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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