what regiment he served in so I can research the battles and get a better understanding of what this dear, kindly man went through to appreciate him deeper. Thank you! Best Regards from a Colonial Friend! Paul Dahl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 27 November , 2007 Share Posted 27 November , 2007 Welcome to the Forum, Paul. Some of the MGC started in the infantry and then were transferred to the MGC His MIC may give us a clue- if you could pop up a picture on this "thread" some of the experts may be able to help you Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dahl Posted 27 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 27 November , 2007 Stephen, Thank you for your kind reply. I have not yet been able to send a screen shot of the MIC due to some technical difficulties. The MIC is pretty blank, it shows he received the Victory Medal with the following information on the Victory line: "MGC101B78"; Page: "5934". The British Medal line shows: "do." and again "do." I understand the do is "ditto". As you said, maybe someone more familiar with MIC's can interprete this. Again, thank you for your help! Respectfully, Paul Dahl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 28 November , 2007 Share Posted 28 November , 2007 The Machine Gun Corps number dates to around about October 1917 if that is any help. He is likely to have had a reasonable amount of training before then and would probably have been available to go to the Front, c. December 1917. Can't help with the Company however. Sorry. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dahl Posted 28 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 28 November , 2007 Steve, Thank you very much for your information. Every little tid-bit helps to flesh out Grandad's service. I'll continue the search, probably will never get the whole picture, but at least I'll have a better understanding of what he went through. Warmest Regards, Paul Dahl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonmate Posted 11 January , 2008 Share Posted 11 January , 2008 Paul I looked at the Medal Roll at Kew yesterday in the hope that there would be a unit,but unfortunately there wasn't. The roll is WO329/1753. The only remarks on it are: "Class Z 8.5.1919" a discharge reference. Best wishes Sotonmate PS I have a digipic of the Roll,so if you want it please send e-mail add. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copper Posted 12 January , 2008 Share Posted 12 January , 2008 Hi Paul, You may be interested to know that the Machine Gun Corps Old Comrades Association is still alive and well. It is now made up of people who had a relative in the Corps or who are interested in the subject. I'm sure that if you contact them they may be able to give you some more information or point you in the right direction. You can write to them here: MGC/OCA Penfro 111 Main Street Pembroke SA71 4DB Kind regards, Phil Knight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 17 January , 2008 Share Posted 17 January , 2008 Hi Paul, You may be interested to know that the Machine Gun Corps Old Comrades Association is still alive and well. It is now made up of people who had a relative in the Corps or who are interested in the subject. I'm sure that if you contact them they may be able to give you some more information or point you in the right direction. You can write to them here: MGC/OCA Penfro 111 Main Street Pembroke SA71 4DB Kind regards, Phil Knight Here are 2 links that I think you may find of interest: http://www.machineguncorps.co.uk/ http://www.machinegun.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ 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