Question: If Joined Up In England but from Canada

[shelleyv]

My grandfather joined the British Army in England. He was a British Home Child, sent from England to Canada. When WW1 broke out he jumped a sailing ship ,working for his passage to England to join up in the army. He was a Farrier. My question is would his war records be registered in England as a British solder or would he be registered with the Canadian Solders? We have no war records of him so How would I go about searching for them? He had at the time a sister living in England, Manchester area. Could he have joined up in the area. As of now I cannot find any records of his sister Jenny Brown (Ogden) in the census.
My Grandfathers name is Henry Brown , Born April 13 1891 Manchester. I'm at a loss as to know where to begin.
Thank you to you all
Shelley Vercillo formerly Brown

[Geoffers]

My grandfather joined the British Army in England. He was a British Home Child, sent from England to Canada. When WW1 broke out he jumped a sailing ship ,working for his passage to England to join up in the army. He was a Farrier. My question is would his war records be registered in England as a British solder or would he be registered with the Canadian Solders? We have no war records of him so How would I go about searching for them?.....My Grandfathers name is Henry Brown , Born April 13 1891 Manchester.

If he joined the British Army, then his records are/would have been held in England at The National Archvies (TNA) at Kew. The problem is that the majority or Army Service Records were damaged/detroyed by fire following eneny bombing in WW2.

An alternative place to begin is The National Archives (TNA) Documents Online

http://www.documentsonline.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

The medal rolls for the Army in WW1, held by TNA in class WO100, as slowly being put online. Todate all entries up to and including those names beginning with 'T' are included. The index can be searched free, you pay to view the medal roll.

The medal roll will include name, rank, regt/corps and regimental number. Also Datae of entry into the war for which he will qualify for the medal and medals granted.

The problem now is the name Henry Brown, which I would guess will throw up several hundred matches. Did he by any chance have a middle name as well, by which you might at least narrow down the number of hits?

The medal rolls for the Army in WW1, held by TNA in class WO100, as slowly being put online. Todate all entries up to and including those names beginning with 'T' are included. The index can be searched free, you pay to view the medal roll.

The medal roll will include name, rank, regt/corps and regimental number. Also Datae of entry into the war for which he will qualify for the medal and medals granted.

The problem now is the name Henry Brown, which I would guess will throw up several hundred matches. Did he by any chance have a middle name as well, by which you might at least narrow down the number of hits?

Going back to service records. If your grandfather was injured and medically discharged, you stand the best chance of finding a service record in document class WO364 at TNA. I believe that this series was not destroyed in WW2. For other soldiers who were killed or discharged at the end of the war, you need to look at class WO363. These records ar not online, you either need to go to Kew in person or employ someone on your behalf.

Records for those who received disability pension are indexed on TNA website in 'The Catalogue' http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
On the above website, you'll see a red band near the top of teh screen with a series of titles which are links, select 'Search our Collections' and then 'The catalogue. You need to seach under the name in field 1 and in the last field enter PIN26 (this is the class containing thse pension records). If you find a receference which you believe relates to your grandfather, then you can apply online for a copy of the record.

If you get confused at all by using TNA website, I recommend reading the helpful advice scattered about the website under obvious links. In your case, on teh home page of teh above URL, look across to teh right of the screen where it says 'I'm interested in.....' and select 'military history' and read from thereon...

Good luck

[shelleyv]

Hi My Grandfather did not have a middle name. As for metals I do know my Grandfather had these but were stolen years ago. Upon looking him up in Kew I found only one, just, Henry Brown: Corps Suffolk Regiment, Regiment Rank No. 63647, Rank private. It's a long shot. He also was a "Old Contemptable" In his later years he was to go to England to receive a metal from the Queen. Of course he could not go at that time. It was in regards to being an "Old Contemptable". He did recieve a Burnt Pension? I don't know alot about this. He did have to apply to obtain it? My Grandfather also belonged to The Royal Canadian Legion. Being that he died in 1983 his records are no longer stored there in the local Legion he went to.His legion No. is 12370557. Where do I search for these?
So many questions,
Thank you,
Shelley

[Geoffers]

[He did recieve a Burnt Pension? I don't know alot about this. He did have to apply to obtain it?]

This may well be in the PIN26 records on TNA website that I mentioned

[My Grandfather also belonged to The Royal Canadian Legion. Being that he died in 1983 his records are no longer stored there in the local Legion he went to.His legion No. is 12370557. Where do I search for these]

I can't help you here. I found the following website for the Royal Canadian Legion, http://www.legion.ca/asp/docs/home/home_e.asp there maybe someone there you can ask for guidance? Are there any photos in local papers mentioning him at any ceremonies or memorials? - these sometimes mention a regiment/corps.

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire

[shelleyv]

Hi, Thank you again for the information. The info concerning the PIN 26 was very informative. I contacted Kew re email and received a packet of information to search. Very expensive and no guarantee. I also emailed the head of our Canadian Legion hopefully that will give me something. To search I need a regiment number (for Kew) and that is my sole problem at this point I have no Information!!!!
ShelleyV

[Mary Young]

Hi, Geoffers
Thanks for all these pointers, I am lucky to have my dad (John Lewis)'s army no.412154 so found a "medal card" reference by just searching on the number.
But he was a WWI double amputee and had a war pension till death 1948.
A search on his name and "PIN26" found only a John Lewis with dates in 1930s. Should I assume this is someone else altogether, and just abandon the search? I know a lot of these records were lost in WWII.
Mary Young

[Geoffers]

Hi, Geoffers
Thanks for all these pointers, I am lucky to have my dad (John Lewis)'s army no.412154 so found a "medal card" reference by just searching on the number.
But he was a WWI double amputee and had a war pension till death 1948.
A search on his name and "PIN26" found only a John Lewis with dates in 1930s. Should I assume this is someone else altogether, and just abandon the search? I know a lot of these records were lost in WWII.
Mary Young

Apologies for delay in replying - I've been away for a week and am just catching up. There is the obvious problem in hunting for names that occur quite frequently and I would imagine there are several on file of the John Lewis, whih can't help searching for information. It's been a good few years since I searched army records, but somewhere in the recesses, I can recall that there is a file PIN71 with selected personnel files for disabled soldiers and sailors - but I can't remember the covering dates for this and don't have a note in my card index, sorry. Another thought is to possibly try teh mass of records held in the Paymaster General Series at Kew, they all have the prefix PMG and include files for disability retired pay, gratuities, widows' pensions, childrens' allowances, etc, etc. A search of TNA's online catalogue using PMG in field 3 may suggest some types of documents worth looking at for more information.

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire