World War One Centenary and FTF

[gloryer]

I still haven't worked out how to add birth, death, marriage etc ...................what I have been doing is adding "Personal Knowledge" and an image of any document proving the details I have added. That is the best I can do I'm afraid.
Bit of a shame really because many people I am sure would like to add to this website but will be put off by the navigating difficulties.

They "went live" today according to an E-mail I received - I thought they were already "live". However, it has made no difference to my difficulties on the site.

Sue

silly me I just atrarted a new thread about this site. Only found it today. Seemed like a good idea to jpin but I cant seem to add births deaths and marriage dates. They just seem to want to upload copies of certificates

[HTSCF Fareham]

Joseph Thomas (34), born Durham
Private 26688, Lincolnshire Regiment, 2nd (Garrison) Battalion
Attested 14/09/1914, Shiney Row, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear
Discharged 23/10/1917 (disability attributed to gas poisoning at Ypres, France on 19/12/1915)
Address on discharge: 14 Gertrude Street, Grasswell, Houghton

Wife - Isabella Sherwood, married 1903 at ??? Church

Children -
Henry b.20/06/1904 (Hetton)
Barbara b.01/06/1906 (Shotton)
Robert b.05/08/1911 (Houghton)
Norman b.??/09/1913 (Houghton)

Enlisted 15/09/1914 into Durham Light Infantry at Sunderland

Private 26688 Lincolnshire Regiment - Transferred to class "W" army reserve on 27/07/1916

Sorry, should check my onw typing before posting. Ypres in France? I think not! Try Belgium! :o

[HTSCF Fareham]

Joseph Thomas (34), born Durham
Private 26688, Lincolnshire Regiment, 2nd (Garrison) Battalion
Attested 14/09/1914, Shiney Row, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear
Discharged 23/10/1917 (disability attributed to gas poisoning at Ypres, France on 19/12/1915)
Address on discharge: 14 Gertrude Street, Grasswell, Houghton

Wife - Isabella Sherwood, married 1903 at ??? Church

Children -
Henry b.20/06/1904 (Hetton)
Barbara b.01/06/1906 (Shotton)
Robert b.05/08/1911 (Houghton)
Norman b.??/09/1913 (Houghton)

Enlisted 15/09/1914 into Durham Light Infantry at Sunderland

Private 26688 Lincolnshire Regiment - Transferred to class "W" army reserve on 27/07/1916

[HTSCF Fareham]

Durham Light Infantry, 14th (Service) Battalion

Formed at Newcastle in September 1914 as part of K3 and came under orders of 64th Brigade in 21st Division. Moved to Halton Park, going on to billets in Maidenhead in December 1914 and then back to Halton Park in April 1915. Finally moved to Witley in July.
11 September 1915 : landed at Boulogne.

[HTSCF Fareham]

So I had another look at Joseph and I've realized something, they've got him down in 2 Regiments:

• Service: British Army
• Corps/Regiment: Durham Light Infantry
• Rank: Private
• Service No.: 16867

• Service: British Army
• Corps/Regiment: Lincolnshire Regiment
• Rank: Private
• Service No.: 26688

Surely it's got to be a mistake though? The small amount of online work I've found shows the DLI one only and the grave that was sent to me also has the DLI logo on it.

Or is this a different Joe?

I've checked Joseph Thomas on Forces War Records and can confirm that he is one and the same and did serve in both regiments under those service numbers.

Durham Light Infantry, 14th (Service) Battalion (Listed as "Wounded" on the Casualty List issued by the War Office from the 29th December 1915).

[Stonehenge Maid]

Unfortunately men had different numbers at different times whilst serving. Originally regiments gave their men individual numbers but it was then discovered during WW1 that there were several men with the same number which made indentity difficult and caused logistical problems. Eventually in 1920 a number was given to each soldier which was to be his own unique number wherever he went either a different regiment or postings etc. There is interesting information here. http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/?s=soldiers+renumbering
and here http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/?s=soldier+numbers

[Lin Fisher]

http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/rollofhonour/RecordedNames?Search

Just found this site and hope it might be of use to someone.

Lists the people who died in WW1 and commemorated on a Nottingham War Memorial either in a church, work place or club.

Found 4 of mine and only knew about where one was commemorated before.

Good Luck

[Caroline]

I reckon they've done what they intended - basically uploaded the people with medal cards which means that even if nobody adds to their page at least they are there. Must have been a massive transcription effort for them. Then there are four years to carry on uploading other sets and adding people who have fallen through the cracks.

[Sue1]

It seems to me such a shame that this WWI Website has been, or appears to have been, put together with not enough care (and I am not blaming any one organisation). It would, of course, have been better if it had been started years ago not suddenly thought of at the brink of the centenary BUT a) better late than never and b) couldn't have started it successfully much earlier because older people in particular, who are most likely to have memories of relatives (or stories) who took part in WWI were not computerised and research websites were not as well developed.

I do hope (and I obviously won't be around to see it) that the organisation of the centenary for WW2 is organised well in advance and "ready to go" at the time it should be. I suspect the Webmasters who took this WWI project on may be suffering a few regrets at the moment - I am sure it will sort itself out in the fullness of time but I do hope the lessons learned will be carried on for any WW2 commemoration.

Sue

[Caroline]

Both my Tompkins brothers who joined up with Percy stayed in the Essex Yeomanry, but both had two numbers as did the fourth in their group, Harry Eve. None of them stayed in after the war.

[Sue1]

I E-mailed them about the 5 people, 2 with completely different names and different regiments, and the answer received was that it is possible for more than one person to have he same number, even in the same Regiment - that is a new one on me!

I think it is possible that a number was changed if you changed Regiment but I have no idea when that stopped - certainly, in this day and age (which, admittedly, is 100 years later) you enter the army with a number and it doesn't matter where you go, your number will remain the same. I was also told these numbers were only designated in 1920 for pension purposes - my chap had his card from 1914, so that cannot be true and as far as I am aware he left the army in 1920 and did not have a pension. Don't know how he got the number in 1914 if they only started in 1920 ..................is someone trying to fob me off I wonder! I agree with you that this website needed more thought and testing before it went "live" but in fact it was beta until only a few days ago.

Sue

[AntonyM]

Men being moved between regiments to fill gaps, especially after heavy casualties, was something that regularly happened. I have just been looking at one man who was one of 370 men who went from the Lincolnshire to the Kings Own Royal Lancasters in October 1916. In such cases, men were issued with a new number, which should be reflected on their service record/medal roll index card.

[Caroline]

I have an example of one with 4 different corps and 4 different numbers:

https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/2906152

[Percy D Manning in case the link won't work!!]

[Elaine ..Spain]

Used your suggestion and there's only 1 J Thomas DLI Casualty that has the matching Grave number to the one I was given. There's 1 for Lincolnshire but he's not a Private and he has an extra name.

Sarah - sorry, it does appear to be to be the same person! I was thinking with different regiments and different reg.nos., that they were probably two different people!

If you check the medal card on Ancestry you will see that Joseph Thomas was initially in the Durham Light Infantry, regimental no. 16867 - and then in the Lincolnshire Regiment, regimental no. 26688

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/1262/30850_A001541-02249/4964390?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3findiv%3d1%26MS_AdvCB%3d1%26db%3dMedalRolls%26rank%3d1%26new%3d1%26MSAV%3d2%26msT%3d1%26gss%3dangs-d%26gsfn_x%3dXO%26gsln%3dthomas%26gsln_x%3dXO%26_F0003FD8%3d26688%26dbOnly%3d_F0003FD8%257c_F0003FD8_x%252c_F0003FD9%257c_F0003FD9_x%26_F0003FD8_x%3d1%26_F0003FD9%3dlincolnshire%26_F0003FD9_x%3d1%26uidh%3dpb3%26pcat%3d39%26fh%3d4%26h%3d4964390%26recoff%3d10%26ml_rpos%3d5&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord

[lennon2011]

Such a nightmare Sue, personally I think that they should have spent at least a year or 2 setting up the site with the correct details before having the trial and final version of the site like we would have done in a Web Authoring assignment in college.

[Sue1]

My chap, W. G. Foster 12391 is on 3 times in his own name - once as a QM, once as something else and once as Walter Gordon Foster - all the same regimental number [Walter Gordon is NOT his name - he was William G] but this error is known about and the medals on there designated to him were all issued in the correct name and regimental no.
To make it even better, there are two other people with the same regimental number (that now makes 5) - they do not have the same name - 2 of the five are in different regiments!! I thought perhaps the numbers were Regiment specific and the same numbers could occur in other Regiments - the first three are correctly Royal Fusiliers and give him at different ranks. However, when I visited TNA years ago and went through the MICs there was only one for him - the one that gave his name incorrectly as Capt Walter Gordon Foster!!! I have only just found the last one on the site and have, therefore, added what I am able to, to one of the previous W.G. Foster ones ...............I am incredibly confused. I understand there is a blue question mark that you can use to link duplications together - it just directed me to send them a message - I have.

Sue - getting more confused by the minute!

[lennon2011]

Used your suggestion and there's only 1 J Thomas DLI Casualty that has the matching Grave number to the one I was given. There's 1 for Lincolnshire but he's not a Private and he has an extra name.

[Elaine ..Spain]

With a different regiment and a different regimental number, then I would think these refer to two different people.
Probably worth checking both entries on the CWGC site.

[lennon2011]

So I had another look at Joseph and I've realized something, they've got him down in 2 Regiments:

• Service: British Army
• Corps/Regiment: Durham Light Infantry
• Rank: Private
• Service No.: 16867

• Service: British Army
• Corps/Regiment: Lincolnshire Regiment
• Rank: Private
• Service No.: 26688

Surely it's got to be a mistake though? The small amount of online work I've found shows the DLI one only and the grave that was sent to me also has the DLI logo on it.

Or is this a different Joe?

[Sue1]

Yes, they did Beta test until I got the notification that it was "live" today! I also understood that access to some records i.e. BMDs, I thought, would be free (a kind of loyalty thing for joining early while they were testing I think I read) but they are not - you either buy credits or have a membership (membership to what quite I don't know!) As I mentioned before, a lot of us already have paid for the information for our own Trees and I am certainly not going to pay again but cannot upload BMDs from my Tree to their website in the way they would like i.e. via a paying website. I do not want to start a membership with ancestry yet as I am I the long process of transferring one Tree to another........that, however, is my own problem BUT they either want the information on their website or they don't although I do understand they want "proof" for the information added. I am adding it under "upload an image" where I can add birth and marriage (but not death certificate in this case - it is well documented what happened to him) but although I have found two brothers of W.G. Foster on there, both of whom died in WWI, I am afraid I am not going to do any more - I have just clicked on the "remember" button of his brothers and left it at that ...................quite sad really.

The thing that annoys me in particular is that just over a year ago, because his service records were lost (burnt I imagine) and his Home Guard records were also lost and not with MOD and he was quite well known, I decided to put, with a lot of hard research, his record together again - I got the War Diaries of the Royal Fusiliers, I scoured the London Gazette etc and many more places and finally completed it - I offered a copy to the Imperial War Museum because I knew that in the past they had been looking for his record and the family had been approached for photos etc. (Also I was approached for a picture of him in Home Guard Uniform (the MOD) because they wanted to put it on the wall of the new Landforces HQ in ?Basingstoke to represent the HG - they were using a photograph from each of the land based services.) The Imperial War Museum grabbed my history of his war with both hands by the way...................I sort of feel I am wasting my time banging my head against a wall with the website they have now set up.

Sue