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Hi
Could anyone help with any information relating to finding army records of my grandfather Joseph Hawley dob 1 Oct 1893. His marriage certificate dated Feb 1916 shows him as being a private in East Yorkshire regiment. Unfortunately no regiment number and the only other info looks like 1st B*****. I have searched the medal cards and found a Joseph Hawley ref WO 372/9/94057 with 2 regiments listed as East Yorkshire 17449 and also Labour Corps 622073 and guessing this is probably him (any way to check this?). Also can anyone tell me why he might have 2 regiments listed as I wasn't aware people changed regiment while staying at the same rank?
My mum told me he fought at the Somme and was injured but made it home. If anyone could help with any more information or point me in the right direction I would be very grateful.
I have previously tried to look into this back in 2008 but just started looking again in the hope more records may now be available. Thank you all

you could look in

"To commemorate the Battle of the Somme, Ancestry is making access to the records, as well as many other WWI collections, free between 8pm on June 30th and midnight on July 4th - 100 hours to mark 100 years.

Presume this is Ancestry UK only.

Also posted on General Chat.

Thank you for the info Malyon

forces-war-records.co.uk/Records

This has been posted on a thread on another board which could explain why Joseph was in 2 regiments

The Labour Corps were formed in the feb' of 1917 and lasted til 1921. It was made up of men that had been in the front line and who had been either wounded or taken ill and could not be returned to the front or men who, on enlistment, were found to be too old or did not pass as fit enough to be sent to the front. By the November of 1918 some 400,000 men were serving in the Labour Corps.
.....
The original quote came from
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=185819.0

thread on Genes
http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/military_chat/thread/1360652
.........

You are probably aware that around 70% of WW1 full military records were destroyed during WW2 bombing. Although the medal cards survived as they were stored elsewhere, it makes it difficult for us to match them to a known person.

Medal card from Ancestry

Joseph Hawley
Regiment or Corps: E York Rif, [ could be Rif(le), or just R(eg) ], Labour Corps
Regimental Number: 17449, 622073

Awarded 15 Star, Victory & British War medals.
First entered a threatre of war (France) on 22 Jun 1915

Many thanks for the info and I think that now explains the 2 regiments. I was going to try to look on the forces war records site but bearing in mind what you have said about so many military records being destroyed I am wondering if it would be worth the extra expense at the moment just to try to find something which may not be there.
Thank you again for all your help
Sarah

www.forces-war-records.co.uk shows these on an initial free search, which may or may not be relevant . I don't know why some are shown more than once - or whether they are identical or not:

J Hawley 17449 Private 1916 East Yorkshire Regiment
J Hawley 17449 Private 1916 East Yorkshire Regiment
J Hawley Temporary Captain 1916 Labour Corps
J Hawley 31748 Private 1916 York And Lancaster Regiment

Did he have a middle name?

J E Hawley 33310 Private 1917 East Yorkshire Regiment
J E Hawley 33310 Private 1917 East Yorkshire Regiment
J E Hawley 33310 Private 1917 East Yorkshire Regiment
J E Hawley 33310 Private 1917 East Yorkshire Regiment

On another thread someone said that it wasn't worth paying the FWR sub, as there wouldn't be any more info than already on Ancestry or other sites.
I haven't tried it myself, so can't give an opinion.

You might think it worth the £8.95 for a month's sub just to find out.

If you do, but then don't want to continue after the initial period, remember to cancel your sub, or it will be renewed automatically.

Thanks for that ArgyllGran
No middle name. I am inclined to believe it is J Hawley East Yorkshire 17449 (622073 Labour Corps) which would tie in with the information from +++DetEcTive+++ re him being in 2 regiments due to being injured. Wondering if I should have a look on Ancestry on June 30th as Malyon suggested to see if any other info is available then or just take the plunge and pay the £8.95 for a month on FWR.

Well, the 30th's tomorrow, so you won't have to wait long for the Ancestry offer!

33310 one is John...

31748 John

17449 Joseph

(checked from below, just click on arrow in grey box, to 'Search our records' enter surname, number)

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Chris :)