My small collection of Family named medals

[Grant Broadhurst]

Hi all ,

I,ll post here what i have got over 3 years , basically i try to hunt out any medals to my family name BROADHURST and i,ve struck lucky 3 times so far .

This is the first one :

A sole victory medal named : 29291 PTE.W.BROADHURST.G.GDS.

along with a WW1 period Grenadier Guards cap badge .

No information known but checked against war graves website and nothing found .

[Grant Broadhurst]

Here is the 2nd :

Trio named : 74655 DVR.S.J.BROADHURST. R.E.

along with a WW1 Royal Engineers cap badge .

Got a photo copy of a record sheet which states he was called Samuel and he was entitled to the trio and i think a wound badge as it says " SWBLIST RE / 1695 " . Then that he served in France and he entered France on 20/7/15 .

In the Remarks it states : DIS 392.XVI.6.3.18 is that his discharged date ?

[Grant Broadhurst]

And the 3rd and my favourite :

Star and Victory pair named : R-9139 PTE.W.A.BROADHURST.K.R.RIF.C.

along with a WW1 KINGS ROYAL RIFLE CORPS cap badge mounted in a picture frame on my wall .

Came with lots of paper work !

Lance Corporal William Albert Broadhurst was killed in action aged 26 on the 13th April 1918 .

And is buried in Ploegsteert , Belgium .

He was with the 16th Battalion Kings Royal Rifle Corps " the Church lads " .

Here is an extract from the war records of the KRRC .

The operations at Neuve Eglise .

" The morning of the 13th was very misty .

Word was recieved that a composite Battalion , which had taken up positions on the right , had fallen back , and accordingly two platoons of the very small remaining reserve had to be sent to endeavour to cope with the new situation which was rapidly getting beyond the powers of one Battalion . At about 6 a.m. a very heavy barrage was put down along the whole line , and as soon as this lifted it was seen that the line on the right of the Battalion had give way in the face of a heavy attack. almost immediately the Battalion Headquarters were attacked and cut up , Lieut.-Colonel A. V. Johnson, D.S.O., and his adjutant being wounded in their endeavour to save the situation. Word was recieved by the right support Company ( A Company ) to endeavour to swing back and get in touch with the troops at the rear and so keep some portion of the line intact , but it was not possible to get a message of any sort to the remaining Companies , who held on in their positions , fighting until all their ammunition was exhausted before they were over-run and killed or captured . "

For the rest of the 13th it was a similar story of being over run and trying to link up with neighbouring troops , a few made it to the streets of Neuve Eglise trying to link up with the nearby Glasgow Highlanders and Worcestershire Regiment .

Sounds like they got quite a pasting and were fighting for their lives . and William paid the ultimate price that day .

Thanks for looking and i look forward to your comments !

Edited April 24, 2006 by Grant Broadhurst

[Stogieman]

Hi Grant. Nice history. I have precious few things from my Great Uncles who fought in Afrika & Europe. But I treasure all of them. Nice family history!

[Tom Morgan]

In the Remarks it states : DIS 392.XVI.6.3.18 is that his discharged date ?

Grant - yes it is, and it means that he was discharged under King's Regulation 392, Paragraph xvi - "No longer physically fit for service."

Tom

Edited April 24, 2006 by Tom Morgan

[Grant Broadhurst]

Grant - yes it is, and it means that he was discharged under King's Regulation 392, Paragraph xvi - "No longer physically fit for service."

Tom

Thanks Tom so that would tie in with why he had a wound badge issued i guess .

Thanks Rick , all that i have of my immediate family in wartime is some pictures and the medals of one of my Grandfather,s who was a military policeman in Rangoon , Burma . He hated the Japanese with a vengance and never bought anything made from there .

I also have a small wooden Budha that was given to him by some monks at a nearby temple when he gave them some food .

The real gut wrencher is that he told me he oversaw the surrender of lots of Japanese at the end of the war and watched all the officer,s lay down their swords . the British officer,s got first pick and then it was my grandads turn he took 3 really nice one,s he said . Upon coming back to England the ship arrived in Liverpool and the troops were told over the PA that all men would be checked for weapons upon leaving the ship and yes he and all his mate,s threw all the swords and pistols , rifle,s etc over the side into the Mersey !!!!!

[Michael Johnson]

563 MICs for Broadhurst

23 Canadians (not all of whom may have made it overseas)

[Grant Broadhurst]

Thanks for that Michael !

[Graham Stewart]

Grant,

The Medal Index Card for William Broadhurst, Grenadier Gds, has his regimental number as 2929 and not 29291, so what has it got on the medal rim? If it's the four figure number then I would think he's either a regular or returned 1st Class Reservist.

Graham.

[Grant Broadhurst]

Hi Graham ,

It is definatley 29291 , just double checked it now .

So what does that mean ? have they made an error ?

Thanks

Grant