Military Chat

I have just found out that my father in law and his father were both in the above regiment. Is there someone out there who can help me find out more about them during there spells in the army. Thanks in advance

Keith

Keith - what period are you refering to?

Up to 70% of WW1 records were destroyed during WW2 bombing although the Record Cards survive. Unfortunately its difficult to match initials + surname to a known name

Records for service personel who served after 1922 are still with the MOD.
[ I suspect this might be the case]

This is the link for obtaining UK service records at a cost of £30 unless they or their widow can sign the forms
http://www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/service_records.html

Assuming your 'fathers' are deceased, if you'd like to give names, dob/yob and other details, we can have a look to see what, if anything, is on line.

There are numberous internet search results for 'Royal West Kent Regiment'.

Have a look through the result links to see if any are relevant to their era. That's what 'Helpers' would do

Thanks for getting back to me. Henry Hoadley born 1882 in Surrey we think served between 1915/16 and 1918/19 possibly served in Africa ?. The other one is Samson Thomas Hoadley born 1924 in Kent. He served between 1941/42 and 1945/46. We know he was in Greece at some time. Thanks again

The records for Samson Thomas Hoadley born 1924 will certainly be with the MOD.
As mentioned previously if he or his widow can sign the forms, there is no charge. Otherwise your wife will have to sign and send £30.
There can be a considerable wait (9 months has been mentioned) before they arrive.

If you can act before today is out you can search Ancestry's Military Records for free for Henry Hoadley.
http://home.ancestry.co.uk/

Not what you were asking for, but the first search result

WWII Civilian Deaths, 1939–1945
Name: Henry Hoadley
Estimated birth year: abt 1882
Death Date: 10 Nov 1940
Death Place: Swanscombe, Kent, England
Age at Death: 58
Spouse: Jane Hoadley

Urban District of Swanscombe
HOADLEY Henry age 58. Husband of Jane Hoadley of 21 Sun road. !0 Novemeber 1940 at 143 Church Road
...........

If this is the correct person then the 1911 census gives his place of birth as Esher, Surrey

Henry Hoadley
Age in 1911: 28
Estimated birth year: abt 1883
Relation to Head: Husband
Gender: Male
Birth Place: Esher, Surrey
Civil Parish: Longfield
County/Island: Kent
Country: England
Street address: Brickfield Cottages, Longfield, Kent
Marital Status: Married
Occupation: Farm Labourer
Registration district: Dartford
Registration District Number: 43
Sub-registration district: Farningham
ED, institution, or vessel: 17
Household schedule number: 163
Piece: 3810
Household Members:
Name Age
Henry Hoadley 28
Jane Hoadley 27
Charlotte Hoadley 7
Matilda Hoadley 5
Alice Hoadley 2
Daisy Potter 15

Despite redevelopement, Brickfield Cottages might still be there ;-)

????

UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920
Name: Henry Hoadley
Military Year: 1914-1920
Rank: Private
Medal Awarded: British War Medal and Victory Medal
Regiment or Corps: Queen's Own (Royal West Kent) Regiment
Regimental Number: GS/6648
Previous Units: 2/RWK. GS/6648. Pte.

Entitled to the Victory and British War medal.

Its worth reading the following link
http://www.1914-1918.net/soldiers/themedals.html

From that, we can deduce that he did not serve in a 'Theatre of War' before 31 December 1915. He may have been on the Muster Rolls, but in the UK

The medal card seems to be the only record which has survived

The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent) Regimental Diaries are on line.

If you don't have a sub to Ancestry, you can access the site for free at your local library.
They are also available to download from the National Archives. There'll be pages and pages of them!

As a lowly Private, Henry is unlikley to be mentioned by name

Thanks again for your help. A step forward with Henry and I now know where to look.