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ww1

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Andrew

Andrew Report 12 Nov 2013 19:08

hi if someone could help trying to find out about my grandfather
he fought in ww1 in the royal horse artillery or royal field artillery by the insignia of a cannon on his uniform we found years ago
he was at the battle of the somme
from what he told us but did not want to talk about it at all
ww2 he was in the home guard
and i am not on ancestry
his name was thomas waterman born 1898 dartford kent
any help would be grateful
regards
andy

KathleenBell

KathleenBell Report 12 Nov 2013 21:13

Welcome to the boards Andrew.

Is this your grandfather in the 1911 census:-

1911 census transcription details for: 1 Hurst Cottages Bexley Kent

National Archive Reference:
RG14PN3723 RG78PN141 RD43 SD1 ED3 SN73
Reg. District: Dartford
Sub District: Bexley
Parish: Bexley
Enum. District: 3

Address: 1 Hurst Cottages Bexley Kent
County: Kent

Name Relation Condition/
Yrs married Sex Age Birth Year Occupation Where Born

WATERMAN, Thomas Head Married M 49 1862 Farm Labourer Glos Stroud
WATERMAN, Kate Alice Wife Married
24 years F 43 1868 Kent Bexley Heath
WATERMAN, Kate Alice Daughter F 21 1890 Kent Bexley
WATERMAN, Thomas M 13 1898 School Kent Bexley<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
WATERMAN, Lily F 10 1901 School Kent Bexley
WATERMAN, Violet Florence F 5 1906 School Kent Bexley
WATERMAN, Winifred Evans F 1 1910 Kent Bexley

8 children born to the above marriage. All of them still living at the time of the 1911 census.

Unfortunately nothing comes up on the military records on Findmypast for him.

Kath. x

was plain ann now annielaurie

was plain ann now annielaurie Report 12 Nov 2013 23:23

If his WW1 records have survived, they will be on Ancestry, not FindMypast

+++DetEcTive+++

+++DetEcTive+++ Report 13 Nov 2013 00:34

Over 60% of the WW1 records were destroyed in WW2 bombing.

There is this possibility, but no way of knowing if the medal card is related to your Grandfather.

British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 about Thomas Waterman
Name: Thomas Waterman
Regiment or Corps: Royal Field Artillery
Regimental Number: 153966

His rank was Gunner and may have been in the RFA 268B.
He was awarded the Victory and British Medals

Bearing in mind that the barracks for the RFA were at Woolwich, its more likely that he enlisted with them than the RHA. Horses were used to move the artillery around, which might be were the horse connection came from.

Researching:
Dormant member as from 20 Sep 2019 . Click on my board name to send a message

Andrew

Andrew Report 13 Nov 2013 08:53

thank you for your help
regards
andy

GenealogyResearchAssistance

GenealogyResearchAssistance Report 13 Nov 2013 22:23

You can search the WW1 online at:-

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Home/OnlineCollections

It cost to download the record is about £3.36

They are the same records that are on Ancestry

Researching:
Genealogy Research Assistance is a friendly Facebook page to help with researching family histories. https://www.facebook.com/GenealogyResearchAssistant?ref=hl