geoff

With top bar: Geoff

Can concur with Chris, purchased a citation card recently for a friend, grandfather had been in R.A. in North Africa, some cracking information, well worth the money. Geoff

Hi, just a little more info. on the medal manufacture, medal is a two part construction, the disc on the obverse been seperately made from the star and then attached, as such, both parts had to be marked with the England sterling mark (lion passant), the obverse disc has the England sterling mark (lion passant) just above the shield, you'll need a loop to see it clearly. Geoff

Thats spot on Brian well done, I'm sure you'll soon make your funds up BANTAM BATTALIONS (information taken from the www) ? 85. Mr. WATT asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the raising of a battalion of less height than the regulations permit, namely, 5 feet 3 inches, has been sanctioned for several towns in England, including Manchester, Leeds, Birkenhead and Bury; whether this permission has been refused to the large Scottish towns, including Glasgow and Edinburgh; if so, will he say why this distinction has been made; and is he now prepared to put the two countries on an equal basis so far as the raising of bantam battalions is concerned? Early in the war, when hundreds of thousands of young men were rushing to enlist, there were tens of thousands who found their patriotic ambitions thwarted by regulations. Age was probably the main one, but this was easily circumvented, and there are many stories of youngsters who, having been refused when they gave their true age, simply went to the end of the queue and added a couple of years when their turn came round again. It was more difficult, though to overcome the Army's minimum height, which was 5 feet 3 inches. No matter how fit, strong or willing a man might be, there was no room for him in the army if he could not meet this height requirement. It took time, but eventually the authorities came to realise that there was a large number of would-be soldiers, keen and eager to serve, and that there were big hearts beating within their small frames. Special Battalions - which became known as Bantam Battalions - were formed and at last, there was a place for these small men who wanted to prove that they could be as good soldiers as any of their taller brothers. Geoff

Hi, I have had the link checked out and it is working fine, downloads no problem, could be your Firewall, try turning it off and giving the download a shot, or it could be your internet settings, you could try restoring defaults in settings and then giving it a go, other than these two options I can't think of what else might be the problem. Geoff

This is only an opinion as this is definitly not my field, UK Scottish regiments usually had a piece of the regimental tartan behind their badge, don't know why! good luck maybe? anyway this looks like a piece of red beret, possibly UK Parachute Regiment, either way, I am assuming it would be unofficial as a member of the United Nations Peace Keeping Force. (not sure if it would be allowed). Totally agree with Kev. Go on somebody shoot me down Geoff

For those interested, I came upon the original theme on another forum covering Regiments.org their archive is available in Mediafire and can be downloaded for free using this link for access http://www.mediafire.com/?213ycdmywzx Geoff

Hi Ed, yes it could be burned to CD, a last resort maybe, other options being tried first. Geoff

Hi Stuart if you pm me your e mail address I will have a go at compressing the file, 28mb, and sending it by e mail, not sure if it will work, not sure if I can compress it enough for my provider to allow me to send it, I will try over the weekend. Geoff

Yes, I also took advantage of the free download of the archives from Regiments.org as they were available for only a limited period, now, sadly, no longer available. Geoff

Hi, have you tried the National Archives website http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...p;resultcount=1, your man's MIC is there, for ?3.50 you can download a copy it will give you basic information, medal entitlement, date of entry and theatre of war. Medal card of Henry W.Randall Welsh Regiment 5779 Private. Welsh Regiment 201579 Private. (2 numbers just means he was there when the numbering system was altered, can't really expand as I'm not a WW1 expert but I believe it was in 1915 so I would presume his star would have the smaller number and his remaining entitlement the second number). Error's on medal naming for WWI is quite common, nothing to worry about, usually the number would be OK, I have a death plaque with the recipients name spelt differently from his medals. I would advise obtaining his MIC its a starting point, try the 1901 census, again a small cost, try Ancestory, they are doing 14 days free membership, you could get his MIC for nothing if they have it, they also show the reverse which may have an address, you never know there might be something there. http://www.ancestry.co.uk/ There is also a forum called The Great War Forum, I notice they have an update on the Welsh regiment, try this link http://www.1914-1918.net/index.htm. Hope this helps, good luck Geoff

There was an article on another forum about regiments.org, they no longer exist but the work that had been carried out on their website was available to download for anyone who was interested, for a limited period, I only know this because I downloaded their website for future use, some good information on there, now sadly no longer available. Geoff

That's a cracking present Brian, spot on piece of research as well, nice and thoughtful of your other half, wonder if I should start dropping hints Well done Geoff

Hi guys in response to BIGJAROFWASPS link to the times this link may be of some interest http://www.parliament.the-stationery-offic.../80226h0001.htm Westminster Hall, Tuesday 26 February 2008 [Miss Anne Begg in the Chair] Medals (Armed Forces Personnel) I agree, they need to get their fingers out. Geoff

Hi just like to add a comment on authenticity, I read an article a while back about copy and authentic M.C.'s and spotting the difference, I seem to remember that original M.C.'s always have a counter sunk suspension hole on the rear of the cross. If the above is deemed to be correct then I concur with previous comments on it's authenticity, well done. Best regards Geoff.