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William Russell Grandad's WW1 Service Record.

Duly received & replied via e,ail, Phil. Lyn / Janice, I'll also post them on here later this afternoon as I have to go out now.
Maurice
 
Sorry to say this but as there seems to be no registration for Mary's birth and you are puzzled by the date - is it possible she was not William's? This might mean she was registered with a different surname. I found birth records for all the rest - Irene seems to have been registered as Lilian Irene. The other births seem to be registered in Lancashire not Cheshire.
 
Hi Janice, Dukinfield was near the border of Cheshire and Lancashire and I notice William's and Lillians' marriage certificate states in the district of Ashton-Under-Lyme in the counties of Lancaster and Chester. Later today I will scan an Ancestry document which was obtained by Josephine Russell in 2009 and also Mary Russell's brief notes and post them.
 
I have found Mary's birth - so apologies for my earlier comment!! I am not sure why it didn't come up earlier. Also found William is listed living in Ashton under Lyme on 1911 census
 

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I think this is him who I've found on the Absent Voter’s list Stalybridge and Hyde 1918 on FMP

William Russell, 294 King Street, Dukinfield, Cheshire 26538. Cpl.Mec., 49th Sqd RAF

He is also on the RAF muster roll on FMP, which gives the following info

Air Force Number 26538, Name William Russell, RNAS or RFC Classification - Rigger, Remustered to Air Force Trade Classification - Rigger (Aero), RNAS rating or RFC rank or Appointment = Corporal, New rank in Air Force - Cpl.Mech, date of joining 14/4/16, date of last promotion 1/10/17, Normal rate Air Force Pay 5s 0d, Terms of Enlistment D/W.

If it is correct and you would like a copy of the document please let me know and I will scan a copy to you, unfortunately I'm getting a message that the file is too big so can't post here.
 
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I think this is him who I've found on the Absent Voter’s list Stalybridge and Hyde 1918 on FMP

William Russell, 294 King Street, Dukinfield, Cheshire 26538. Cpl.Mec., 49th Sqd RAF

He is also on the RAF muster roll on FMP, which gives the following info

Air Force Number 26538, Name William Russell, RNAS or RFC Classification - Rigger, Remustered to Air Force Trade Classification - Rigger (Aero), RNAS rating or RFC rank or Appointment = Corporal, New rank in Air Force - Cpl.Mech, date of joining 14/4/16, date of last promotion 1/10/17, Normal rate Air Force Pay 5s 0d, Terms of Enlistment D/W.

If it is correct and you would like a copy of the document please let me know and I will scan a copy to you, unfortunately I'm getting a message that the file is too big so can't post here.
Thanks very much Bewdley for your information it looks to have found him and matches addresses we know.
I have a copy of their marriage certificate which gives his address as 53 King Street and his wife's address as 294 King Street. Looking at his rank in the RFC/RAF I am slightly doubtful about whether he would be flying as aircrew but being a rigger he might have gone up on an air test. There is also a possibility that he could have been shot on the ground although his daughter Mary has written that he was shot down.

Thanks again, very much appreciated.
oldmohawk ...:)
 
Still chasing about, but here's what I have so far.

Maurice
 

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Many thanks Maurice and thanks for the email information you sent me.
A quick look at the info seems to indicate he suffered a fractured skull. I will have to print out the records and study them, I'm always better reading from a paper copy !
He lived until 1970 and his wife lived until 1980.

Phil
 
I would just like to thank everyone who posted in this thread.
A little postscript ... the 'britainfromabove' website has a photo taken over Dukinfield in 1953 and shows the war memorial which was mentioned with the modern photo in post#1
1953warmem1.JPG

oldmohawk ... :)
 
Hi oldmohawk

Having received very good instructions from Janice on how to reduce the files I was trying to upload re post 26. I will try and upload them again. Here goes - it's a shame they have to be reduced so much though.
 

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yes well done bewdley...once you have clicked on them they enlarge perfectly as janice said...:)
 
Thanks Bewdley I'm looking at your images on my iPad at the moment and they look good. I'm presently looking at 49 Squadron records ref Maurice's info and RAF abbreviations such as ccs and I've even looked at pics of the hospital ship Brighton on which he traveled back from France. All very interesting.
oldmohawk
 
Looking at his medical record he did suffer a gun shot wound to his head and face, but it's unclear when he received the GSW as it isn't mentioned until 26/11, but as that was also the day he was shipped back to England on the hospital ship Brighton from 26 Gen Hospital Etaples, which was a base hospital in France, I doubt he received it on the 26th.

In my mind and reading between the lines he probably received the GSW and was taken to 2 CCS (Casualty Clearing Station) on the 7/11 with concussion and being dangerously ill.

On the 10/11 he was transferred from 2 CCS to a base hospital, and on the 11/11 he was diagnosed with an accidental severe fractured skull and was admitted to 26 General Hospital, Etaples. Then on the 26/11 when he arrived in England from Etaples he was admitted to the Special Military Surgical Hospital Edmonton (now the North Middlesex Hospital) where it was discovered he had a GSW head and face, which was the cause of his fractured skull.

Hope this makes sense to you and apologies if I'm miles out.
 
That sounds like a pretty logical resumé to me, Bewdley. So far I've not had any further luck with finding additional information and I feel that if it exists, it is likely to show up in the war diary of another serviceman - and that is a long shot.

Maurice
 
Here's William, Lilian and Margaret (married John R Cunningham in 1940) on the 1939 eve of war register the blacked out entries are probably their children who are still living.
 

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Thanks Bewdley, your account (post#36) does make things clearer as I had been trying to work out the sequence of events. According to my brother-in-law his grandad did have a bullet enter the side of his forehead to exit from the front. The medical attention he received seems to have been very good because he looks well in the photo taken in the hospital. It is rather sad that he received the GSW just 4 days before the Armistice on the 11 November.
 
Yes Maurice, I agree it would be good to get hold of the war diaries covering up to the 7/11 as William could have been wounded many days before he was picked up. A terrible injury and so, so close to the end of WW1.

Amazing he lived until 1970, I imagine he had many nightmares, poor chap.
 
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