WW2 Veterans wife needs help on WW1 records

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, I hope that you can help me with some research that I am doing?

You have all read here about my friend Don Turner of the XXI IPC. His wife Olive, would like to find out more about her fathers WW1 service. She said her father never spoke of the Great War when she was a child. It was a taboo subject. She has his two medals, the British War Medal and the Victory medal.

His name was Pte. Albert Salmon. He served in the Suffolk Regt and his serial number was "3451".

So far so good.

This evening I sucessfully found his name in the Medal Card Index via the online records available from the National Archives. I paid the £3.50 fee and now have more info on him. It turns out he has 3 service numbers listed? The former I have already mentioned which is listed first; beneath this is "241057" with no Regt or Corps given but just a line which is under the Suffolks designation, then under there is "RE" for Royal Engineers and "WR 193359".

So can anyone confirm what Regt "241057" would apply to? It would appear to be a second Suffolks number? And why the "WR" prefix to his RE number?

I am not a WW1 buff, so please excuse any errors I might have made

Cheers and thanks in advance for any replies, Ade.

[rexmundi]

where can i find that medal card index?

Good luck on your hunt!

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Rexmundi, here you go: http://www.documentsonline.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

bear in mind it is for WW1 Medals only.

When I last looked at the site at the end of last year for my Grandad's medal entries, I was disappointed to find they were not listed But today I found they have been added so another £3.50 was spent. From the card I discovered one little scrap of info I did not already know. He went to France on 9/8/1915.

When you download the copy after paying the fee online, you will get the records you want, plus another 5 on the same page with men with the same surname.

Hope this helps?

Cheers, Ade.

[rexmundi]

Thank you, I was looking for info about a soldier from ww2 but I bookmarked the site.

[leigh kitchen]

241047 was part of the block 240001 - 265000 allocated to 5th Bn Suffolks under appendix 192 of ACI 2414 of December 1916, taking effect 1/3/17, during the 1917 renumbering of the TF with "long numbers".

Appendix 65 of ACI 381 allocated the block 175001 - 200000 to the Yorkshire Dragoons who were part of the Yorks (West Riding) TF Association, so it's tempting to link the "WR" prefix in there somehow - perhaps West Riding Field Company.

Appendix 1 to Army Order 338 of 1920 allocated the block 1 - 294000 to the Army Reserve, RASC, but I can't see that having much to do with anything as he was RE.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Leigh, that is very helpful thank you. I now know why he had a second number.

Cheers, Ade.

[leigh kitchen]

5th Suffolks:

10/8/15 Gallipoli
7/12/15 Mudros
19/12/15 - 1917 Egypt
1917-18 Palestine

[andya]

Hi
I think the WR on the RE could be for Roads and Quarries engineers or Waterways and Railways engineers.Taken from the Collectors guide by Howard Williamson
Regards
Andy

[Adrian Stevenson]

Thanks Leigh and Andy for the extra info


I think I am going to find the time to go down to the National Archives and go through the microfilm documents to see if I can find his service records. Don & Olive have been very kind to me over the years and I would like to repay this.

Cheers, Ade.

[Greeves]

Hi
I think the WR on the RE could be for Roads and Quarries engineers or Waterways and Railways engineers.Taken from the Collectors guide by Howard Williamson
Regards
Andy

Ade and Andy: I can confirm that the WR prefix is for the Royal Engineers - Waterways and Railways.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Geoff, thanks for the confirmation.


Tonight I have spoken to Olive on the phone. She has added some extra detail which she had not told me before. Her Father brought home a gold ring from the Great War. She was always told that it came from Palestine. This would tie in very nicley with him being a member of 5th Battl. Suffolk Regt

Cheers, Ade.