GRANDFATHER

[THROUGHBRED]

Hello ,can anyone help ?,i am trying to trace information on my grandfather ,i have little to go on but hope some kind person can point me in the right direction .
His name is William Russell ,i believe he was with the leicstershire reg, he was at the western front ,again i believe with other men they lost there unit and were assigned to the artillery .i do know there was talk of him being with horses .i have been trying to find out about him for about 18months ,i presume his records could be amongst the ones that were lost ,as there seems no trace of him,any advice ,help would be most welcome. thankyou . chris .

[Peter Goodey]

William Russell was his full name was it? When and where was he born?

It always helps to know where you have looked.

There are four (at least) medal index cards for men named William Russell in the Leicestershire Regiment. You have checked them presumably.

Also there are two service records among the burnt documents. Have you checked those? There are also some pension records.

Have you read the Research Guide?

[THROUGHBRED]

Thankyou Peter ,I will look at medal records and pension records .

[Peter Goodey]

medal records and pension records .

and the Burnt Documents (WO363, called "British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920" on Ancestry.

[christanel]

Welcome to British-Genealogy Chris

Peter has given you a very thorough guide to searching for service records - he knows his stuff

I just wanted to say that if you don't have access to the ancestry site that a lot of libraries have it so yours may. If not then as Peter says, give us all the information you have on your grandfather eg: where and when born, parent's names and we can take a look for you.
If you want to take your search further back than his WW1 records and find out more about his family (your ancestors) our members like nothing more than helping others discover their family tree.

Christina

[THROUGHBRED]

Hello Christina .many thanks for your suggestions,it is only my grandfathers army records i cannot find,i am right up to-date with all his other records from his birth to death ,just that one missing piece of his jigsaw.
Peter was kind too ,i tried his suggestions as well but up to now how found nothing, and yes i have access to ancestry thankyou .
Iwill have to just keep trying .
christine

[Peter Goodey]

You haven't said much about him but don't forget that if he married or fathered a child during the war, the marriage or birth certificate might be quite informative about his regiment.

Also the absent voters list at the end of the war, it it has survived, might have details of his regiment.

[THROUGHBRED]

Hello ,i still have not found any record of my grandfather ,i think i have trawled through everything.
i am wondering if he was to old for service ,but there are to many family stories about him coming home not well ,suffered from gas and shell shock . i do have a photo of him in uniform ,i have sent it to photo expert but not sure if it was sent . he was born in leicstershire in 1874 ,that would make him 40yrs in 1914. his son joined up in 1915 aged 15 ,could it have been possible my grandfather also gave a false age ? all his children were born at this time ,the youngest ,my mother would have been 2yrs.
so marriage certificate only gave his employment as bricklayer .
thanks for your time peter . regards chris