1914 15 star medal Pte. R. Astbury R. Welsh Fusiliers

[Jerry B]

Thanks very much Tom.

I have just had a quick look through them and will study them later.

He seems to have been with the 1st, 3rd and 10th Bn's, I have yet to find any mention of the 11th, though I will read them a number of times. I notice he was admonished at least once for an offence and given field punishment no2 as well for another, so no angel.

Very interesting that he was a POW, I had no idea of that.

[thorne83]

Hi Jerry, glad they're of interest.

(2b) Balkans, on his MIC, indicates Gallipoli by the way. An all round interesting medal!

Cheers, Tom

[Jerry B]

Hi Jerry, glad they're of interest.

(2b) Balkans, on his MIC, indicates Gallipoli by the way. An all round interesting medal!

Cheers, Tom

Hi Tom, checking the records you posted, he was with the 8th bn during the correct period which was at Gallipoli, then with the 3rd Bn, then command depot, then with the expeditionary force France, then with the 10th Bn when he was captured at Serre in November 1916.

[sandgroper]

Fantastic thread Jerry, isn't it fascinating that an item such as a medal like this can lead to such an interesting story? History really does come alive when you can put a name, face and a story to an item. Well done mate, great stuff!

[Jerry B]

Fantastic thread Jerry, isn't it fascinating that an item such as a medal like this can lead to such an interesting story? History really does come alive when you can put a name, face and a story to an item. Well done mate, great stuff!

Indeed mate, the amount of information that can sometimes be found on the WWI medals is superb, though sadly in many cases all you can find is their medal index card.

Great to have a medal from a member of a Welsh regiment who served in Gallipoli and on the Somme and a POW medal is not so commonly seen, so all in all a great little addition IMHO.

[Jerry B]

From information gathered from the IRC site on POW's of the Great War.

C Company (10/RWF), taken POW at Serre 14/11/1916. In a kriegsgefangenenlager at Wann in february 1917, among other camps he was at Limburg and Friedrichsfeld.

Prisoners of the First World War | International Committee of the Red Cross - Specify your search criteria

[Jerry B]

The documents that the PA numbers refer to on the Red cross site. It seems he was moved from camp to camp and one is a medical or hospital document.

[Jerry B]

The regimental diary for the 10th RWF for the day on which he was captured, which is mentioned toward the bottom, where after an early successful attack the front companies were enfolded and many were captured.

[harryamb2]

nice medal with interesting history,well done Jerry.

[Jerry B]

nice medal with interesting history,well done Jerry.

Thanks Harry, good to see it is appreciated. The history that can sometimes be uncovered with these WWI medals can be so interesting and rewarding. You sometimes get a lot of history for your money with these, though others can draw an almost complete blank.