British Army medal cards

[HagarTheHorrible]

Does anyone here know anything about medal cards ?

 

I've had a look at the medal cards held at the national archive but what I can't understand is why my great-grandfather appears to have served in several regiments, with several service numbers and several variations of his Christian name, but all referenced from the same medal cards.  He also had a French medal (Honour medal, NOT medal of honour), in bronze with red, white and blue ribbon and a crossed swords with laurel leaf clasp. Was this medal just handed out with the smarties, I can't seem to find many references to it from a simple google search ?

 

His Name is Clarence Armstrong, 201363

[unreasonable]

Searching the National Archive online I only get one response for those details, a Corporal in the Royal Engineers.

 

Presumably there were loads of people with similar names serving in an army that included some five million people throughout WW1.

 

The medal sounds like this one: picture lower down the post matches your description.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honour_medal_of_Foreign_Affairs

Edited November 7, 2018 by unreasonable

[HagarTheHorrible]

Thanks.

 

If you look at the preview of the medal cards it lists several other service numbers, not unusual when soldiers changed regiments, but when I put in those service numbers it leads me to others, often with similar Christian names, such as Claude or Christopher, again not radically unusual, but even so. 

 

I definitely know he was in the Engineers as I have his victory medal with details engraved. I also have a very strong suspicion that he was Army Service Corp at some point (medal card concurs) and it is quite possible that when he originally joined up at the start of the war he enrolled, or was enrolled, in the Nott's and Derby regiment (iconically his granddaughter married the grandson of another Nott's and Derby soldier who joined at much the same time).

As for the Frenchie medal. Yes, but not quite, although I have found out a little more since. It appears to be not uncommon if not quite handed out with the rations, sometimes given to whole units rather than just individuals.

Edited November 7, 2018 by HagarTheHorrible

[HagarTheHorrible]

 Found his gazetting for the  "Medaille d'Honneur Avec Glaives.en  Bronze.", London Gazette, 17 March 1920

 

    WiR/260158 Corporal Clarence Armstrong

     Railway Traffic Establishment, Royal Engineers

   (Nottingham,).

 

I don't know what the WiR/260158 stands for, it isn't his service number.

Edited November 7, 2018 by HagarTheHorrible

[unreasonable]

Good find: looking at that it would seem that the Gold version was for commissioned officers, the silver for SNCOs and the bronze for junior NCOs and private soldiers.

 

Interesting that many of the listed are in service jobs - like your ancestor working on the railways. We tend to forget that even in WW1 a very large proportion of the troops were in logistics and construction jobs, sometimes right up to the front lines. 

 

There is a little more about that medal series in this forum. https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/68502-medaille-d’honneur-avec-glaives-en-argent/ which suggests that it would have been awarded to someone doing his job while under fire.

[HagarTheHorrible]

My bad,  WR/260158 is his service number, evidently (possibly) the "WR" prefix (I think most probably rather than "WiR", West Indian Regiment) was a revised service number after unit reorganization in  1918.

 

Maybe, possibly, the Medaille d'Honneur Avec Glaives.en  Bronze  was only awarded to British soldiers on 698 occasions, so not very common. The swords denote an act of bravery or action under fire apparently, according to some person the equivalent to the British MM, although that sounds rather far-fetched to me. If it had been well regarded I imagine it would have at least had his name on it.

 

I've had the medal, sitting in a box for the last 45 years or so without giving it a second thought.