Silver war badge
 

Have had one for a very long time, gone black / tarnished, had to use eye glass to read....
'B2 89054' Can anyone identify who's please?:o

Are these being reproduced-faked? I don't like the look of some I have seen on Ebay?

The badge with the number B289054 iis registed to John Hatt, Gunner with the Royal Garrison Artillery, Service number 68043
Enlisted 9 Nov 1915 and Discharged 29 Aug 1919. The badge was issued on 17 September 1919. Served overseas. Reason for discharge : Para 392 (xvi) Kings Regulations (i.e.: discharged as permanently unfit )

There is a William James Thompson whose SWB has the number 89054 without the B2 (Oxford & Bucks LI ) but I would think that John Hatt is the most likely candidate with the number matching in its entirety.
Cheers
James

Also, here is his Medal Card:

Yes they are being copied but not extensively. Most on ebay are OK in my experience

Thanks very much for replies! sounds like health issue rather than wound.
I have an old comrades association badge which, if I remember correctly, I purchased at the same time, POSS the two went together.

I am probably being a bit over critical about the Ebay ones!

Silver War Badge
 

After some 40+ years of collecting I've just picked up my first SWB. I've never bothered before as they were outside my 'normal' field of collecting. But, now I have one upon comparing it with the previous SWB on this thread I note the differences in numbering. Mine is all numerals '244525'. What is the significance, if any, of the letter preceding some numbers?

Any info appreciated.
Thanks, Stephen.

Stephen,

If you didnt already know,this is your man:

William Tunnicliffe 244525 341. P. Co. RDC. 33896

Peter

Here you go:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_War_Badge

Peter,

Thank you, saved me a trip to use the library computers.

Stephen.

re John Hatt

..or maybe not.It could have been a result of his being wounded (shell splinter) at the end of March 1917. He was with 157 Siege Battery at the time, in the Arras sector perhaps? The Battery went to France 30/11/16.
His name appears in the Daily Casualty List for 28 April 1917, showing his home town or place of enlistment as Clacton. He was born c1893.
Unfortunately his service record seems to be so damaged that only one page survives, and that only gives his name.

Anyway a few clues for you to further your research!

Charlie

Thanks for that.......Clacton....not far, as the crow flies, from where I purchased the badge!

Hi

There are two distinct Die Models, and two types of pin and catch positioning.
The first issue of badges had a horizontal pin and catch positioning, and later issues vertical.

Cheers

Colin

Charlie, what is the daily casualty list? Is that something just for this regiment? Where do I find it? I've never heard of this before.

Michael

The Daily Casualty List was a daily listing of killed, wounded, prisoners etc for the whole armed forces. It appeared in full in the Times up until late 1916. Casualties becoming so huge by this time, the Times stopped full listings. It was replaced by a weekly publication containing each day of the week. That publication was by HMSO and I assume available in Libraries, Town Halls etc. Local papers generally printed just the list of men from their locality or local Unit. (experts please correct me if I am wrong)

Generally the lists came out about a month after the actual event. One can't be more precise.

"The Genealogist" site has digitised most of these lists (they've missed some, and there are also transcription errors, but it is a very useful tool)

"ForcesWarRecords" site have digitised the few surviving hospital admission records so it is pure luck if you find anything there. Perhaps one in a 500+? But if you do it can be very informative, giving eg age, length of time in France, and most important, unit.

Both are paying subscriber sites so I cannot look up and make a copy for somebody else without infringing forum rules. But you will find your man appearing on both sites.

"British Newspaper Archive" or "FindmyPast" have digitised many of the local papers but the computer scanning of the text is fairly hit-or-miss for searches of service numbers etc. Findmypast have scanned a number of sheets of Army casualty listings, sheets that were found in other files and had been re-used as scrap paper on the other side! A very useful document if you are lucky to stumble across a hit for your man. I'm guessing but probably only one in 1000 have survived to be copied.

The Times is normally accessible through local libraries but again their search facility is fairly hit or miss. The text was so small that it is often not read correctly.

For those researching WW1 soldiers, where 60% of Service Records were destroyed or damaged by WW2 bombing, these records are well worth checking. But it depends if its your lucky day.

Hope this helps?
Charlie

Edit: just to revise my estimates above, I see I looked at a sample of some 80 men (half infantry, half artillery) and found 7 hits on FWR Hospital records, 3 of which were very useful and broke through a wall I had hit. I found 20 hits on the Genealogist Casualty Lists. Strangely I should have found some more on Genealogist because Service Record or Silver War Badge Roll told me they'd been wounded but they didn't show up. Anyway the point is you have a better chance of a hit than I first suggested.

Thanks a lot Charlie, I have access to Ancestry and FMP but have not looked at the others, I'll watch for an offer on the genealogist and see if I can find any of the men I'm interested in.

Thanks for the help.

Michael