WWI Reasearch Help Needed (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Threads
92
Messages
1,391
Location
hanford, ca
Hello all,
I am in possession of a piece of equipment from a solider who was in the
Royal Army Medical Corps in WW 1
I want to return this item to the descendants of this gent, and just get this item home where it belongs.
I don't want any notoriety, or money.
Now that you know my intentions, my fear is sending this item to the wrong person and having them sell or profit off of it. Cause that sh!t ain't right for this old vet.
The goal is to I.D. this guy, and then locate his next of kin, I'm assuming in the U.K, and if not, then donating it to a proper museum in or around his hometown.
I have spent a number of hours, along with my dad, searching the interweb.
I have been hit with info overload, and refuse to pay for ancestry.com types.

This gents name is L.E. Evans
Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), his service number is 69583
He had an address, I'm presuming was his personal, in the item
75 S.W. N. Lancaster U.K. ---- Then the word "Bolton" appears, I don't know if it is a street or a section of the town of Lancaster.
Underneath all of the address is, "Royal Regt." --- Which I found stands for the "Kings Own Royal Regiment"
My Pop explained to me that a lot of houses are passed down to family members in the UK.
But he mentioned that the area/village/town of Lancaster went through some changes or re-districting.

Additional markings on the item.
There is an old paper sticker that is white with a big blue X across it that says,
1st class luggage room and (over 16 years)
Also the remains if (I think) painted square with a large S in the middle of it and 3 letters at the bottom
(C-G-O) I can't decipher the first letter, then followed by Y, and what looks like a W
And lastly a stencil on top that reads QQ 1005

Well there you have it, my mystery
I have searched local libraries, the W.O. (War Office in the U.K.) and papers there known as WO 363 and 364, but the copies were old and the print was little.

My research skills are limited, as well as my patients for technology.
I also figure you vets would know much more of the terminology.
Thanks, Jim
 
The Kings Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was apparently amalgamated with the Border Regiment which then became known as the 'Kings Own Royal Border Regiment'......
In 2004, as part of the restructuring of the infantry, it was announced that the King's Own Royal Border Regiment would amalgamate with the King's Regiment and the Queen's Lancashire Regiment to form the new Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border). The Regiment's final act was to serve in Iraq between 2005 and 2006.[5] The new regiment was formed on 1 July 2006, with the Kings Own Royal Border Regiment forming the 3rd Battalion.

Now for a coincidental fact ... I was in The Royal Regiment of Canada (located in Toronto) --- we had two 'Allied Regiments' - one was a British regiment called 'The Kings Regiment' (see above) .... which is now perpetuated by the Duke of Lancasters Regiment ( which also perpetuates the unit that your man apparently was 'attached' to.) One thing you should be aware of is that many/most of the British units recruit from around their principal ('home') base. So likely your man originally lived in the home area of the regiment.

One avenue you may wish to explore is this:
Regimental museum
The King's Own Royal Regiment Museum is part of the Lancaster City Museum in Lancaster, Lancashire. The museum, which opened in 1929, exhibits regimental uniforms, medals, regalia, silver, paintings, medals, weapons and other memorabilia reflecting the regiment's history.[78]

They may also be able to advise you where there might be old unit nominal rolls/records

And to add -- of course the other very good avenue for research would be the Royal Army Medical Corp


Also I found this:

Service Records:
The service records of soldiers serving between 1914 and 1920 and officers from 1914 up to and including 30 March 1922 are held by the National Archives, formerly the Public Record Office. Please be aware that approximately two thirds of First World War army records were destroyed during the Blitz in the Second World War ...

They may have next of kin listed etc
 
Last edited:
AJP, thank you.
Yes I found some of the older info you posted, but did not know the newer stuff.
I have looked up the RAMC, and his service number.
And the info destroyed, well some of it was in the WO363 and 364 papers.
I did write down the city museum info, thanks again
 
Well, I am still batting a zero.
So, as soon as I can find the right box, I will package this item and send it off to the museum that AJP mentioned.
Thanks for the help,
Jim
 
Well, the item was sent about 2 weeks ago to the Museum in the UK, Lancaster
RIP old medic
 
Well here is an update.
The "Item" that I thought was a hand made tin Medic box turned out to be a "Hat" box. And it was not cheap to send to the UK.
The reason I sent it was that I could not locate a descendant, and it went to the museum, it was my only choice. And not to mention that there was something, or someone "Attached" to this item. After I removed it from my house, my kids stopped seeing "The" figure in the house.
I hope I did the right thing.
But wait, there's more. A few months later I received a letter from the director of the museum, on official letter head, bearing his name and all of his degrees and credentials listed after his name. This Snotty Little Bloody Wanker chewed me out for sending a hat box ( I did not know what it was ), informed me in no uncertain terms that "He" would not be displaying the item, as it was too common and they had enough of them. He then said, "You would have been far wiser, and much less expensive if you would have just ……........"
He then said that it would cost him to dispose of the item, and for me to contact him and explain to him what he should do with it.
Well, I passed on contacting him, as I WOULD HAVE REALLY TOLD HIM WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
Phucking Brits
Oh well, I hope that old ghost made it home.
 
Well here is an update.
The "Item" that I thought was a hand made tin Medic box turned out to be a "Hat" box. And it was not cheap to send to the UK.
The reason I sent it was that I could not locate a descendant, and it went to the museum, it was my only choice. And not to mention that there was something, or someone "Attached" to this item. After I removed it from my house, my kids stopped seeing "The" figure in the house.
I hope I did the right thing.
But wait, there's more. A few months later I received a letter from the director of the museum, on official letter head, bearing his name and all of his degrees and credentials listed after his name. This Snotty Little Bloody Wanker chewed me out for sending a hat box ( I did not know what it was ), informed me in no uncertain terms that "He" would not be displaying the item, as it was too common and they had enough of them. He then said, "You would have been far wiser, and much less expensive if you would have just ……........"
He then said that it would cost him to dispose of the item, and for me to contact him and explain to him what he should do with it.
Well, I passed on contacting him, as I WOULD HAVE REALLY TOLD HIM WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
Phucking Brits
Oh well, I hope that old ghost made it home.


It is very funny you had this happen. I once found a hardback book published after WW2 by the USMC. It was the history of the marines in WW2. No ISBN number as the USMC published it for all Marines who served , and if deceased, their families. Inside this book was a signed letter from the Commandant of the Marine corps. I searched for the remaining family and found them thinking it would be a vital piece. I got the book from a thrift store and the remaining family told me to just throw it out, they were not interested. The Marines family who got this book, he was killed on Wake Island, age 21. So, you never know if anyone cares.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom