How do I find out if any of my ancestors were awarded medals for World War I?
After the 1914-18 War, all campaign medals were automatically
issued to the medal earner or, if deceased, to the next of kin.
Great War Medal Issue Cards are on fiche and computer at the
National Archives in Kew and can be viewed for free. On line they
can be seen at a cost of £2 for a block of six cards. The medal
cards give number(s), rank, surname(s) and some have one or two
forenames, regiment and medals awarded. They sometimes give other
information and always include the Medal Roll reference. These
medal rolls rarely give much additional information. Where a man
was discharged for an unusual reason the reference is also given.
Most of these are references to King's Regulations, and many relate
to being unfit for military service due to unspecified wounds or
sickness.
It is of note that Regimental numbers in The Great War were
those allocated to regiments or battalions. As there could be
duplications between battalions in the same regiment, and other
units, these are often pre-fixed with the battalion number. Men
sometimes seem to have retained one number, but often got a new
number on moving unit, going to hospital, going into a transit or
reinforcement camp, and so on. Some men have collected up to six
numbers on their medal cards, and some have used more than one
surname. Keeping track must have been a nightmare.
In addition there are cards for awards of the more common
medals, such as DCM, MM, MSM and Mention in Despatches. These often
give details of the country where the individual was at the time of
the action, number, rank, unit and London Gazette reference,
sometime with a Registered Paper number and Schedule number. These
probably relate to the citation documents, but none seem to have
been preserved. As there was a paucity of awards available before
the introduction of the Order of the British Empire in 1917, the
Meritorious Service Medal, previously for Sergeants, was made
available for merit for lower ranks. It was also permitted for
non-operational bravery for all non-commissioned ranks, and for
this purpose only bars could be awarded. These concessions ceased
after the War.
Awards for bravery and merit, and officers appointments and
promotions can be found in the London Gazettes which are searchable
at www.gazettes-online.co.uk. Searching is rather
hit and miss, as known entries sometimes do not materialise. The
original documents have been scanned and errors due to blemishes in
the paper etc can occur. Note also that spelling of names etc may
vary. Try the minimum first eg the surname; then add other details
to try to narrow the search. Numbers have proved more reliable than
names, but officers did not have numbers in the Great War.
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