Worcestershire Regiment

I am a grandson of 2nd Lieut. W. H. Goold who served in the Royal Gloster Yeomans prior to joining the 14th Worcester Regiment on 9th November 1915. I hope to visit France later this year and visit some of places my grandfather served at in WW1.

My grandfather survived the war and I have his Record of Service book. Unfortunately I have no experience of such documents and I am having trouble understanding where he might have been and what may have happened to him whilst he was in France.

The regimental website indicates that he arrived in France on 21st June 1916, but I have no idea which company he may have been in and therefore where he may have served subsequently.

His service book documents that he was wounded on 3 November 1916 and the ‘sick’ column shows the dates Mar 1917 and Oct 1917. I was aware he had contracted Meningitis whilst in France but was unaware of any injury.

His service book records that he was a ‘Transport Officer’ Nov 1916 to March 1917. I remember stories he told about having 100 mules and bringing supplies up to the forward trenches during the night. But again I don’t know where that may have been.

His service book shows he joined the RFC in November 1917, but he is not listed on the Regimental website amongst those joining the RFC from the Worcester Regiment.

If any one can help fill in some of the blanks especially in regard of locations for June 1916 to November 1917, or point me in the right direction for further research I would be very grateful

I should add that I have never posted on a forum before so I apologise for any errors in etiquette.

Many thanks in advance for any help.

David

Hi David

I have found a reference to your Grandfather in the Worcester Herald. He was reported in the 11 November 1916 edition as,

Sec Lieu W. H. Goold Wounded.

If you obtain his Medal Index Card (MIC) it may show you the Battalions that he served with. It can be obtained from Ancestry.Co.Uk. Your local library should have access or from the National Records Office. Armed with this information, The Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War, by Capt H Stacke, M.C. traces the Regiment throughout the war and is an invaluable source of information.

Regards Allan

The MIC does not give a battalion, I just checked. THere is a reference to Worcestershire Regiment OFF 165 Page 4D, which can be looked up and perhaps give more information.

Kind regards,
Lars

Didn't think you would miss that one Lars.

Allan

Hi Allan and Lars,

Thanks for such a rapid response. I see I should be able to get a CD Rom/PDF version of Capt H Stacke's book which is probably the most practical option. I'll also put an MIC check at the local library on the 'to do' list.

A couple of questions.

Allan, I assume the Worcester Herald ref is limited to the information you listed - is the content of the Worcester Herald of the period available online anywhere?

Lars, I'm not sure about your reference to Worcester Regiment OFF 165 Page 4D. Does this refer to the MIC?

Also, hand written in red ink on the inside front cover of the Record of Services book is 'Index No. 21980'. Does this number have any significance and is it of any use in my search?

Thanks again to you both,

David

David, the reference number I quoted is taken from the MIC and makes it possible to look up the roll at the National Archives. There the information concerning battalions might be found, I say might as I am not sure on how the roll works for officers.

Kind regards,
Lars

Hi David

This is the only information that it shows. The casualty list are just that. A list names of the Lads, Killed, Missing, Died, Died of Wounds, Wounded, ect. for the week. Some weeks it can fill almost half of a broadsheet paper and that is only for the Lads with Worcestershire connections.
It really brings it home to you as you see all their names.

Unfortunatly they are only available on microfish at the Worcester History Centre.

Regards Allan

Hi David,

I have added Lieut. W. H. Goold to the RFC List of Officers on this website and also added a photo.

Lars was helpful in letting me have the information you sent.

Best regards,

Louis (webmaster)

Thank you Louise.

Lars and Allan have been generous with information and advice. I have requested the War Diary at Kew for the 14th Worcester Regiment, on Thursday of next week and hope to fill up some gaps.

Kind regards,

David