WW1 RFA gunner WH Johnson help please

[Jomot1]

Thanks - I'd tried using Imgur but failed. Probably me being thick!

[christanel]

Its a bit of a convoluted way of doing it compared to how it used to be but like all updates there is usually a downside.
Christina

[Alpineted]

He attested May 1915 and posted to 171st Brigade as a Driver. I can’t see his later postings as the writing is very faint, but the subsequent references to D/170 would seem to mean D Battery, 170th Brigade.

The war diaries for the 170 Brigade Royal Field Artillery are available to download free of charge from the National Archives, but they are in several batches.

I’ve had a quick look at the entries for March/April 1918 and (very unusually) the diary lists the names of the wounded, including WH Johnson, who was wounded on 21st April “Shell Gas – Wounded”.

While there are mentions of the Germans firing gas, there are also regular mentions of D/170 carrying out Gas Shoots and Gas Bombardments, including on the 21st April.

The No. 12 General Hospital was at Rouen and was taken over by the US Army in June 1917, so this will be the reference to the 12 St Louis USA Hospital at Rouen.

Re #6 - Downloaded the war diaries for the 170th Brigade Royal Field Artillery.

Very interesting and enlightening. I note that several days before William's injury,there had been a meeting of brigade commanders regarding faulty shells and casings. I now wonder about the source of his injuries: German or British.

[Alpineted]

I’ve had a closer look at his service record, and listed after the 12 (St Louis) Hospital at Rouen is an admission to the 11 Convalescent Depot at Buchy on what looks like 27 April 1918. The war diaries for the Convalescent Depot show 651 admissions that day, versus a ‘normal’ number of 150/day, and although there aren’t any specific details it looks as though most were discharged to the base depot fairly quickly. https://discovery.nationalarchives.g...5814021a847b81

After that the writing is so faint I can’t really make it out, but there is mention of Coombe Lodge, which was a VAD Auxiliary Hospital at Great Warley, Essex.

With regards to Army form B104-81A, the only description I can see of his wounds is “Gas Shell Wound”, which mirrors the wording in the war diary at post #7. I don't see any mention of an explosion, or the word severe.

You also asked about him serving in both the MEF (8 Jan 1916-7 Mar 1916) and the BEF (8 Mar 1916-22 Jan 1919), and this may have something to do with him moving from the 171st to the 170th Brigade, but the writing on his records is too faint to be check. Both brigades moved from Egypt to France in March 1916.

I’ve had a very quick look at both war diaries, and 170th left Alexandria on 4th March 1916 and arrived at Marseilles on 11th March 1916.

The 171st left Alexandria on 1 March 1916 and anchored at Marseilles at 10pm on 7th March.

As William's records say his service with the BEF was from 8th March 1916, it therefore looks likely (but not certain) that he was still with the 171st at that point.

Reference #8
With regards to Army Form B. 104 - 81A., there are two of these on William's records (these are not duplicates of the same form) and image 0022 is clearer / more legible, showing "Gas shell wound severe".

Thank you for the information about Coombe Lodge. It is helping us build up a chronological record of William's service; we know when he attested, was injured, hospitalised at Rouen, and discharged from Dispersal Hospital Colchester. I have also seen an Army Form B. 200 which shows that he was transferred to class Z 1 month after he was discharged from hospital [Colchester].

1) Do you know, are there any avenues for research to find out his medical records from the time of injury [April 1918] to the date of his discharge from Colchester [February 1919]?
2) I note on his Protection Certificate and Certificate of Identity that there is an address for pay - does this mean that he was "pensioned off"? - If that was the case, do you know if pension records would be available for him please?

[Pam Downes]

By chance I saw this reference yesterday.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.g...tails/r/C10949

You'll have to read it properly, but it says some records are available on Findmypast.

[Jomot1]

To my knowledge there are no further medical records. The ones on FmP are from the National Archives reference MH106 and are a representative sample only, which is all that was retained. ADDED: Search is by name and/or number, but I cannot see any for William.

Hospital war diaries can be helpful but generally contain little information on a personal level.

The Pension records previously held by the Western Front Association are on Fold3, and I cannot see anything for William, unfortunately.

Im a little puzzled about his discharge though, as on one page it says Transferred to Class Z on 16 Mar 1919, but elsewhere it says he was on Home service until 31 Mar 1920.

There is no Silver War Badge, so he wasn't discharged on medical grounds, and a discharge to Class Z Reserves means he was liable to be called back up in the event that war broke out again, so he must have been considered fit enough.

[Alpineted]

Reply ref #15
Thank you Pam, I will have 'a good read'. Fingers crossed!

[Alpineted]

To my knowledge there are no further medical records. The ones on FmP are from the National Archives reference MH106 and are a representative sample only, which is all that was retained. ADDED: Search is by name and/or number, but I cannot see any for William.

Hospital war diaries can be helpful but generally contain little information on a personal level.

The Pension records previously held by the Western Front Association are on Fold3, and I cannot see anything for William, unfortunately.

Im a little puzzled about his discharge though, as on one page it says Transferred to Class Z on 16 Mar 1919, but elsewhere it says he was on Home service until 31 Mar 1920.

There is no Silver War Badge, so he wasn't discharged on medical grounds, and a discharge to Class Z Reserves means he was liable to be called back up in the event that war broke out again, so he must have been considered fit enough.

Reply ref #16
I am puzzled about his discharge as well. I recalled seeing somewhere in his records reference to March 1920 (so I am glad you mentioned it - I wasn't just seeing things), but cannot find it now.... I have not heard the term 'Home service' before (though most of the WW1 terms are new to me - as this is my first venture into this research), what did the term mean and typically who did this apply to and how was it applied please?

[Jomot1]

The 1920 reference is on the page after the one mentioning the 1919 demob and is headed Military History Sheet. It isn't very clear on Ancestry, but for ease of finding its image 169604.

Home / Home Service could mean many things, but in its simplest form it means they weren't abroad. A soldier would initially be 'Home' because he was in training, but he could also be Home in hospital etc. Some were 'Home' training the new recruits, and some battalions never served abroad at all but were used for home defence, particularly coastal areas.

However, I think I'm at fault for classing Demobilisation and Discharge as the same thing, which they weren't. This provides a better explanation: https://www.
longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/a-soldiers-life-1914-1918/demobilisation-and-discharge/

EDITED TO ADD: I see he's recorded as medical category A1 on his Protection Certificate, which means that he was assessed as medically fit.

[Alpineted]

The 1920 reference is on the page after the one mentioning the 1919 demob and is headed Military History Sheet. It isn't very clear on Ancestry, but for ease of finding its image 169604.

Home / Home Service could mean many things, but in its simplest form it means they weren't abroad. A soldier would initially be 'Home' because he was in training, but he could also be Home in hospital etc. Some were 'Home' training the new recruits, and some battalions never served abroad at all but were used for home defence, particularly coastal areas.

However, I think I'm at fault for classing Demobilisation and Discharge as the same thing, which they weren't. This provides a better explanation: https://www.
longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/a-soldiers-life-1914-1918/demobilisation-and-discharge/

EDITED TO ADD: I see he's recorded as medical category A1 on his Protection Certificate, which means that he was assessed as medically fit.

Thank you for longlongtrail website address which clarifies definitions of Demobilisation and Discharge for me.
I seem to be learning something new about WW1 each day on british-genealogy website - sincere thanks to all contributors who are helping me.

I think I would like to search Hospital war diaries (just in case there may be some individual patients' records) - any advice please on how to access these? And if for example they may be available for field hospitals, Coombe lodge and Colchester hospital?

I am still puzzled about William's Protection Certificate, as it is stamped 'Sick and Wounded' and yet you mention
medical category is recorded as A1.
It would seem to me that William remained 'sick and wounded' from his initial injury in April 1918 until he left the Army in March 1920, though from what you say (re category A1), he did not qualify for a pension. does that seem about right? I cannot find any mention of William in the 1921 census (I searched by name and last known address on FMP)and I wondered whether he may have still been in military hospital at that time?.... but I guess that is another 'worry' for another day!