Forces War Records adds Long Service Good Conduct Medal collection

From Forces War Records(www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

Title: Was your ancestor's conduct recognised in this new collection from Forces War Records

RELEASE DATE: Today

An exciting ‘new’ collection of records has been added to the Forces War Records database that may contain your ancestor. A collection of over 500,000 records for the recipients of the Army Long Service Good Conduct Medal and its later incarnation the Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct (Military) across various regiments of the military are now available to view online.

These military records could hold the information you are looking for. Search for a record in this new collection today.

Also included in this unique collection are records from the Volunteer Force Long Service Medal, The Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, Territorial Efficiency Medal and the Efficiency Medal (Territorial) and variations

For more information visit https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/was-your-ancestors-conduct-recognised-in-this-new-collection

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts 4 November 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ancestry's medal index cards free access until November

From Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

FREE MEDAL RECORDS

Mark the centenary by finding your family’s WWI story 

As we honour the centenary of the Great War, our thoughts turn to the last, deciding battles. This week marks 100 years since the start of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line.

A key turning point in the war-ending Hundred Days Offensive, the Hindenburg battles led to the collapse of Germany’s main defensive lines on the Western Front, and the enemy’s realisation that war must end.

Discover your ancestor’s experiences of these key battles in more than 30 million WWI records at Ancestry. Just about everybody who fought received some sort of medal as recognition. That means that our Medal Rolls Index Cards, free until November*, are a great place to start, as they form a virtual roll call of the British Army during the War.

*Medal Index rolls are free to access until 11 November 2018. Registration required. Terms apply.

The collection is accessible at https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1262&o_xid=91999&o_lid=91999

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Forces War Records adds Palestine medal clasp records

From Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

Forces War Records has now added over 100,000 records to those who were awarded the ‘Palestine 1945-48 clasp’ to the General Service Medal.

QUICK SUMMARY: Forces War Records has now transcribed over 100,000 records to those individuals who were awarded the ‘Palestine 1945-48’ clasp to the General Service Medal. This collection records those who served in Palestine during the Jewish insurrection against British rule in the mandate between 1945 and 1948.

CONTENT: The General Service Medal was a campaign medal awarded to men and women of both the British Army and the Royal Air Force (the Royal Navy had their own equivalent medal). This decoration was instituted in 1918 to recognise service within a range of military operations where the service merited an award, but the campaign itself was not significant enough to merit the creation of an independent medal.

The particular campaign or service which earned this award was indicated by a small bar worn on the ribbon of the medal, which would bear the name of operation moulded onto this clasp. This new transcribed collection records the award of the ‘Palestine 1945-48’ clasp (under Army Order 146 of 1947) to those who served in Palestine during the Jewish insurrection against British rule in the mandate between 1945 and 1948.

The criteria for the award of the ‘Palestine 1945-48’ clasp was a minimum of 1 day of service in the territory between 27th September 1945 (the date a "state of emergency" was declared) and 30th June 1948 (when the last British troops departed).

This collection is transcribed from the medal rolls housed at the National Archives, labelled WO 100 which recorded the men who were eligible for this clasp. Occasionally a man who had already received a clasp from a previous campaign (e.g. Palestine 1936-39) or a concurrent one (e.g. South-East Asia 1945-46) is also noted.

It is a particularly useful collection as amongst its considerable detail, is not only the unit with which they served on the operation where they earned the medal but also who they were with when the medal was conferred. Some records have even more detail with the exact dates the men entered and left the award area and the places they were stationed recorded – so you can start to build up an idea of their service history.

Records in this collection are likely to include the following:

• Surname
• First name or Initials
• Service Number
• Gallantry Awards
• Regiment or Corps
• Battalion, Company or other sub-Unit
• Previous unit served with
• Duty Location
• Previous clasps awarded
• Date of the award
• The army order under which the medal was awarded.

Please be aware that due to the way we collate, and cross-reference our databases, some records will contain more information than that listed above.
Quote: Forces War Records are pleased to present this now transcribed collection of records for the ‘Palestine 1945-48’ clasp to the General Service Medal, as a permanent memorial to those involved and an invaluable resource for genealogists. Also, we are glad to give users of the site addition information to those who served post World War Two at very specific times.


Forces War Records August Bank Holiday Discount offer.

Release Date: 23rd Aug onwards.

This August Bank Holiday Forces War Records is offering you HALF PRICE membership off monthly and yearly packages. – less than £25.00 for the year, or less than £5.00 for a month* (use code AUG2018)

(With thanks to Neil White)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Meritorious Service Medals now available online at TheGenealogist

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

Meritorious Service Medals now available online at TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist has released the records of 29,000 individuals who were decorated with the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM). The roll of names for those who were awarded this British honour in the First World War have been released by TheGenealogist. Researchers can now look for holders of this medal up to 1920 from within their ever growing military records collection.

● See a copy of the image of the Medal Card with the theatre of war where the medal was won

● Details the name, rank, regiment and service number

● Unique “SmartSearch” links to the comprehensive military records on TheGenealogist.co.uk

● These new records cover British servicemen from The First World War

The medal was first awarded in 1845 to non-commissioned officers in the British Army who had a record of long service in the forces. Given originally
for long service of at least 20 years to servicemen who were of irreproachable character and already held the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal of their service, the First World War saw it awarded to those who performed acts of non-combatant gallantry in the performance of their military duty. In the second case the bravery was not necessarily while the serviceman was on active service and may have been in the saving or attempted saving of the life of an officer or an enlisted soldier.

Family history researchers searching for ancestors who had been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in the First World War will be able to find their forebears in this new addition to the military collection of records on TheGenealogist.

Read our article on a First World War NCO awarded his medal ‘For exceptionally good work’ operating night and day to keep the RFC’s aeroplanes at El Hammam flying. https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2018/finding-ancestors-awarded-the-meritorious-service-medal-768/

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

US Life Saving medals 1876-1944 on Ancestry

I like collections that you don't automatically think about with family history, so this one caught my eye on Ancestry:

U.S., Life Saving Medals Awarded, 1876-1944
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61331
Source: Record of Life Saving Medals Awarded, 1876-1944. NARA microform publication M2136. 1 Roll. NAI: 2217630. Records of the U.S. Coast Guard, 1785-2005, Record Group 26. The National Archives at Washington, D.C.

Here's the blurb:

This collection consists of registers that were used to record the awarding of Life-Saving Medals. These medals were first authorized by an act of Congress on June 20, 1874 (18 Stat. 127) which established that first and second class lifesaving medals could be bestowed "upon any persons who shall hereafter endanger their own lives in saving, or endeavoring to save lives from perils of the sea, within the United States, or upon any American vessel." The medal of the first class (gold) was confined to cases of "extreme and heroic daring," and the medal of the second class (silver) was to be awarded "in cases not sufficiently distinguished to deserve the medal of the first class." Entries were added to the registers in rough chronological order by date of award. Each entry in the registers recorded the following details for the award recipient, who was referred to as the applicant.

Name of applicant
Place of residence
Award inscription
Nature of service performed
Date of service
Date of application
Date of referral to commission
Date of commission report
Date of award
Nature of award (first or second-class OR gold or silver)
Date medal ordered (or other details)
Date medal sent (or other details)

There are further details about the collection on the US national archive site at https://research.archives.gov/id/2217630.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy, A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

First World War medal index cards translation

Treaty yourself to some knowledge! Here's a great wee guide on how to interpret First World War medal index cards - see http://www.1914-1918.net/soldiers/interpretmic.html

You'll find the cards on Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) and the National Archives website (www.nationalarchives,gov.uk) at Kew.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

TheGenealogist updates tithes records and adds WW1 medal records

From The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

TheGenealogist is launching millions of new records at the Who Do You Think you Are? Live show. These include many unique resources:-

New Tithe Maps for more English counties
New Tithe Apportionment documents for Wales completing the release.
750,000 new Parish Records
4.66 million new WW1 Medals Records

A major addition to the National Tithe Records have been launched for the show. Joining the previously released maps for Middlesex, Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Leicestershire, are the counties of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Lancashire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire & Yorkshire.

Tithe maps allow you to identify the land on which your ancestors lived and worked in the 19th century. The tithe apportionments list the names of both the owner and the occupier as well as detail the amount of land, how it was used, and tithe rent due. These unique records are key to geographically placing where your ancestors lived and worked in these times.

750,000 more Parish Records from 22 counties join the already significant collection on the site and these new records include: Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumberland, Devon, Durham, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, London, Monmouthshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, Somerset, Sussex, Worcestershire and Yorkshire.

Parish records are a prime source for family historians to find the key life events of their ancestors and so this release will be greatly welcomed by many whose ancestors are from these areas.

TheGenealogist is launching at the show, 4.66 million new WW1 Campaign Medal Cards. This takes their WWI medal collection close to 6 million records. Included in this new release are the following medals

1914 Star
1914/15 Star
British War Medal 1914-1920
Victory Medal 1914-1919

These medal cards make it even easier to find an ancestor in the collection of military records online as many of our ancestors who served in the First World War will have been eligible.

Mark Bayley, head of Content at TheGenealogist said “We always like to have a big release for the show. The completion of the Tithe apportionments and the release of maps for an additional 11 counties gives researchers the opportunity to beat the abiding challenge of finding where their ancestors lived and worked. With the vast number of Parish, Medal and Tithe Records that we are releasing there should be something for everyone to discover.”

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

For details on my latest book Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, and my other genealogy guide books please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. To commission me for genealogical research, please visit my research site at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk.

Alternative WW1 merchant seamen medals index on FindmyPast

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has placed an index online to a collection of Merchant Seamen medals from the First World War. Here's the blurb:

British Merchant Navy, First World War Medal Index Cards 1914-1925

The British Merchant Navy First World War Medal Index Cards, 1914-1925, contain over 157,000 records. During the First World War, Merchant Navy seamen, who had served at sea for at least six months and who had served on at least one voyage through a danger zone, were entitled to the Mercantile Marine Medal. The Medal was awarded by the Board of Trade, a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. Recipients of the Mercantile Marine Medal were automatically entitled to the British War Medal and those who were invalided out of the navy during the war were entitled to receive the Silver War Badge.

Each record is a transcript of the original medal card and contains a link to purchase and download an image of the original record card from The National Archives. Medal cards tell you which medals were awarded, details of the seaman’s career in the Merchant Navy and their discharge number.

Accessing original copies once you've been redirected to The National Archives site is £3.30, or free to view at the facility in London. As this is a third party index, you can also go directly to the website's Discovery catalogue (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk) and do the search there (the collection is located within BT351), neglecting the need to use FindmyPast. There is a dedicated page on the subject at the TNA website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/merchant-seamen-medals-ww1.htm, with its own alternative search screen. FindmyPast claims its index covers 157,424 merchant seamen, the TNA page claims 155,000 for its offerings.

NB: Whilst the TNA database lists its sources up front as records held under BT 351/1/1, BT 351/1/2 and MT 9/1404, FindmyPast does not say anything up front other than "Recipients of the Mercantile Marine Medal were automatically entitled to the British War Medal and those who were invalided out of the navy during the war were entitled to receive the Silver War Badge". This seems to match the description of records available via the TNA database.

FindmyPast has also released various Dorset based parish records - full details at http://blog.findmypast.com/fridays/.

Chris

For details on my range of genealogy guide books please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. To commission me for genealogical research, please visit my research site at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk.

UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920 on Ancestry

Ancestry has launched a new collection in time for this coming Remembrance weekend - UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920, available at http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=5119.

Sourced from the National Archives at Kew in England, were they are catalogued under WO 329, they include details such as name, rank, unit, and possibly other service details.

Here's the TNA description as presented on Ancestry:

The volumes in this series record the entitlement to medals and awards of men and women serving in some capacity during the First World War. Most pieces concern those serving in the Army. Some, however, refer to the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force (RFC/RAF); to civilians in military establishments, e.g. doctors and nurses in hospitals; to people mobilized for other war service, e.g. in colonial labour corps; and to allied personnel who assisted British soldiers behind enemy lines.

The volumes also give the date the issue was approved and record the issue, or cross-refer to another issuing body, e.g. the Air Ministry for some members of the RFC/RAF receiving the British War and Allied Victory Medals.

The medals and awards concerned are:

• The British War Medal;
• The Allied Victory Medal;
• The 1914 Star (the Mons Star) and bar added in 1919;
• The 1914–15 Star;
• The Territorial Force War Medal;
• The Allied Subjects Medal.

Further details on the site.

Chris

My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records online course starts on November 5th, and runs for 5 weeks, priced at £45.99. Spaces are still available - see http://pharostutors.com/coursedescriptions.php#302

WW1 Military Medal collection launched on The Genealogist

From The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

Newly released for the first time are First World War Medal Records that crossed the great social class divide

Over 117,000 ‘Military Medals’ were awarded in the First World War for ‘acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire’. These records are now available to view online complete with an image of the actual Medal Card and a link to the official government publication of the time. It’s a unique, comprehensive set of records available only on TheGenealogist.co.uk

The Military Medal was awarded to ‘Non Commissioned Officers and Ordinary Ranks’ and covers exceptional courage as a soldier in battle. It also was awarded for those that risked their lives trying to save others, often in extreme danger. The Medal Records on TheGenealogist show people from a wide range of backgrounds and social classes, including a number of young women from very privileged families who chose to drive ambulances and rescue the wounded in the mud of battle.

The role of ‘stretcher bearer’ was one of the most dangerous jobs of the time and surprisingly, the records show many women bridged social constraints of the time to risk life and limb to help rescue and bring in soldiers wounded in battle.

Details now available on TheGenealogist range from the most highly decorated Military Medal recipient, stretcher bearer Private Ernest Corey of the 55th Australian Infantry, to Lady Dorothie May Evelyn Feilding-Moore, the daughter of the Earl of Denbigh (the first female recipient of the Medal), to Mairi Lambert Gooden-Chisholm who rescued a German pilot from no-man’s land. Both men and women, crossing the social divide and class customs of pre-1914 to demonstrate outstanding bravery.

The new Military Medal records provide:

• Full details of the person winning the medal – their rank, regiment, date of medal citation and the details of their heroism in battle
• Sophisticated search techniques to find the medal recipient with just one mouse click
• A further addition to the comprehensive medal and First World War records now available on TheGenealogist.co.uk

Mark Bayley, Head of Online Content comments: “With our military record releases in 2014, we are aiming to cover all aspects of The First World War. Every new record set unearths surprises and the Military Medal collection is no different as we discover the female front line heroes listed alongside those who fought to protect our freedom. These unique records consistently provide fascinating tales behind them.”

More details on the records of the First World War ‘Military Medals’ can be found at www.TheGenealogist.co.uk/military-medal

(With thanks to David Osborne)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And please consider purchasing the great new version of Caledonia by The Libations at 79p via www.caledonia2014.com - all profits go to help fund Scottish foodbanks