• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

WW1 - A family information request...

A

AdamPollard1985

Brummie babby
Hi everyone,

Firstly, let me say that I’m entirely new to this process, and indeed to this forum. So thank you in advance for any help/information that anybody can provide…

I’m rather desperately trying to find out whether either of my Great-Great Uncles served in WW1. They were both in Aston towards the end ofthe 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century and would therefore be the right age for enlisting;

Benjamin Pollard born in Aston in 1892
Arthur Pollard born in Aston in 1898

As a starting point, I wanted to clarify one thing – if they wereboth born in Aston, is it likely they would have joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment? Or is there a possibility they could have joined another regiment elsewhere?

And assuming that they did serve with the Warks', does anybody knowif there is any additional information available relating to service in theregiment, other than what can be found in the obvious online sources?

The reason I ask is that I’ve already searched The National Archive & The Medals Archive online (via Ancestry.co.uk) and can’t find any servicedetails under either name.

It’s worth noting that I did find an ‘Arthur Pollard’ who was born in 1898 like my relative. He served in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment before being killed on July 19 1916 (he served in 2[SUP]nd[/SUP]/6[SUP]th [/SUP]battalion, 6113). When I first stumbled across this information, I originally thought I’d found my GG Uncle’s records. However, on closer inspection of his service records,I found out that before joining the Warks’, he was formerly of the Royal Sussex Regiment 2981, and was actually born and lived in Sussex. It’s a bit of a coincidence(given the dates of birth and names match up perfectly), but I think it’s a coincidence none the less…

I appreciate that with only a name & DOB to go on, it’s unlikely anybody will be able to shed any light. But I’d really welcome any help - even if it’s pointing out any alternative means of searching out some info…

Thank You

Adam Pollard.

PS. I can provide further 1911 census data if required.

PPS. I also understand that a large chunk of WW1 service records were destroyed in 1940 (about 60% I think?), which could hamper my search efforts further…
 
My great grandfather was a regular solider with the 1st Battalion RWR. If you would like to contact me via instant message I will gladly provide you with information that may be of assistance.

Kind regards

Anthony Fisher
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I assume that they were the Benjamin & Arthur who in 1911 were living at 6 Victoria place Aston Brook st. They do not seem to be listed on the online supplementary electoral lists for 1918 and 1919, but am not sure if those lists are complete, and they may have moved away from Birmingham anyway.
 
Hi Mike,

Thanks for replying - yes, you're absolutely right, that's them. I did wonder whether they could have moved away from the area by then, but as Arthur would have only been 16 at the outbreak of the war, I thought he'd probably still be local...

The search will continue!

Thanks again,

Adam
 
In answer to the question did they have to be in the Royal Warwicks - NO. My own Grandfather a born and bred Brummie joined the Royal Engineers and his brother served in the Royal Horse Artillery in WW1.

On the other hand the Royal Warwicks regiment museum may have more info.

Janice
 
Hi, My dad was born in the parish of Aston but he was in a regiment in Shrewsbury, so I reckon you could go just about anywhere. Sorry that's no help!
 
Thanks Wendy! It doesn't necessarily help with immediately tracking them down - but at least it tells me they could have served elsewhere, if I don't have any luck with the RWR. Thanks again!!
 
In the early years of the war it was common for groups of men to enlist in local county regiments, hence the "Pals Brigades" this was stopped when it was realised that when one of these units suffered high casualties that many of the men would be from the same area so to prevent this when men enlisted they could be sent to any regiment. I saw some details of casualties where 10 men from the same road in Aston were killed on the same day.

Colin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi Colin - thanks for sharing your information. Again, if nothing else, it helps me understand that my relatives could easily have served elsewhere beyond the RWR's!
 
Adam, you may have seen that there are four men named as Benjamin Pollard who appear in the index to the WW1 campaign medals, and two more if we include men with middle initials. If your Benjamin went overseas (and assuming he served under his correct name), he will be one of them. Are you sure that he did?

One of them can be eliminated as his service record has survived, so we are down to three. One of these was a Chaplain so I am guessing we are down to two.

One man served with the South Staffordshire Regiment (as did my Aston relative), the other with the Durham Light Infantry. This is no indication of whether these men are or are not the right one. Neither man's service record has survived. The trick here will be to find something that helps distinguish which one he is. Do you have any photos in the family? Medals or discharge certificate, pension papers, anything?
 
Thanks for ugh response Chris - I've actually found a distant family relative via a genealogy website, who has done quite a lot of legwork on the family tree, and whom I hoping will have some more information relating to the brothers. I'll be sure to keep you all posted once we find out more!
 
Not every young man of military age served in WW1 many did important war work in the munitions factories

Terry
 
mikejee said:
I assume that they were the Benjamin & Arthur who in 1911 were living at 6 Victoria place Aston Brook st. They do not seem to be listed on the online supplementary electoral lists for 1918 and 1919, but am not sure if those lists are complete, and they may have moved away from Birmingham anyway.
Click to expand...
If they served overseas, there's always the possibility that they just hadn't go home in time for the 1919 lists. No-one serving at the end of the war would have managed 1918, would they? I'm not sure when the poll for the 1919 list would have gone out. Local elections are usually April/May so it would have had to be before that. Then there's the change in electoral qualifications. Depending on when exactly he was born, Arthur mightn't have qualified in 1919 as under 21. Depending on age and other qualifications, Benjamin probably would not have qualified under the old regulations (pre-1918 act). To see if they returned home, you'd have to start with the 1920 electoral lists.
 
The supplementary lists are, as I understand it, of people who were overseas in the army , and would be given a postal vote. I do not think they would have returned, and thatbis the point of the supplement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top