WW1 Family

[Legioneod]

Just finished watching 1917 and it got me thinking about my family who served during the war. I recently came across my great grandfathers discharge papers from WW1. It says he served in Co. D 360th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division. He fought in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and was wounded by a mustard gas attack on September 18,1918.

 

Here's some info I found on his unit.

http://www.90thdivisionassoc.org/90thDivisionFolders/mervinbooks/WWI360/WWI36001.pdf

 

I find it interesting that members in my family participated in the event in history, makes it a bit more personal.

Not sure who else in my family served in the war. Anyone else here have family that served in WW1? 

[Chief_Mouser]

Both grandfathers.

One as a driver in the RFC; wounded by shrapnel near Cambrai in 1917. Posted to Egypt afterward and drove generals etc about the RFC/RAF flight school airfields.

The other a RSM in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Never left Blighty but worked with Harold Gillies the pioneering plastic surgeon.

Lots of great uncles and their cousins involved too.

[cardboard_killer]

My great grandfather was a runner during the war, but I really have no stories of him or other information.

[Irishratticus72]

1 great grand uncle fought at the Somme, another during the 100 days in '18, both with the 36th Ulster division. 1 uncle served in the desert in' 42, another in the RAF over the Ruhr. My father served in the RAF as a grease monkey, after a stint in the defence forces of the Irish Republic. 

[MiloMorai]

Had 4 granduncles on Mom's side and 4 on Dad's side in WW1. Five came home. The 3 that didn't come home were brothers and only 1 has a known grave as he DoWs during the Battle of Vimy in 1917. Another brother 2 weeks later. The other brother 6 months later. Two of the five who came had been gassed. Six fought with Canadians and 2 with the Brits.

[J37_Daedallus]

S! all

 

When I was about 8 or so, I can remember my Gran telling me one of her brothers, a lancer, died at the Somme, and showed me a pic of him in his uniform with his horse.

 

My dad was an apprentice electrical engineer who worked on repairing Halifax bombers in WW2, he once told me they went inside a plane that hadn't been cleaned and there was blood everywhere, must have been quite sobering for a 15 year old.

 

And one of my wives had an uncle who served in a submarine in WW2

 

cheers

[Legioneod]

Very cool and interesting family history. I've always wondered if I have relatives that stayed in Europe instead of coming to America I've wondered if they served. My family immigrated from France, Germany, Scotland, and Ireland I've always been curious if any of them stayed and if they ever fought against each other in WW1 or WW2. Not sure how I would go about finding this information though.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Legioneod

[RAAF492SQNOz_Steve]

My Great Grandfather ended up as a "Guest"  (POW) of the Germans during WW1 but I have no knowledge of his service prior to being captured.

 

His brother was killed in France and when the family showed me a photo of the brother, while I visited in 1985, there was quite a silence by all concerned. We could have passed for twins, rather sad and spooky at the same time.

Edited June 22, 2020 by RAAF492SQNOz_Steve

[HBPencil]

On my mother's side I had a great-grandfather who was a sergeant in the NZ Mounted Rifles so he was in the campaigns in the Sinai, Palestine, Jordan River valley etc. He kept a war diary and took a lot of photos, and although the diaries and many photos were donated to the national library back in the 70's by my grandmother she still kept a whole lot of his stuff which I now have.

On my father's side I had three great-great-uncles who were in the war. One was also in the NZMR (joined up in 1917) and survived while the other two joined the infantry in 1914, one survived and the other didn't. Both landed at Gallipoli, one being badly wounded and captured on the first day (the first NZer to become a POW) who died a few months later due to his wounds and maltreatment by the guards (he was repeatedly stabbed and clubbed)... the other was wounded twice at Gallipoli and then a third time on the Western Front in 1916, after which he spent the rest of the war as staff at an NZ Army hospital in England.

Edited June 22, 2020 by HBPencil

[Monksilver]

My great grandfather was with the Somerset Light Infantry from before the war and was part of the British Expeditionary Force and so one of the 'Old Contemptibles'. They reached the front at Le Cateau on 22.8.14  just as the British line collapsed after which they were in the thick of it. They started with a 1000 men in his battalion, by the end of 1914 only 266 were left. They were involved in a number of the big battles including the Somme in 1916 when the battalion was the in second wave to go over the top on the first day, although they had been made back up to strength the casualty rate was over 50%. They were also one of the first to get hit by phosgene gas. The only story of his war exploits to be mentioned was that he was tasked with removing the victims of the gas attack, he went up to move a gassed tommy (we don't know if dead or not) and bent over, grabbed him by his webbing to pull him up to a sitting position, this caused the tommy to belch out gas into my ancestor's face (presumably by compressing the lungs) and he is said to have had a long term cough after that. He served on the Western Front throughout the war and stayed with his regiment until 1928 when he left after 20 years. In WW2 he signed up as an air raid warden and his diary for the one night of the Birmingham blitz blandly records that he defused a bomb - I assume an incendiary. He died in 1944 when he fell from the ledge of a window he was cleaning at work - seems a ridiculous way to go after all he had survived.

 

I have been very lucky in that I have inherited a lot of things from my great grandfather's war service including his paybook with will from 1914, Christmas cards from the front, medals, numerous photographs from before and after the war, his razors, a metal tea leaf holder (metal teabag if you will) and his Christmas 1914 tin from Princess Alexandra that they all got. I also have his discharge papers which detail his scars which suggest he got hit by shrapnel.

 

Below is a photo of my great grandfather's company for their 1913 Christmas card. It is sobering to think that 12 months later 3/4 of the men seen would be dead, missing or wounded.

 

His brother had emigrated to Canada in 1912 and joined the Canadian engineers and was at the front from 1916 to the end.

 

His brother in law was a stoker on various warships in the war including one when it rammed and sunk a U-boat.

 

Several uncles of the same great grandfather had emigrated to the US just before the war. 2 of those signed up and were shipped to France. It seems one of those was quite unlucky, records show he only arrived in a French port on 28.10.18 but a record from the next March suggests he was wounded in the very short time he was at the front before the armistice.

 

 

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Legioneod said:

Very cool and interesting family history. I've always wondered if I have relatives that stayed in Europe instead of coming to America I've wondered if they served. My family immigrated from France, Germany, Scotland, and Ireland I've always been curious if any of them stayed and if they ever fought against each other in WW1 or WW2. Not sure how I would go about finding this information though.

 

If you have names, date and places of birth then can search the records on Ancestry and might find something for the UK and US military but  I don't know what if anything they have for France and Germany.  There are other sites that have some records but I think your starting point needs to be to put a family tree together to get the basic details to start searching and find other living relatives who might know more.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Monksilver

[Feathered_IV]

I remember my grandmother mentioning two elder brothers who served in the RN aboard the same ship and were both killed.  I don’t know anything beyond that they were in the engine rooms and apparently killed by steam. 

Another relative was said to be a pilot killed in the Battle of Britain.  It’s hard to know who this was, but it might have been Hubert Adair.  Based on the shared surname and the anecdotal nickname “Bertie where’s your horse” apparently due to his love of riding.  He was shot down by none other than Helmut Wick and burned to death in his Hurricane.  

 

 

 

[LukeFF]

I would have to look up the details, but I know my wife had family from her mother's side who were in the British Merchant Navy during WWI. Lots of seafaring history in her family, both in the Royal Navy and on the Merchant side.

[Monksilver]

36 minutes ago, Feathered_IV said:

I remember my grandmother mentioning two elder brothers who served in the RN aboard the same ship and were both killed.  I don’t know anything beyond that they were in the engine rooms and apparently killed by steam. 

Another relative was said to be a pilot killed in the Battle of Britain.  It’s hard to know who this was, but it might have been Hubert Adair.  Based on the shared surname and the anecdotal nickname “Bertie where’s your horse” apparently due to his love of riding.  He was shot down by none other than Helmut Wick and burned to death in his Hurricane.  

 

 

 

I managed to find this about him - Hubert Hastings Adair, son of Robert and Elizabeth Adair of Norwich. Does that help confirm if he is your relative? I am on Ancestry so can try to dig further if you wish.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Monksilver

[rowdyb00t]

   My Great Grandfather on my Fathers side was a Corporal in the 354 infantry Battalion ( C Company ) in France. He was wounded a couple of days before the armistice and spent 6 months there before returning home. 
  Two of his sons ( my Great Uncles ) we’re in the PTO. Harold was in the Navy and Andy was in the 1st Marines. A little side story about Harold, he was on leave to get married when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was stationed on the USS Arizona. Needless to say he was lucky. 

   On my Mothers side, my Great Grandfather was a medic in the Army in the Great War. I don’t have much info on him. His son, my Grandfather, was in the 101st Airborne during WW2 and the 82nd during Korea. He made a career out of the Army. He had some Great War stories. 
  Lastly, my mother had an Uncle who was a pilot in a B24 Liberator in the 8th Airforce. 
  
@Legioneod

Great idea for a topic. Love to hear all the stories. 

[MiloMorai]

One can search the national archives. Some are free (Canada) and others, there is a cost.

 

While researching the g'uncle who died at Vimy, found a video of his unit, the 38th Batt., while stationed in Bermuda.

 

This is the 38th at Barriefield Camp.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/38th_Battalion_(Ottawa),_CEF#/media/File:38th_Battalion,_Barriefield_Camp_(HS85-10-30559).jpg