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William Henry Gardner Born About 1892 - WW1 South Staffordshire Regiment

L

Lancaster

knowlegable brummie
Can someone help please with information about William Henry Gardner. The information I
have is:
* Born about 1892, place unknown.
* Father George Gardner, boot finisher, died before 24 April 1916.
* Served in the South Staffordshire Regiment during WW1 & may have been in the regular Army
because he was possibly serving outside Europe (in India?) before WW1.
* May have reached the rank of Sergeant Major but not sure how reliable this information is.
* Believed to have served at The Somme & Ypres during WW1 & to have been injured (said to
have been rescued after three days injured on the battlefield by another soldier who
received a medal for his actions & who may have later lived in or near to Dovedale Road,
Perry Common, where WHG lived from 1926), hospitalised in London & then invalided out of the
Army due to injuries.
* Married Annie Steadman at Birmingham Register Office 24 April 1916.
* When married 24 April 1916, gave his address as 223 Clifton Road, Aston, Birmingham.
Lived at Dovedale Road, Perry Common from 1926.
* Died about 1942.

I've found from The National Archives that there seem to have been at least three (!)
William Gardner's who served in the South Staffordshire Regiment in WW1:
* Private William H Gardner, regimental number 45137.
* Private William Gardner, regimental number 11552 (3rd South Staffordshire Regiment if this
is relevant).
* Private William Gardner, regimental number 6654.

I would like to know about his military service &, if the records show it, who his parents &
siblings were, their ages, where he & they were born & lived.

Thanks in anticipation.
 
On the 1918 Absent Voters List for B'Ham there are two men named William Henry Gardner;

33S964 Cpl A Coy. Labour Corps living at 54 Orphanage Rd, Erdington.

206608 Gnr 1/1 Sa Mounted Division Royal Horse Artillery. living at 104 Philips St, Aston.

Barrie.
 
Barrie,

Thanks for that. I have a few queries if you could help please:
* As these two William Henry Gardner's appear in the Absent Voters List, does this mean that, in 1918, the addresses stated are their normal home addresses & that they were temporarily away from those addresses in the Army?
* Do the Absent Voters Lists give any other information which might help to narrow down as to whether or not one of these is the person I'm looking for (eg spouse, children, parents, age, birthplace etc)?
* I understood that he had been invalided out of the Army in or about 1916 due to his injuries. Is it possible that he could have then joined another Army unit? Do the Labour Corps or Royal Horse Artillery have any connection with the South Staffordshire Regiment?
* Do you know if there is either his Service Record or a pension record available (if he was invalided out, I understood that he would have been entitled to an Army pension)? I've looked on Ancestry but haven't yet been able to find anything, although I might not be searching properly because Ancestry seems to throw up many records.
* Do the regimental numbers for the three William (Henry) Gardners in my post above help in tracking his records down?

I'm new to researching WW1 records for my ancestors so would be grateful for any help you can offer.

Thanks.
 
The address on the Absent Voters List is their normal home address, only absent service people appear on the list.

I don't know of any connection between the Sth Staffs and either of the other two regts, but I suppose it is possible, that a man who was considered unfit for service as an infantryman, might be considered fit enough for the Labour Corps.

Later today I will have a bit of a trawl through the pension records on Ancestry.

Barrie.
 
Barrie,

I'm much obliged to you.

I'll see if I can find any records on Ancestry for the two William Henry Gardner's you mention.

Thanks for your help.
 
Lancaster

There is a W H GARDINER Pte South Staffordshire Regiment listed in the book 'National Roll Of The Great War' Section IV Birmingham. As you can see the surname is spelt with an I so not sure if this is the same person you are looking for.

Gardiner W H Pte South Staffordshire Regiment & Air Mechanic R.A.F
He volunteered in August 1914 and after his training proceeded to France, where he took part in the battles of Loos & Cambrai, and other important engagements before being wounded in action. On his recovery he transfered to the Royal Air Force and rendered valuable services with his squadron until his demobilisation in March 1919. He holds the 1914-15 star and the General Service & Victory medals. 18 George Street, Handsworth Birmingham.

Tony
 
Thanks for your reply subotone.

I had wondered whether Gardner might have been mis-spelt Gardener or Gardiner in Army records & the Pte W H Gardiner you have found makes a possible four individuals if he is added to the three William Gardners who apparently served with the South Staffordshire Regiment (see my post #1 above) in WW1!

I haven't been able to locate any WW1 service record or pension record for any of the three William Gardners on Ancestry so I've drawn a blank at the moment. The medal index cards don't of course generally have any information about next of kin, address etc which might help me to resolve whether any of them are the one I'm looking for.

I'm wondering whether the South Staffordshire Regiment Museum might be able to help to help me.

I'll bear in mind the individual you've found, although I understood that "my" William Henry Gardner was invalided out of the Army during WW1 & I don't at the moment recognise the Handsworth address.

Thanks again for your help.
 
Hi, I saw your post while doing a search for W.H. Gardner. I have in my possession a badge/pin/medal which is a "Designated Marksman" military I believe (DM) and is engraved on the reverse "Won by W.H.Gardner March9,1921 Average 65.9. Do you think it belonged to the same one you are asking about?
 
New to the forum so just only just seen this. Re the South staff regiment have a look on Google Maps at Whittington barracks. Have a look at the darker green field to the left that has Whittington Heath written on it. Zoom in and at the top of the field you can still see the distinctive outline of practice trenches that were dug there by soldiers training including zig zag trenches. You won't be able to see these for much longer, when Google earth take new pictures as this area has become a car park.
 
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