Henry Willits (William Henry Willetts) No8991

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Henry Willits (William Henry Willetts) No8991

Postby tomwbhx » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:24 pm

My Grandfather William Henry Willetts enlisted on 23/12/1904. His discharge papers show him as Henry Willits - No 8991 Sergeant

I am trying to trace where he served and why he was discharged on 07/03/1917 and any other information anyone might have on his time with the Worcesters, I believe he served in the 2nd Battalion

Thanks to all in advance

Tom Willetts
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Postby peter » Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:51 pm

Hi Tom

I have H. Willits on the 2nd Battalion database we are working on for men that went over to France between August and December 1914. He is not on the Star Roll but is on the Worcester Cathedral Roll (1159). He has the rank of Private but I have no other details to date, but this could be the your man. We have a number of supplementary Star Rolls to check and he could be on one of these but it will take some time before I wil be able to check them all. If I come across any further information I will post it on this site.

Regards

Peter
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Postby LarsA » Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:09 pm

Hi,
Have you PlumPudding his Medal Index card, where sometimes it is noted the date of entry in a war Zone, date of discharge and possible award of a Silver War badge?

The link for Pte/Corporal/Serjeant Henry Willets is here: ERROR://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/docu ... tcount=110

Should he be listed as entitled to a SWB, it could be possible to get a reason for discharge from that roll.

Kind regards,
Lars
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Thanks

Postby tomwbhx » Thu Mar 27, 2008 9:47 am

Lars/Peter

Many thanks for your responses.
Peter I really appreciate you looking into this for me, and Lars thanks for the link, I didnt know you could purchase the medical cards.

Thanks again
Tom
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William/Henry Willetts/Willits

Postby Mike Jones » Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:42 am

Hello Tom,
It does not help when the man you are researching keeps changing his name ! He does not appear to have used the William bit in the army. Each reference I see for him he is Henry but the spelling of his surname changes a lot. Peter and myself have only just got some 1914 Star Medal Rolls. We have not had time yet to sort them out but your grandfather is on them. He is down as H. Willetts Pte. 8991, date of arrival in France 27th August 1914, with the 2nd Battalion. Peter if you look at Photo 178, he is on that page and that page is officially numbered 126.
Tom, if you have his discharge papers, what does it say in the section "Cause of Discharge" ? It should have a set of Roman Numerals. These are a code covering the reason for discharge. The most common one at the time Henry left was XVi. Which means "No longer physically fit for war service"
Regards Mike
Last edited by Mike Jones on Wed Apr 02, 2008 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mike Jones
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Code on discharge

Postby tomwbhx » Thu Mar 27, 2008 11:16 am

Mike
Thanks for replying, I must first say that I am really surprised at the response from you all, I really appreciate this.

As regards the code on my Grandads discharge it is XXI.

I havent been able to get much information from my father as my Grandad was not at home much after he was born. He is a bit confused about this.

He does know that he served in India at some point, were the Worcesters there before WWI ? Ie After 1904 when my Grandfather enlisted. Dad also thinks that Grandad may have re-enlisted in the 20s
All a bit vague, but all your help is invaluable

Thanks again
Tom
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Postby peter » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:37 pm

Hi Tom

Yes the 2nd Battalion did serve in India. If you look up the Battalion history on this site you will see that the Battalion went to Ceylon in October 1904 and after 2 years they went to India in December 1906. For your Grandfathers service with the Battalion from August 1914 onwards then the book 'The Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War' by Captain H. FitzM. Stacke M.C. is a must. Not cheap at £60 but well worth every penny. You can get a copy from The Naval & Military Press Ltd. Tel: 01825 749494. Two other books that will give you the movements of the Battalion for 1914 and 1915 are 'British Battalions in France & Belgium 1914' and 'British Battalions on the Western Front January to June 1915' both by Ray Westlake. Maybe your local library can help you out.

Hope this will be of help to you and thanks for your information on your Grandfather which we have added to our database. Any additional information you may come up with would be most appreciated.

Regards

Peter
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Postby LarsA » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:29 pm

Dicharge reason: (xxi) The termination of his ____ period of engagement.

And it is not his medical cards, it is the card that tells which WWI medals he earned (1914 star, War medal and Victory medal), and it will confirm the entry date you have already. That is probably all.

Kind regards,
Lars
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