Sgt. Alfred BECK Royal Engineers. 1. Military Service. Unfortunately, Sgt. BECK s Service Record and Pension records did not survive, however, his Silver War Badge Record, Medal Roll Index Card and Service Medal Record did survive and we are able to obtain some information about his service from these records. The Silver War Badge Record relating to Sgt. BECK, (details of what the Silver War Badge was awarded for is attached at the end of this document), is 1
reproduced above. This document identifies that he was discharged from the Army on the 22 nd of December 1917 as a result of wounds he suffered during his service and at this time he was based at 20 TF (Territorial Force) Depot, which was located at Pier Road, Gillingham, Kent. The document further identifies that he was 30 years old when discharged, meaning he was born around 1887 and had joined the Army on 07 th August 1903, when he was about 16 years old. From his Medal Roll Index Card reproduced below (this record identifies the Campaign Medals he qualified for and details of the 3 medals he was awarded are included at the end of this document), Sgt.BECK was issued with 2 serial numbers, (T) 643 and 414005 2
The (T) prefix on the first number identifies that Sgt BECK would have served in a Territorial Force unit, (the TF being the forerunner of the Territorial Army). In general, men joining the TF would have joined their local unit, but as his Service Records did not survive, I can t confirm which unit he would have been serving in when war broke out. However, on the 1 st of January 1917, following a change in regulations, it was decided that any man serving in a TF unit was to be treated as a regular soldier and given a regular army service number, Sgt. BECK being allocated the Service Number 414005. During the renumbering process, Service Numbers 414001-416000, were allocated to the 2 nd Lowland Field Company Royal Engineers, a Scottish TF unit, so it can be assumed that in January 1917, Sgt. Beck was serving with this unit. The Medal Roll Index Card also identifies that Sgt. BECK arrived in Theatre of War 2B on the 18 th of March 1915, 2B being the Army code for Gallipoli. Again, I can t be certain at this time about what unit he was serving in when he deployed to the Dardanelles, but in February 1915, 2 nd Lowland Field Company TF, Royal Engineers, joined the 29 th Division, who deployed to Gallipoli from Avonmouth Docks between the 16 and 22 nd of March 1915. The 29 th Division troops went ashore at Cape Helles in the Dardanelles on the 25 th of April 1915, on the first day of the Allied landings. Sgt BECK s qualifying date corresponds to the dates that 29 th Division deployed, so it is possible that he deployed to Gallipoli with this unit. In relation to the wounds that eventually led to his discharge, once again, as his service record didn t survive, I can t say at this stage what happened to 3
him, but if you want, I could make some more enquiries to see if I can get to the bottom of what happened. 2. Campaign Medals. Following his discharge from the Army in 1917, Sgt. BECK would have been awarded The Silver War Badge, a circular white metal badge with the legend For King and Empire Services Rendered surrounding the Royal cypher and a unique serial number impressed on the reverse. The badge had a pin on the back, allowing it to be worn on civilian clothing and was intended to distinguish an ex-soldier from a civilian. Sgt BECK, in common with thousands of other discharged servicemen would have worn the badge to show that he had served honorably but had been discharged due to his wounds. The Silver War Badge. The award, which is sometimes wrongly referred to as the Silver Wound Badge, was instituted on the 12 th September 1916 under Army Order 316 and was awarded to all British and Commonwealth military personnel who had served at home or overseas during the war, and who had been honorably discharged from the army under King s Regulations. It was also awarded retrospectively to men who met the criteria for the award but who had been discharged in 1914 or 1915, before it was introduced. The most commonly seen reason for discharge and issue of the badge came under King s Regulation 392 Paragraph (xvi) or (xvia), on account of disabilities contracted following service overseas in a theatre of operations with an Expeditionary Force in the present war or on account of disablement certified to be directly attributable to the action of the enemy e.g. air or naval raids and in the case of those serving with the flying services, disablement certified to have been caused or aggravated by military service while engaged on flying duty in connection with operations against the enemy. These regulations identified that the soldier had been discharged on account of being rendered permanently physically unfit for duty in the Armed 4
Forces due to wounds or serious illness. However, Sgt BECK s Silver War Badge Record identifies that his badge was awarded under Army Order II of 10 th August 1917. Research on the web site 1914-1918.net, indicates that the actual order referred to was Army Order 265 II of 10 August 1917 and that at some point, the 265 was omitted and the "II" was incorrectly written as "2" or "11". This Order was actually an amendment to the conditions governing the issue of the Silver War Badge. Paragraph 1 simply said that the King had approved the amendment, while Paragraph 2 introduced certain classifications: (a) those who, having served as officers and being still of military age, have retired, resigned or relinquished their commissions: (i) after service overseas in the armed Forces of the Crown, on account of disablement or ill-health caused otherwise than by misconduct; (ii) after service at Home, and have been medically examined and finally discharged from liability to further military service under sub-section (5) of Section 1 of the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act 1917, as permanently and totally disabled, otherwise than from misconduct. (b) those who, having served as soldiers and being still of military age, have been discharged under the conditions set forth at (i) and (ii) in (a). (c) those who, having served as officers and, being now over military age, have retired, resigned or relinquished their commissions. (d) those who, having served as soldiers and, being now over military age, have been discharged other than for misconduct. (e) civilians who have served with the Royal Army Medical Corps under a fixed agreement for a period of service, or who have been employed with the army overseas (provided such employment received official sanction) who have resigned their military employment on account of wounds or sickness and who, if of military age, have received a final discharge under sub-section (5) of Section 1 of the said Act. (f) Nurses and members of Voluntary Aid Detachments who have been discharged on account of old age, wounds or sickness, such as would render them permanently unfit for further service. Paragraph 3 defined what "served overseas" meant, and Paragraph 4 stated that "military age" was that defined in the Military Service Acts. As per his SWB record, Sgt. BECK was therefore discharged under Paragraph 2 (b) (1) Wounds. In the majority of cases, the award of the SWB was accompanied by The King s Certificate of Discharge, which was instituted under Army Orders 138 and 139 of May 1918, which related to the award of the King s Certificate and King s Second Certificate to officers and men respectively. For a soldier to receive the King s Second Certificate, he would have to have been discharged under Paragraphs 392 (xvi) or (xvia) of King s Regulations, (through wounds received or serious illness), therefore the award of a badge did not automatically entitle a man to the award of a certificate whilst those awarded a certificate would certainly have been entitled to a badge. 5
At the end of the First World War, apart from the SWB, soldiers had little to show for their efforts, as only three Campaign Medals were authorized to be issued to British and Commonwealth Servicemen, the 1914 Star or 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. When a Serviceman qualified for all three medals, they would be worn together in order from left to right when viewed from the front as in the below image, and these three medals, or at least the British War medal and the Victory Medal are the most likely medals to be found among family heirlooms. The issue of the Campaign Medals by the Government in the 1920's coincided with the publishing of a popular Daily Mirror comic strip, Pip, Squeak and Wilfred. Created by Bertram LAMB and the illustrator Austin Bowen PAYNE, the cartoon featured a dog called Pip, a penguin called Squeak and a young rabbit called Wilfred. Payne had served as an officer during the war and his personal valet, known as a batman was thought to have been nicknamed Pip-squeak and this is where the idea for the names of the dog and penguin came from. For some reason, the three cartoon caharacters became associated with the 3 Campaign Medals and the medals thereafter became known as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred. 6
The 1914 Star The 1914 Star, established in April 1917 and also known as 'Pip' or the 'Mons Star', was cast from bronze and was authorized by King George V in April 1917 for officers, other ranks, doctors and nurses of the British and Indian Expeditionary Forces, as well as for members of Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Navy Reserve and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve who served ashore with the Royal Naval Division in France or Belgium, between 5 th August 1914 to midnight on 22 nd November 1914 inclusive. A narrow horizontal bronze clasp sewn onto the medal ribbon, bearing the dates '5th AUG. - 22nd NOV. 1914' identified that the recipient had actually served under fire of the enemy during that period. For every seven medals issued without a clasp there were approximately five issued with the clasp. Recipients who received the medal with the clasp were also entitled to attach a small silver heraldic rose to the ribbon when just the ribbon was being worn. The reverse of the medal has the recipient's service number, rank, name and unit engraved on it. The recipients of this medal were responsible for fighting with the French and Belgians, to hold back the German army in the first sixteen weeks of the Great War and they fought bravely at Mons, at le Cateau during the Great retreat, at the Marne and the Aisne and at the First Battle of Ypres. At the start of the War, the Kaiser had ordered his generals to destroy what he described as Britain s contemptible little army, but unfortunately for the Kaiser, the men of the original British Expeditionary Force, (BEF) refused to be destroyed and, picking up on what the Kaiser had said they took on the nickname of The Old Contemtibles. There were approximately 378,000 1914 Stars issued and everyone who received this medal woould also have received the War Medal and the Victory Medal 7
The 1914-15 Star Established in December 1918 and also known as Pip, this bronze medal is similar in design to the 1914 Star, but was issued to all servicemen who had served in any theatre of the war between 5 th August 1914 and 31 st December 1915,except for those who were elligible to receive the 1914 Star The reverse of the medal has the recipient's service number, rank, name and unit engraved on it and recipients of this medal would also have been awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Approximately 2.4 million of these medals were issued. The British War Medal, 1914-18 Established on 26 th July 1919, this medal in silver or bronze was also known as Squeak and was awarded to officers and other ranks of the British and Imperial Forces who either entered a theatre of war or entered service overseas between 5 th August 1914 and 11 th November 1918 inclusive. This was later extended to service personnel who served in Russia, Siberia and some other areas between 1919 and 1920. The front (obv or obverse) of the medal depicts the head of George V and the recipient's service number, rank, name and unit was engraved on the rim. Somewhere in the region of 6.5 million British War Medals were issued and of these, some 6.4 million were the silver versions of the medal. Around 110,000 of a bronze version were issued mainly to Chinese, Maltese and Indian Labour Corps 8
The Allied Victory Medal Following the War It was decided that each of the allies should issue their own bronze victory medal with a similar design, similar wording and identical ribbon. Shown above is the British version of the medal designed by W. McMillan and which was also known as 'Wilfred'. The front or obverse of the medal depicts a winged classical figure representing victory and The recipient's service number, rank, name and unit was engraved on the rim. Somewhere in the region of 5.7 million Victory Medals were issued. Eligibility was quite restrictive and to qualify for the Victory medal the recipient had to be mobilised by Britain, in any service and have entered a theatre of war between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. Women qualified for this and the earlier two medals, for service in nursing homes and other auxiliary forces. Because the recipient of this medal had to have enterd a theatre of war, not everyone who received the British War Medal ('Squeak') also received the Victory Medal ('Wilfred'). However, in general, all recipients of 'Wilfred' also received 'Squeak' and all recipients of 'Pip' also received both 'Squeak' and 'Wilfred'. Sgt. BECK, who deployed to Gallopoli on the 18 th of March 1915 and who saw active servive in a theatre of war, would therefore have qualified for the 1914-15 Star as well as the British War Medal and the allied Victory Medal. Sources : 1914-1918.net Great War Forum Ancestry.co.uk Prepared by Mike SELCON, May 2016. mikeselcon@yahoo.com Mobile : 07983382908 9
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