Hi again, I just re-read your post and my dad always talked about being in the Machine Gun Corp. He told us stories as children how he used to shoot over the German's heads because he did not want to kill anyone. Complete rubbish and just the sort of thing you would tell young impressionable children. When we were older he told us about killing his first German soldier. He said he was terrified and ran him through with his bayonet. He then searched the dead man's clothing and found a tin of beans which he opened with the same bayonet and ate them while sitting on the corpse. I have been trying to research myself but I am not very good at it. I have noticed an inconsistency in the serial numbers of his records. One medical report says that the heart condition he suffered with was brought about by an incident in November 1916. The month may be a mistake as this was during his AWOL period when he joined the Merchant Navy but it still leads me to believe that he was injured on the Somme in Sept 1916 and that was the reason he was sent back to Liverpool. My dad's story does fit around the available facts but I can not find the documents to prove it. The medical records also say that he only had 297 days of service. Even if we go by the records we have he was in the army for nearly three years