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  1. #1

    Default Trying to identify uniform and regiment

    This is the only photo I have of my grandfather in uniform and I know nothing of his army service. It is during WW1 as I can age it from his young daughter in the photo. He was from Tavistock in Devon but I cannot find a service record for him. He was George Henry Morris, born 1884. I would be very grateful for any suggestions please.

  2. #2
    Super Moderator christanel's Avatar
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    Default

    Welcome to the British-Genealogy forums.
    If you came to us from Forces War Records reading this will tell you a little about us.
    Because 60% plus of WW1 records were destroyed by bombing/fire in WW11 it is a very lucky person who finds their ancestors record.. Medal Roll Index Cards and Award and medal records did survive but these very rarely carry any snippet of information. These are online at ancestry and Findmypast both of which are licensed to hold the records and are pay per view sites. Your local library may have the free library version of one of them.
    So more often than not if we can identify the correct person by their Medal Roll indec Card and find their Regiment and regiment number we can only use the relevant war diaries on The National Archives site to gain some idea of their activities during the war.
    I'll see if I can find anything definite for him.
    Christina
    Sometimes paranoia is just having all the facts.
    William Burroughs

  3. #3

  4. #4

    Default

    Hi
    I now it’s blurred but you can make the outline of the badge and it looks a bit like the Devonshire Regiment Cap Badge, search on line for photographs for this badge

    Peanut

  5. #5

    Default

    Thanks Peanut. I've already been down the Devonshire Regiment route and contacted them but they don't have any records and said that the badge wasn't clear enough for them to confirm it is theirs.

  6. #6
    Super Moderator christanel's Avatar
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    Hi
    I have now included the link in my post #2 which explains our connection to FWR. Sorry about that.

    I can't find a service record for your George Henry Morris although there are others - wrong ages, wrong birth places.

    Unfortunately I can't sort him out from the 12 George H Morris's in the WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls either and none of them were in the Devonshire regiment. There are 55 Medal Roll Index Cards for George H Morris none of which are in the Devonshire regiment.
    He may also have enrolled without using his middle name which makes finding him even more complicated.
    Then there are the 12 George Henry Morris's on the Medal Roll Index card records. Again none in the Devonshire regiment.
    You can discount this one as his medal card has an address in Harringay London on the back
    George Henry Morris
    Regiment or Corps: Royal Garrison Artillery, Royal Garrison Artillery, TMB
    Regimental Number: 92143, 92143, 92143

    Discount this one as someone has added a correction to his name George Henry Hedges Morris
    George Morris
    Regiment or Corps: Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
    Regimental Number: 13844

    I am sorry we can't be of more help.

    Is it possible to crop the badge in the photo and make it a little bigger without being fuzzy and post it on here so some of our clever members can try to identify it?
    Christina
    Sometimes paranoia is just having all the facts.
    William Burroughs

  7. #7

    Default

    Thanks for all this. I'll try your suggestion about cropping the badge and if it is reasonable I'll repost it.

  8. #8
    thewideeyedowl
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    Default Army Service Corps?????????

    Hi Devon 54 and a very warm welcome to Brit Gen....

    I think there might be some clues in the background info you have given us - the fact that your grandfather was born in 1884 and that he had a young daughter.

    The Derby (or "Group") Scheme for voluntary enlistment was introduced in 1915. You can check out the details on The Long Long Trail website. Basically, men who had not already enlisted were divided into "Groups" according to age, marital status and dependents. The oldest Group was, I think, for men born in 1875 - so if they were married and had children they were near the bottom of the list. Whereas a young single man, born in the 1890s and with no dependents, would have been near the very top of the list.

    My own grandfathers, born in 1878 and 1884, both enlisted under this scheme. By this stage in WW1, new recruits were assigned to regiments/corps wherever the need was - and a man with a specialist skill, e.g. being able to drive, might well be assigned to the Army Service Corps. (My 1878 grandfather had been a coachman then a chauffeur, so his ability with horses and cars meant that he was assigned to the ASC and worked in Mechanical Transport.)

    My guess is that something similar might have been the case with your grandfather. What was his job before the War? The photograph suggests a rural background. Did he work on a farm? Was he perhaps a farrier? (Farriers were usually assigned to the ASC to shoe all the horses.) So I suggest you dredge up as much info as you can about his background - you can check him and the family in the censuses for free on FMP until 8 February - and read about the ASC on The Long Long Trail.

    Let us know how you get on, but now I'm off to roost.

    Owl

  9. #9
    Famous for offering help & advice peter nicholl's Avatar
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    I'm with Owl, the badge looks like the ASC. There are a lot of pictures available.
    Peter Nicholl
    Researching:Nicholl,Boater, Haselgrove & Vaughan

  10. #10

    Default

    Hi thewideyedowl,
    Thanks for your help. I didn't know about the Long, Long Trail website so that is a bonus. From that I reckon my grandfather would have been in group 37. He didn't work on the land but worked in the family business with driving, originally horses and also carpentry. I'll look up the ASC next.

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