Hello planeteer's,
I am putting out an appeal for help. I work for my local Hospice and last week an old lad of 76 donated his family medals.

One set was his uncle's WW1 Victory medals and death plaque.

The other set was his fathers WW1 Victory medals and Military Medal. I want to know if any of you are members of WW1 sites that can access information or records. I would really like to pass back as much information to the gentleman as possible.

My main goal would be to try and find out how and where he won his Military Medal. Also any history of his unit, movements and battle engagements(this also goes for his uncle)

I would like to do this before I sell the package and raise much needed funding for the Hospice, if possible.
Thank you all in anticipation for your help
cheers
Richie
MEDAL DETAILS

73456 Private Stanley Emerson, 77th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps. Died Monday 1st April 1918. Ploegstreert Memorial Belgium.

37187 Gunner Percy Emerson, 185th Seige Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery - Military Medal recipient.

Richie, you should be able to get some info for the award of the MM from the London Gazette. They are all online but searching can be hard work. I'm not home 'til sometime mid next week but I'll see what I can find.
The best advice would be to post this on the Great War Forum someone will surely be able to help there.
Roger.

A sad day when somebody sells their medals. However it is a meritorious cause please don't get me wrong.

Hi Roger,
I just keep running into brick walls. That London Gazette is hard work. I don't mind waiting mate, he knows I am doing this off my own back, I just don't have a spare 5 mins at work. I've had one good offer for the set already.

Hi Taff,
He wanted the proceeds to go to the Hospice rather than see it squanded by any relatives. He would also like his family heritage to go to someone would really appreciate them.
Thanks for looking lads
cheers
Richie

Put it on the dutch/belgium forum.

marc

Hi Marc,
Which Dutch forum????? Some of the sites I was going to join want membership fees and/or money to access records. That's why I thought someone on here might have that part covered already.
I know the 185th Seige Battery R.G.A. was part of the 79th (Mixed) Brigade and I think was part of the 4th Army. The 185th had six 9.2inch Howitzers. I also think they were in the Balkans campaign and fought at Salonika.
cheers
Richie

Richie, I collect medals and am a member of the British Medal Forum, let me do some research and I'll come back to you.

About a third of WW1 service records exist (the archive was damaged in the blitz), so I'll have a search through the archives.

Lets see what I can find!

Hi Darren,
Thanks for that. I would love to pass back as much information as I can to the gentleman who donated these. As a medal collector these are up for sale! If you know anyone who might be interested.
cheers
Richie

I can post a message mate and get you a decent valuation, can you tell me exactly what medals are included? The standard First World War medals would consist of a British war and victory medal and if he entered the war early enough either a 1914 star or 1914-15 star, plus of course an MM. Photos would be a help

Any good to you Richie ? http://www.greatwar.co.uk/medals/british-ww1-medal-records.htm

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=D6398115

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=D6398148

Is this what you want mate ? If we got anybody down near Kew they can go see them for free, if not as it's for a Hospice I'll bung the £7 odd quid and get you them mate

Good luck on this Richie I'm sure there's lots of us watching this with interest.
Cheers
Derek

Just checked and both men were entitled to British war medal and victory medal (so entered theatre post 1915), sadly neither men's service or pension records exist, but still looking for information

Gents: Don't know anyway I can contribute on this, but it's nice to know folk whose heart is in the right place. Cheers!

Dan

Post the names on Great War Forum under "Soldiers" and you will get lots of help. http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showforum=1

Colin

Hi Steve - Thanks for the offer mate and links, I am sure someone will be able to turn something up. I thought of paying for the info. myself but it may be not the info. I am trying to obtain. It may be just the medals they were entitled too!

Hi Del - Thanks for the support mate, I am getting quite interested in this now, especially since we have the Heugh Battery which was bombarded by the German fleet. What ever the outcome this generous donation will go along way for the Hospice. I will let you know the outcome.

Hi Darren - Thanks again, can't wait to see what you turn up.

Hi Dan - People's generousity never ceases to amaze me especially in these uncertain financial times, but it seems everone knows someone who has encountered these awful ailments. You looking in and your support is more than enough.

Hi Colin - Thanks for link mate, I will use that as a future option if nothing turns up. I think I'm becoming like a dog with a bone, I just don't want to let this one go and I think it stems from the gentleman who made the donation. I had the pleasure of talking to him for about an hour about his family and recollections.

Thanks again boys
cheers
Richie

Hi Richie,

Like Colin says go straight to the Great War Forum:

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php

It really should be your first stop, it's the biggest forum I've ever been a member of.

A few years back I digitised 500 glass plate negatives that were portraits of British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand troops taken in a photographers studio in Sevenoaks. I could identify many of the units by their insignia, but some I could not. I began a thread that eventually exceeded 200 posts and the weath of knowledge coming in from the forum members was phenomenal. It even led to living relatives getting in contact because they recognised a family member. One guy in NZ was surfing the net looking for exploits of his waterboarding son when he came across the image I'd posted on the forum of his identically named grandfather. He'd joined an Australian unit, fought in France, been wounded, recovered in Kent where he married a local girl before returning to New Zealand at the end of the war.

I also was given a set of binoculars with the name and unit written on the case (which was 185th R.G.A.). It took less than a day for everyone to chip in with his full history and service record....amazing.

It's worth signing up and going there first.

Cheers,
Jon.

Richie,
First answer from the Forum Eerste Wereldoorlog'
Here some UK websites:
http://www.greatwar.co.uk/medals/british-ww1-medal-records.htm
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/help

further information about the medal records and documents available online and at the National Archives see the WW1 medals section of the National Archives website
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/medal-index-cards-ww1.htm

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details?Uri=D6398148http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/browse/D6398148?v=r

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=MedalRolls&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=ms_db&gsfn=Stanley&gsln=Emerson&gskw= Royal Army Medical Corps&dbOnly=_F0003FD8|_F0003FD8_x&dbOnly=_F0003FD9|_F0003FD9_x&uidh=000

Just put Names and number in boxes and you can find more!

Hi Jon & Marc,
I will set to the task sometime over this weekend.

Hi Carl,
Thanks for chipping in mate, laborious!!!!! I'm bagging my monkey head against walls sometimes. Usually I can find a tear in a bucket of water, but this is testing me.
cheers
Richie