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Is anyone knowledgeable about the WW1 War Diaries on the National Archives website?

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  • Is anyone knowledgeable about the WW1 War Diaries on the National Archives website?

    I wanted to find out more about relatives who were killed in WW1 by looking at the war diaries, while they are free on the National Archives website.

    One of my 2 x great uncles - John Wright Gibbons - was listed on the Register of Soldier's Effects (Ancestry) as being in the "1st/6th Btn of the Highland Light Infantry" and died of wounds on 28.09.1918.

    Also on Ancestry, the British Army WW1 Medal Rolls and the Service Medal and Award Rolls have him listed as "Btn II 2/High L.I." and "2nd H.L.I. and 6th H.L.I." respectively.

    How do I know which battalion he was in?

    Any knowledge very gratefully accepted.
    :D Charney Jo

  • #2
    CJ, unless your relatives were officers there is virtually no chance that they were mentioned in a war diary. Further the war diary mainly consists of movements from place to place, references to actions the unit was engaged in and, in general the number of casualties occurred during such action.
    It would appear that at some stage your relative was transferred from one unit to another, a not uncommon occurrence.
    If you are very lucky you may come across his service documents of which only about 30 percent survived enemy bombing in WW2 which destroyed the archives.
    Whoever said Seek and Ye shall find was not a genealogist.

    David

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    • #3
      Ah, OK, thanks. No, he wasn’t an officer.
      :D Charney Jo

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      • #4
        John Wright Gibbons 21602 served in both the 2nd and the 6th Highland Light Infantry, and as he is listed in the Soldiers Effects as being in the 1/6th then that will be who he was serving with when he died. I have checked their diary and, as expected, there is no mention of him.

        He is stated to have died at the 19th Casualty Clearing Station, which was at Boisleux au Mont, so I checked that War Diary too as occasionally some of these list the names of men who died, but unfortunately there is again no mention of him. Sorry.

        If you want to download the diaries anyway, for the 6th HLI you want WO 95/2898/3 and for 19 CCS you want WO 95/414/5,



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        • #5
          Thanks so much teasie. I didn't know the CCS had diaries. Good to take a look even if they don't mention him.
          :D Charney Jo

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          • #6
            Paul has written about the CCS in his blog this week https://www.familytreeforum.com/foru...aring-stations
            Carolyn
            Family Tree site

            Researching: Luggs, Freeman - Cornwall; Dayman, Hobbs, Heard - Devon; Wilson, Miles - Northants; Brett, Everett, Clark, Allum - Herts/Essex
            Also interested in Proctor, Woodruff

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            • #7
              Just read that cbcaroline, thanks. Very interesting.
              :D Charney Jo

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