Military Chat

I am researching a local war memorial & i am having trouble finding information on the above like an army record etc.

Lieutenant
19th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery
Died on 1 November 1918 Age 27
Buried Cross Roads Cemetery, Fontaine-Au-Bois, Calais, France

Any help would be appreciated

Charlie

http://tinyurl.com/zth6xd4

(on above, and below)

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C726325


Soldiers died in the Great War 1914-1919 Transcription (Find My Past)

First name(s) George
Last name Ranken
Rank Lt
Regiment Royal Garrison Artillery
Death year 1918
Death day 1
Death month 11
Cause of death Killed in action
Supplementary Notes [Territorial]


09 November 1918 - The Scotsman - Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland

Death.
Ranken - killed in action on November 1st. Lieutenant George Ranken, Forth R.G.A., dearly beloved son of Mr. and Mrs. George H. Ranken, 5, Pitt Street, Edinburgh.


http://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/allied/regiment.php?pid=17657

(The Forth Royal Garrison Artillery were a unit of the Territorial Force with their HQ at Easter Road Barracks, Edinburgh. Nos 1 to 4 Garrison Companies were ...)

Can see those above so far...

Chris :)

Cheers

You'll soon discover that over 70% of WW1 records were destroyed as a result of WW2 bombing.
If you manage to link a service number, you can usually link the casualty to the Medal Rolls. The medals awarded give an indication of when he first entered a theatre of war, sometimes the exact date is recorded.

As he was a Lt, he might be mentioned in the Regimental War Diaries available on Ancestry & the National Archives. Some of the RWD's are being name indexed which makes things easier. Otherwise it means searching through them for the date given as his death.

The WW1 records on Ancestry only refer to non-commissioned soldiers - the National Archives holds the surviving officers' records:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-officers-after-1913/

You might be lucky and find something there.

Thanks for that Potty. It can be confusing :-)

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C726325

(did post above on him earlier, not sure if Charlie saw!)

Chris :)

That's a pity

"This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded. Request a quotation for a copy to be digitised or printed and sent to you."

Lets hope the group researching the War Memorial names have a fund that can pay for it.

No fund as i am doing this on my own