First world war military medal winners

[andful]

I was wondering if there was anyone out there who knows of a website out there listing in detail military medal winners from the first world war.

I am trying to find out if my grandfather won the military medal, i have been unable to have any joy obtaining his medal card as this along with may other thousands was lost in a fire

I have also contacted his regimental museam on numerous occasions ( The Royal Welsh Fusiliers ) but to no avail

Is there anyone out there who can help

[skypilot]

if you post what details you have, e.g. name, regiment, service number I'll see what I can dig out for you.

Do you know for certain it was the Military Medal he was awarded?

[jimpy]

Have you tried going through the National Archives at Kew in London? I believe that they now hold the majority of the UKs public Records.

If you're in the area, it may also be worth your while joining and getting a "Readers Ticket".
Its free to join and you just need photo ID and proof of residence, (unless theyve changed the rules)

Regards etc
Ian D

AKA: Jimpy

[skypilot]

It's still the case but you need to pay for parking, pre-book items etc.now so much more of a pain than the very easy setup they had previously. That said, an awful lot of the military documents are now available via subscription online. I have a subscription to one of the major sites and use it regularly so more than get my money's worth but if you're a casual user it isn't cost effective.

Some TNA documents can be downloaded online (most are £3.50), although a lot still have to be seen at TNA in Kew.

[andful]

I am very sorry for not getting back to you all sooner Thanks for all your advice

Sky pilot thanks for your kind offer of doing some digging for me, i dont have a lot of information on him, all i know is that he joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1914 and served with them throughout WW1 leaving possibly in 1919 / 20.

His name was Walter - possibly Arthur - Barnes and he was from the Wrexham area

Thanks again for your help

[skypilot]

Apologies for the delay in responding - I hadn't realised you'd put the details on.

I have searched through the usual resources and can find 2 Arthur's who served with the RWF, but both of them could have served from 1914 judging by their medal entitlements and neither of them appear to be entitled to a Military Medal.

There is only one Walter Barnes, 4th Bn RWF who was a pre-war territorial soldier. Again, he was not awarded an MM.

What makes you think he may have been entitled the military medal? Is there some family background? Any other information you have may help to narrow down which soldier he was and perhaps at least find out some more information on his career, even if he wasn't awarded an MM. Info such as siblings names, parents names, age when died, wife's name, children's names, occupation - basically anything.

[Walkwolf]

There is also the London Gazette that can be found on-line
where there are listings for MM awards.............

[skypilot]

I have searched the 1911 & 1901 census (More info needed for these); London Gazette; Find My Past & Ancestry websites (which includes medal rolls; service records; pension papers etc. as well as index cards) prior to posting my response above - all to no avail unfortunately.

As I said, any little extra nugget of information may be enough to help me narrow the search fields. Howard Williamson is the foremost expert on MM awards, as he is 10+ years in to his MM roll book(s), but I would need to know on what basis an MM has been assumed before I use my ace in the hole with him as it may be a specualtive assumption. I've frequently encountered family stories of "Grandfather/uncle etc. was awarded a military medal" and then found that research shows that the individual was awarded A military medal i.e. a medal with military connections such as campaign medals, not THE Military Medal. I even had a good friend bring to me the "George Medal" that her grandfather had been awarded in WW1 (GM was not instituted until WW2!), only to find it was a WW1 British War Medal. The confusion had arisen because the BWM has a picture of George slaying a dragon on the reverse hence it was a medal with George on it, but not THE George Medal.

Such is the challenge with family history but it also makes the hobby more fun!