Why can't I find them

[Megan Roberts]

I am also wondering if there is any way I can find out more about the theatre of war he was wounded in, and also about his time as a prisoner of war.
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I think that you would need to look for the war diaries of his regiment. Some of these have been digitised and are available on line, others are a work in progress and others are way down the pipeline.

This link will take you to the National Archives page - https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/f...t-war-diaries/

This page might help give you more information about PoWs - https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/r...stworldwar.htm

[ann255]

Out for evening, but last 2 messages have given me lots to research. Will report back tomorrow as to how I have got on.

[thewideeyedowl]

Good morning...

Very quickly because I am off out in a minute...have you checked out the threads on TNA in the Useful Online Sources Forum on BG? There you will discover about podcasts, how to search in the new catalogue and lots more.

Also, do go to the TNA site and investigate those podcasts and webinairs. One of the latest is on Unit war diaries/battalions/regiments etc, and there are lots lots more. Click around TNA and have a look at the Blogs, at the Research Guides, at Labs (experimental features in beta, including maps); and if you are happy with social media you can find and/or follow TNA.

And all this is free!!!!! Have a lovely day.

Owl

[ann255]

Posted a reply yesterday but it does not seem to have appeared!! Reported I had found the London Gazette with details of military medal awarded to Ernest Garrity, and also had some luck with the prisoners of war website. I have my man listed as prisoner at Giessen in Germany around late May 1918. 2 places mentioned are Hirson and Juvincourt. I have tried to attach a document snippet on here but seem unable to do so. As with all discoveries, along come a load more questions. Why did he get the MM, and also his brother to whom he sent a postcard informing him he was a prisoner is listed as 2/Lieut garrity, No 2 Stores Depot RAF, London yet I can find no trace of him?
On the NA site I have found that there are some diaries for the Royal Engineers, but how do I know which may be relevant. I know Ernest was in 490 corps.

[thewideeyedowl]

It looks as if you will find the Unit War Diaries here: https://discovery.nationalarchives.go...WO%2095%2F1699. And at least the one I clicked on has been digitised and can be downloaded for a small fee.

Let us know how you get on.

Owl

[Peter Goodey]

2/Lieut garrity,

What was his full name and date and place of birth?

[ann255]

Arthur Garrity born 1893 (possibly 14 Ross Street.) Rochester Kent. (Parents Arthur Garrity and Rosina (Rose)) By time of war father dead so next of kin ie mother, name now Etherton.

[Peter Goodey]

...2/Lieut garrity, No 2 Stores Depot RAF, London yet I can find no trace of him?

Here we go then...

In message #7 I think it was I suggested using the "Find guidance" link from the National Archives home page. That would get you to this research guide

Para 3.3 suggests a search you could try for RAF officers.

This would probably bring you to...

https://discovery.nationalarchives.go...ils/r/C1130440

which may well be your 2nd Lieutenant Arthur Garrity, RAF

[ann255]

I have received so much help, so thank you very much. Yes it was the correct Arthur Garrity and I shall be ordering from the NA what they have on him. Also I will be requesting the war diaries of the 490th RE.
I must persevere with the NArchive website, but as I said before I do find it a difficult site to navigate. I guess because it is new to me.

[thewideeyedowl]

Hi Ann

I can well understand how you feel about TNA - because that was me on my early visits (confused, inundated, yet realising that there was all this useful stuff there!). So it really is worth persevering with learning how to use the website.

For a start, have you followed up the leads I suggested in #13? You need to click on the Forum tab at the top of this page, then navigate down to Useful Online Sources; click on that sub-forum and you will come to lots of..er...useful online sources! At the top there are two stickies, one is about podcasts (started in 2007 but still going strong) and the other about searching with the new catalogue, which is called Discovery. Please read all the posts in the Podcast thread. The last two, posted a few days ago, link to new podcasts - one is on army musters, the other on Unit war diaries. They are free to download. You can view them on your own system as long as you have a media player, e.g. Windows Media Player. And I hope you will browse the podcast catalogue, because you are bound to find so much of use and interest there. The Discovery sticky links through to a recent TNA blog post that seeks to explain all the things you can now do within the catalogue, e.g. if you enter the name 'Arthur Garrity' you would also find listed any holdings about him in other archives nationwide. (I haven't done that search for you, so don't know if there is anything.)

Here are the links to get to those two TNA threads on the sub-forum, because I want to make quite sure that you will get there(!):
https://www.british-genealogy.com/thr...scovery-search

https://www.british-genealogy.com/thr...scovery-search

Hope this helps.

Owl