birkenhead newspapers

[steviebyday]

anyone know if they have copies of old newspapers 1915/18. in the library,trying to trace grandfathers war history.

[Hilary]

They will be either at Wirral Archives Birkenhead or Birkenhead Central library or both. I would ring them and ask.

Hilary
Ed Officer

[colette]

Hi

Is his War record not on Ancestry ??

xx

[steviebyday]

no tried for ever, trying to get some definate information on my grandfather.

[dickiesam]

Hi,
Is it just his war record that you are interested in or more than that? A lot of WW1 war records did not survive a major fire during the WW2 Blitz so are not available on Ancestry etc.

Why not post some info here, such as his age and where he is in 1901 and 1911, his pre-war occupation and his parents. Do you know his regiment and did he survive the war, for instance?

Dickiesam

[steviebyday]

yes would like to know something of his war record, cannot find anything at all, samuel mason b 1898, in tranmere, lived there all his life survived the the war but was wounded, tried ancestry but nothing.

[Katie]

Any idea what Battle he was wounded in.

I am currently working on The Rank and File lists published in the Liverpool Evening Express. When the Battle of the Somme started on 1st July 1916 which was a important Battle the Newspapers advertised to families to send details of their soldiers into the paper a list was published every day from 26th July listing men killed/missing and those that were taken prisoner of war. By December the interest in publishing the names of soldiers had dropped of. While at Kew I asked if the casualty list survived and I was told that they hadn't.

If I come across anything for a Samuel Mason I will let you know

[dickiesam]

Hi,
Just had 68 hits on the National Archives Army WW1 Medal Roll index for the name Samuel Mason. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Navigated to Army and Medal Roll index. Entered Samuel Mason with dates from 1915 to 1920. Around 15 or so names can be discounted because they have a second forename, which your Samuel apparently did not have.

Unfortunately, there is no indication as to a soldier's original regiment and they could have been transferred from one regiment to another as the situation demanded. If you have a rank on discharge that would help. You would have to start with the most likely names and check each card for clues as to where he came from etc.

There is also the possibility that his record did not survive the WW2 Blitz. I have that situation myself for a g.father and his brother. Do you know if any medals survive in the family?

Dickiesam

[steviebyday]

the only possible information i have is that a samuel mason 11354/202583. royal welsh fusiliers wounded 11/6/1918, was possibly from birkenhead, wether it is the same person i do not no, what makes this worse is that he is my grandfather, but i have no real information on him at all. steve