The Wiltshire regiment Malitia WW1

[Keith Pendleton]

I'm coming away from cap badges on this one. I have been bemused by my Gt Grandads Malitia service records it states that he served in St Helania during the Boar war and was demobbed soon after the war had ended, that's the easy bit his service record shows that he re enlisted for WW1 and was put into the ARB?
Now I understand that in WW2 the ARB are for Air Raids but would this be the case for WW1?
I appoligise for asking a non cap badge related question, but the information I find will make up a military family tree complete with medals to go with my collections.

[Donny B.]

Originally Posted by Keith Pendleton

I'm coming away from cap badges on this one. I have been bemused by my Gt Grandads Malitia service records it states that he served in St Helania during the Boar war and was demobbed soon after the war had ended, that's the easy bit his service record shows that he re enlisted for WW1 and was put into the ARB?
Now I understand that in WW2 the ARB are for Air Raids but would this be the case for WW1?
I appoligise for asking a non cap badge related question, but the information I find will make up a military family tree complete with medals to go with my collections.

G'day Keith,

When recording the information on your G. Grandad's service, and I am sure that someone will respond with the information you are seeking, it may make your family tree more accurate, and do your G. Grandad justice, if you remember that:

malitia means a bad quality, badness, wicked, spite, act of malice.

militia is a military force made up of non professional soldiers.
I am sure "militia" is the word that you wanted to use in reference to your G. Grandad.

He most likely served on the island of St Helena, off the coast of Africa and where Napoleon Bonaparte was detained and died, not St Helania, which I don't think is a place.

The war that was in progress at that time was the Boer War not the Boar War. Boer being the Dutch/Afrikaans word, I believe, for "farmer", which was used to denote the descendents of the early Dutch settlers of Southern Africa, against whom the
British were fighting. A boar, of course, is a male pig.

I do hope someone comes up with that other information you require and good luck with your family tree, You are very fortunate to have those medals.

[Keith Pendleton]

Thank you for the spelling tutorial, unfortunately i do not have his medals only his record of service, that is why I am looking into this to find out if he had any WW1 medals.

[Donny B.]

Originally Posted by Keith Pendleton

i do not have his medals only his record of service, that is why I am looking into this to find out if he had any WW1 medals.

If you need to find out what medals he may have been awarded, as part of your research, you could probably check the medal rolls.

Though I have not done such a check there are a number of threads on this Forum where this has been suggested.

Possibly a good starting point would be:- http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/r...-cards-ww1.htm


Other members who have done such a search may give better sites

[Keith Pendleton]

Thank you Donny but I have tried that and I have also talked to the curator of the wardrobe in Salisbury but I keep drawing blanks. Apparently a lot of records were destroyed during the blitz. Which goes to my main question of who or what was the ARB? Once I can find this out I can surmise his WW1 medal entitlement I'm away from home for a while but should be back by February so I can upload a copy of his demob papers.

[REMEVMBEA1]

It wasn't ARB in WW2, it was ARP (Air Raid Precautions) so that's one more confusion out of the way. I can't think of anything that ARB could stand for and any suggestion would only be guess.