Cross referencing

Of the approximately 150 men who I believe to have transferred to the 9th Devonshire Regiment, only one service record survives. However it is still possible to view their entries on the medal rolls, and the smattering of Silver War Badge entries. Additionally, one among their number subsequently joined the RAF, and has some service details also available to view online.

Cross referencing this gives us a little more information, but also throws into question my assumption that Grandad was initially in the KSLI before being transferred to the Devonshires. I have factored all this into his entry.

Grandad - More Information Comes to Light!

Thanks to the newly launched Herefordshire History website, I have found some important information on my Grandad's military service which confirms the fact that he was conscripted no earlier than 1st September 1917.

I have also discovered where he was working at the time, and what his job was, and have edited his page (see the right hand panel) accordingly!

John Lee Price - his page updated

I have updated the page dedicated to my great uncle John Lee Price.

Thanks to the Government Probate office's website, I have obtained a copy of his will, which gives us more information on which regiment he was serving in during 1918.





I have also found mention of him in a newspaper article from 1924, which reveals that his wooden grave marker was among 90 that were brought to England and erected at Cheltenham Cemetery for the dedication ceremony of the Cross of Sacrifice.

In a way then, John finally returned home.

Alfred Hill and the Derby Scheme

A very small, but nonetheless interesting update. After trawling through old copies of the Hereford Mercury I have discovered that my great uncle Alfred Hill attested under the Derby Scheme, and is listed in the paper as such.

Grandad at the Sambre

After downloading the war diary of the 7th Brigade from the National Archives, I've found a map of their section of the Battle of the Sambre, 4-8th November 1918, which shows the dispositions of the battalions (including the 9th Devonshires).

Comparing this with the 9th Devonshires' war diary gives us a better idea of their part in the battle, so I've put a copy up on to Grandad's page.

John Lee Price, wounded in 1917

I've updated the page for my great uncle John Lee Price today, after discovering a reference to him being wounded in a 1917 copy of the Gloucester Journal.
This gives us a clue as to where could have been during that time, and the battle it is possible he was wounded in.
If my theory is correct, then this proves that some details in his medal roll are wrong. A visit to the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum and a chat to their very helpful archivist has further strengthened my belief in this.

Grandad in 1919

Thanks to the National Archives I now have a copy of the diary of 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry for 1918-19.

Assuming I'm right in believing that grandad joined this battalion in 1919, this enables me to get a picture of his duties during his stint in the Army of Occupation.

I have updated his page accordingly - http://myfamilyww1.blogspot.co.uk/p/walter-th.html

Alfred William Bevan Hill

A new entry up today, detailing my findings on my great uncle (by marriage to my grandfather's sister) Alfred Hill (link on the right).

Sadly my grandfather was somewhat estranged from his sister and her family and I knew very little about them, so I am grateful to Alfred's granddaughters Val and Tricia for their help!

Still here!

Things are pretty quiet on the research front at the moment, but it's still simmering quietly.

 

I discovered an archive newspaper clipping from findmypast.com, which lists my great uncle John Lee Price as being wounded in 1917. I now need to look at the other Gloucestershire Regiment soldiers who are also listed and find out where, when and in which battalion they were wounded. Hopefully this will help clear up the mystery of whether John was ever in the 8th battalion, as listed in his medal roll.

 

I am also researching another great uncle (by marriage) Alfred Hill. Luckily his service record survives, but I would still like to get an idea of where the regiments he served in were during his time. However to do this Imhave to wait fr some of the diaries to be digitised by the National Archives and also get a look at some held by the Royal Engineers museum, which is quite a long way away.

 

One more avenue of enquiry is the Western Front Association, which is digitising thousands of WW1 pension records. I have sent in a request form for some of my relatives to be searched for, but it will take them some time.

 

So although this blog hasn't been updated for a while, I'm still here researching!

Grandad and the Sambre

A quick update to Grandad - Walter Thomas Price's page, with a summary of the 9th Devonshires' actions during the battle of the Sambre (04/11/1918), shortly after the time I believe he joined the battalion.

Update for John Lee Price

I've downloaded the war diary for the 9th Gloucestershires for a period between September and October 1915, when they first landed in France. This gives us a clue as to John's movements during this time, and I've amended his information accordingly.

William Thomas Clark

A new page up today, highlighting the family connection to Australia in the shape of William Thomas Clark, husband of my great aunt, Lily Jones (who he met during the Great War).

You can read about his, ultimately tragic, history by clicking the link to the right.

Robert George Easton Kennington

A new post up today - the WW1 service history of my wife's paternal grandfather, Robert George Easton Kennington.

Please click on the link to the right to view.

Arthur Easton Kennington

A new page up today, looking at the WWI service of my wife's paternal great-grandfather, Arthur Easton Kennington.

Click on the link to the right.

John Lee Price

A new page up today regarding my great-uncle, John Lee Price

To view, click on the link to the right.

Grandad Updated

I've now updated grandad's entry on this blog, adding all the new information I have come across.

Grandad's Medals

These are the medals that started me off on this journey, Grandad Walter's medals: the Victory Medal (left) and the British Medal (right).

And here is the box they came in!

Thanks to some laborious cross referencing of medal index cards and the fine folk at the Great War Forum I now know roughly when Walter was posted overseas to join the 9th Devonshires, and also the regiment he originally enlisted in.

I also have a copy of the war diary for the 9th Devonshires, which gives a date for when he transferred to the DCLI.

I will rewrite Grandad's entry soon, and am also in the process of writing something for his brother, John Lee Price.

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Granddad Walter

The first page has gone up!

Please select the link on the right hand side for my granddad Walter Thomas Price

Introduction

In 2013 I started researching my family tree, a very addictive hobby that included me taking an evening course on the subject. This addiction soon spread to my wife, who also began to look into her ancestry. With the help of numerous distant relatives, record offices and the plethora of ancestry websites out there, we were able to build quite a sizeable family tree, but eventually got as far as we could go.

However for me this project took on a fresh impetus in the latter months of 2013 when announcements began to circulate regarding the various initiatives planned to mark the centenary of the start of World War 1 in 2014.

I knew that my paternal granddad, Walter Price, served in the Great War, and was determined to discover more about his history. Through my research I had also discovered that his brother John also fought, and died, in the conflict. He too deserved his place in the history books.

Further digging unearthed other great-aunts and uncles with a connection to the war, as well as the service records of my wife’s grandfather and great-grandfather. Soon I was bothering various experts on specialist internet blogs and forums for guidance and was amazed by their helpfulness; I began to amass quite a lot of information, as with each question answered, many more were raised.

In order to keep track of what I had unearthed, and to record my progress, I have started this website. I have made a page for each relative I am researching. These can be found on the right-hand side of this website and contains all the information I have been able to find. When new data comes to light I will update the relevant page, as well as record the fact in a separate blog entry, so that those who are following this will be informed. You can also follow my progress with updates by email.

Also on the right are a list of links to websites, blogs and forums, the members of which have been extremely helpful and generous with their knowledge. I would like to thank them all, as well as any distant cousins and the like who I have incessantly harassed during the course of my research! 

My aim is twofold: to leave a historic legacy for my children, so that they, and indeed any other relatives and interested parties can learn of our families’ part in the Great War; and secondly to commemorate the sacrifices made by my ancestors and honour the lives of those who, from the farms of Herefordshire, the fishing fleets of Grimsby and the hills of New South Wales, ‘did their bit’.

Jon Price

January 2014