Pte Thomas Jay

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Can anyone help me on a project? During my last week of poppy selling I was approached by a lady who's grandfather had served with the 16th Lancashire Fusiliers (2nd Salford). She told me that she had been trying for years to find out where he was (as she put it) during the Great War... she had even been to the Fusiliers museum at Bury, but they turned out to be of no help at all. I bumped into her again at the local cenotaph where we were attending the service on November 11th, and she was proudly wearing her grandfathers 'Mutt and Jeff' medals on her coat. Again she told me how desperate she was to find out where her grandfather had been, so I offered to help. Apart from the medal index card and the roll, there is nothing else to go on... his records appear to be amongst those destroyed. All I have is his name and army number... 66259 Pte Thomas Jay. He was born in April 1899, and unless he was an under age volunteer, I can only assume that he would have been conscripted when he reached his 18th birthday in 1917. Checking his army number against other servicemen with a closely matching number would suggest a join date of 1916. Once I have a rough idea of when he joined up, I can start trawling through the battalion war diaries to give his granddaughter some information on his likely whereabouts. Can anyone narrow down the probable period of 'signing on' from the service number? All information would be gratefully received. Click on images to enlarge.

Cheers,
Steve

[Jerry B]

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army...32nd-division/

A brief summary here, including where tgthe brigade/division trained and deployedin frane and flanders

[HARRY THE MOLE]

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army...32nd-division/

A brief summary here, including where tgthe brigade/division trained and deployedin frane and flanders

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for the information... I have used 'longtrail' in the past... I'm a paid up member of GWF, and I find it very useful when it comes to research. I can pinpoint every move of the battalion in France & Flanders... I have a copy of the battalion war diaries from 1914 to 1919 (National Archives - WO95). But unless I can establish when Pte Jay started his service, I cannot accurately cover his probable movements in France & Belgium. The fact he only has the 'Mutt and Jeff' points to 1916 onwards... but his date of birth means that he would have had to have signed on 'under age'. Either that, or he was one of the sensible one's that waited until he was called up. The only other way of finding out a likely date of enrolment is by comparing his army number to closely matching army numbers of other servicemen from the battalion. The problem is finding army records that have survived... and that can prove to be expensive sometimes!

Cheers,
Steve

[MilitariaOne]

Greetings Steve,

Do you possess the year he died/passed? I ask because, there may be a local paper with his obituary, which then may include some ancillary info covering his service in WWI. Yes, a bit of a long shot, but I'm happy to search the newspapers if you can determine at least, the year of his passing. Month would be great too; if possible. It is rather a hit and miss affair with obits, but I have had some excellent results with them (occasionally) in the past.

Best,

V/r Lance