Michael Lucas, who is obviously a very knowledgeable military historian, started his talk entitled ‘Personal Experience of the Great War and finding a family’s part in it’ with a look back at how WWI had started and played out. When Bosnian terrorists killed Duke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, triggering war between most European states.
Germany attacked through Belgium into France and although Britain tried to defend Belgium, we only had a small army. Kitchener realised that the war would last years. By the end of 1914 there was still a great lack of equipment and clothing although, 800,000 men had volunteered. The Gallipoli campaign (19th Feb 1915 – 9th Jan 1916) was supposed to weaken the Ottoman Empire and take them out of the war but failed and was a costly defeat. Early in 1916, the German army attacked Verdun and Britain supported France. Overall, the battle lasted 303 days and was one of the most costly in human history with hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides.
At sea, the Allied powers with their greater fleet largely succeeded in blockading Germany.
By 1917, Russia had fallen into Revolution but the USA had entered the war. Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele were fiercely fought over by the Allies including Canadian and ANZAC troops against the Germans but eventually the stalemate that resulted was ended by the ‘Hundred Days Offensive’ of 1918 which led to an Allied victory and the Armistice signed on 11th November 1918.
Tracing soldiers from WWI can be difficult; as the Regular Army declined in numbers, it was supplemented first by the Territorial Force then by Kitcheners New Army. By 1916, the British Expeditionary Force was vast. As Michael found for one of his relatives, no service record could be found at TNA, as they had been destroyed in the Blitz air raids of WWII. But a detailed report the week before his death in a War Diary, which is archived, showed he was one of the 80 missing or dead on 10th April 1918 near Ypres. Sadly Sgt. Albert Hemmings has no known grave.
Michael gave us a few pointers about researching WWI relatives:
● Field postcards, newspaper articles
● International Committee of the Red Cross records for prisoners of war may prove useful.
● It is easier to trace those that died than those that survived
● It is easier to research Infantry services than Artillery services
● Men who served only in Britain are more difficult to find
● Officers are easier to trace than men and more often mentioned in War Diaries
● Ancestry may have medal cards, medal rolls and pension records for your relative
● Service records are variable but there may be disciplinary cases
● War Diaries are available via Ancestry or TNA
● Records of Nurses, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel may be available at TNA
● Newspapers may have a list of casualties, human interest stories and gallantry medals
● Some personal reminiscences by soldiers in WWI have been published in books
It was also surprising how much information you could derive from photographs of service personnel in their uniforms. Badges on uniforms, cap badges, rank insignia, wound stripes and good conduct stripes all gave more information and there are dedicated military enthusiasts out there, on websites, able to help with your queries.
Michael Lucas gave us a fascinating talk which will hopefully inspire us all to research what our relatives were doing in WWI.
Report by Lesley J Smith
Next Meetings
● December 2019 - Member's Christmas Evening - No Report
● January 2020 - No Meeting
● 11th February 2020 - Talk by LucyAnn Curling
24 archives later ...following the paper trail my ancestor's left