Genealogy Chat

Having difficulty tracing my grandfather in WW1 He was I think In the RFA.Anyone any ideas?

Some of the records are on Ancestry but not all have survived.
If you give his name and dob I will check for you.
Regards Irene

Cedric

Only about 30% of the records for servicemen in WW1 survived WW2

They were moved from the Ministry of Defence in London to another building in London at the stert of WW2, for safe keeping

That building was bombed

The remaining records that had not been completely destroyed were then moved to a building in Kew.


I was once told that there was a fire in that building ..... but there seems to be some dispute about the truth of that


However .................. as I said, only about 30% of the records now survive, and many are damaged.

Sometimes all you get are burnt fragments of paper.


You really are very lucky to find anyhting.

Sometimes all you get is the record on Medals awarded.



Records for officers fared better as they were stoed in another place, and I believe that all or almost all have survived.



Please post his name, dob, and anything else that you think might help (eg where he lived), and let us see what we can find for you.



sylvia

Cedric sent me a pm with details
William Oliver Bird born 20.07.1883

I had to look up his birth details and found that
his birth was registered Mansfield, Nottingham.
Lots of William Bird's in the records but none
for William Oliver but 2 medal cards awarded to
William Oliver Bird's.

Tried to find him 1911 to see where he lived. No luck.
Think he may be with his parents Henry Bird?and
Elizabeth Bird? as image in 1901 census
states 1882 birth Nottingham.

Perhaps someone else will have more luck for Cedric.
Regards Irene

Hi Irene :)

Are you sure Cedric wanted the date of birth published on here? he may very well have done but perhaps the pm rather than the post means he wants to keep it private?

Are the RAF records online yet? I'd be interested if they were :))

1901

Name: William Bird
Age: 19
Estimated birth year: abt 1882
Relation: Son
Father's name: Henry Bird
Mother's name: Elizabeth Bird
Gender: Male
Where born: Nottinghamshire, England
Civil Parish: Nottingham
Ecclesiastical parish: St Anne
County/Island: Nottinghamshire
Country: England
Registration district: Nottingham
Sub-registration district: Nottingham North East
ED, institution, or vessel: 30
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 13
Henry Bird 43
Elizabeth Bird 38
Edith Bird 20
William Bird 19
Harry Bird 16
Lily Bird 13
Mabel Bird 11
Thomas Bird 9
Alfred Bird 7
Ernest Bird 4
Elizabeth Bird 3
Dorothy Bird 6 Months
 
Source Citation: Class: RG13; Piece: 3176; Folio: 31; Page: 19.

1891

Name: William Bird
Age: 9
Estimated birth year: abt 1882
Relation: Son
Father's name: Henry Bird
Mother's name: Elizabeth Bird
Gender: Male
Where born: Nottinghamshire, England
Civil Parish: St Mary
Ecclesiastical parish: St Ann
Town: Nottingham
County/Island: Nottinghamshire
Country: England
Registration district: Nottingham
Sub-registration district: Nottingham North East
ED, institution, or vessel: 31
Henry Bird 34
Elizabeth Bird 28
Edith Bird 10
William Bird 9
Henry Bird 6
Lily Bird 3
Mabel Bird 1
 
Source Citation: Class: RG12; Piece: 2698; Folio 18; Page 30; GSU roll: 6097808.

How rude!

I was polite when mentioning this to Irene as she was only trying to help.

I only mentioned it as I thought it strange that he had replied by pm rather than by post (although I had considered he may be new to the boards). Some people do keep grandparent dates of birth private if only to stop being identified themselves, also (although not in this case) some grandparents are still alive or records are not in the public domain yet. Rather than assume that he wanted the details "out there", wouldn't it be better to check? (Irene - this last sentence is not a "go" at you by the way :) )

SRS

my immediate assumption was that he is new to posting on these boards, although his number is not a very recent number, and did not know how to reply on the thread

I cannot possibly imagine why he would want to keep his grandfather's birth date a secret


However, if you are so concerned, why don't you send him a pm ............ ask him if he indeed did not want the birth date posted, and advise him on how to post directly on the thread instead of sending pms.

Then he can tell us directly whether Irene, or anyone else, has done wrong.




sylvia

Do you have William birth Certificate with his parents names.

The reason I ask is that I found this possible birth

Name: William Oliver Bird
Year of Registration: 1883
Quarter of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep
District: Mansfield
County: Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire
Volume: 7b
Page: 59

There is this 1891 census

Name: William O Bird
Age: 7
Estimated birth year: abt 1884
Relation: Son
Father's name: Christopher Bird
Mother's name: Maria Bird
Gender: Male
Where born: Pinxton, Derbyshire, England
Civil Parish: Pinxton
Ecclesiastical parish: Pinxton
Town: Pinxton
County/Island: Derbyshire
Country: England
Registration district: Mansfield
Sub-registration district: Blackwell
ED, institution, or vessel: 8
Christopher Bird 32
Maria Bird 33
Arthur Bird 11
William O Bird 7
Christopher P Bird 4
 
Source Citation: Class: RG12; Piece: 2651; Folio 70; Page 28; GSU roll: 6097761.

Hello Irene :)

Please re-read my post, I haven't criticised you at all. I know you were trying to help and I said as much :)

RFA = Royal Field Artillery


There is this medal card for a William O Bird


British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920

Name: William O Bird
Regiment or Corps: Royal Field Artillery
Regimental Number: 82675

He was awarded the:-

Victory Medal
British Medal
1915 Star


all seemingly for service in France


His rank is shown as Drv ............ ??Driver?


The description of the Medals is as follows:-

1914-15 Star was awarded for service in France or Flanders (Belgium) between 23 November 1914 and 31 December 1915, or for service in any theater between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915


Allied Victory Medal (Victory Medal) was awarded for service in any operational theater between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. It was issued to individuals who received the 1914 and 1914-15 Stars and to most individuals who were issued the British War Medal. The medal was also awarded for service in Russia (1919-1920) and post-war mine clearance in the North Sea (1918-1919).


British War Medal was awarded to both servicemen and civilians that either served in a theater of war, or rendered service overseas between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. It was also awarded for service in Russia, and post-war mine clearance in the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea between 1919 and 1920.




so now we know his regimental number



sylvia

Thanks for explaining RFA Sylvia, I was hoping that the RAF records may be online. Alas, it seems not. Thanks.

I can't find any more than that



sylvia

SRA


you're welcome


I had to look up RFA a couple of weeks ago to find out what it meant, that's how I knew!


sylvia

The guidelines for using the boards are defined by Genes Reunited, not by the members on here. The main paragraph relevant to living persons is

"Don't include an email address, postal address, phone number, the address of any website, or any other personal information about yourself or any other person in material that appears on the service – where your own personal information is concerned, this can be shared, should you wish, once direct contact has been made by another Member. This does not apply to the Records Office board. "

I know it is also frequently cited on here, but It is unlikely the Data Protection Act will apply to genealogical research.

1. personal data that is processed only for research, statistical or historical purposes is exempt altogethrer

and in addition to that,

2. the most comprehensive exemption applies when personal data is processed by a data controller who is an individual (not an organisation) only for the purposes of their personal, family or household affairs.

Slartibartfast, I did not snap at Irene. it merely was a question that I was asking about the original poster. It used to always be quoted on here that we shouldn't include info from pms without the original person's permission (which Irene may have had). That wasnt really the issue though, (nor was data protection) I was just wondering why the original poster hadn't replied on the original thread and I was thinking that he may have wanted to keep it private but who knows? We don't know what he was thinking.

I think you are reading a tone into my post that honestly wasn't there. (I had included smilies in my original post as well which hopefully showed that I wasn't snapping) However, telling me to have a reality check was indeed rude. Also implying that I'm a (you know what) and intimidating is also pretty rude.

Just because I'm voicing a different opinion/perspective doesn't mean that I'm a dinosaur that likes to snap at people. If you knew me, you'd see that I'm more likely to defend people who are being snapped at. However, I do see things from a different point of view from some people from time to time, it doesn't make me a snapping dinosaur (would that be a dragon? ;) ) Please there really is no need to make it personal.

When you are new to the boards it is easy to do things the wrong way. You are so excited that someone has found something for you that sensibilty goes out the window.
I have had my wrist slapped and bottom kicked before and am now a lot more careful.
Nevertheless the help that you get on here is brilliant and has helped my mum in law find a sister that she did'nt know she had. They have lived less than 2 miles apart for 50 years and never knew.
Keep up the good work

Service records of RAF Officers that served prior to 1922 and Airmen that served prior to 1924 are held at the National Archive.

More details on here

http://www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/raf.html