Somme Anniversary....following on from

Andy Mac's post.
If anyone has WW1 ancestors and would like to know more, try these links

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/

https://www.greatwarforum.org/forum/42-serving-in-the-great-war/

If anyone wants me to check up to see if their relative has a surviving Service Record, post their
Name, Rank, Regt, and Serial Number ( found on their Medals.) on here.
Without the above I can have a look for men with very unusual names...sometimes you can get lucky.

Unfortunately over 60% of Army records were lost during the blitz in WW2 so don't get too excited, Navy and Royal Flying Corps mostly survived .

 

Never forget and don't repeat the mistakes of the past.

 

We spent a night in Ypres in April and walked round one of the war graves, a very sobering experience.

 

We are going on a WW1 battlefield tour in September. My wife’s grandfather was a Barnsley Pal who survived, and came back, but would never talk about it. Should be a poignant trip.

 

I'm planning on doing a 2 weeks tour next year for my son's 16th birthday, he's engrossed with the Barnsley Pals ( we'd 3 family members in the 2 Barnsley battalions) and the CWGC in general, we're looking at taking in as many battlefield sites, cemeteries and memorials as possible.

 

My Great Grandad was wounded at the Somme and lived to the ripe old age of 97. I think he signed up for a Sheffield regiment, not the Pals. Jack Hodgson was his name, one of the last survivors. The Chronicle did an article on him. Next time I'm in Barnsley I'll try and dig it out. He had a hell of a life.

 

So was mine, JR Griffiths, 14 Yand L. D Division

 

Went to Ypres and Tyne Cot cemetery in April. My dad mentioned a few weeks before that his great uncle was in there. We found him on an internet search on the war graves commission site. He was on a plaque as one of the ones with an unknown grave. Found it at Tyne Cot and filmed it on my phone. Was very proud and emotional, a special place.

 

Might be worth me giving you the details of the people we are going with. It’s not a commercial organisation, they are simply a group of people with a particular interest in WW1 who organise two or three trips every Summer/Autumn. Just let me know if you are interested.

 

Thanks for the offer but it's just going to be me the wife and teenage lad, we are looking at hiring a motorhome and then it gives us the freedom to move about at our leisure, especially given we will be taking in more of the lesser known smaller sites, plus wife wants it to incorporate something of a holiday for her at least, whereas me and the lad could purely spend the time visiting battlefield, CWG'S, Etc. as that's something we do on a regular basis locally (Doncaster / North Nottinghamshire) as a sort of hobby, we must be approaching visited 2500 CWGC's in the last 6 months alone.
We are hoping to get across to Manchester this weekend to take in cemeteries that way out.

 

My grandmother gave me her brothers war medal.
I only have his name , I cant find any history of him as all my family and my father as passed away .
All I know is he server 1914 to 1918 and he was from Sheffield

 

I think Putin could do with a visit…

 

Bazza, if you still have the medal...the info is on it. If it's a round medal the info is impressed around the rim, if it's the star it is on the back.

 

Ah thanks for that I didn't know , its a round one I will have a look

 

Andy I can't thank you enough for the time you spent researching my family .
This board as some lovely genuine people.
Let's never forget this.