Help please !!!!

djcrtoye · Post by **djcrtoye** » Thu May 29, 2008 9:15 pm

Can any one help me. I've been trying to get my ggranda George Murray Devan's battalion. He served in the Seaforth Highlanders service no S/ 22582, he served in WW1. I've got his medal index card no battalion. I've tried many other sites including emailing the regimental museum. I'm beginning to feel that this is going to be the thickest brick wall I've ever done in my family research. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Thu May 29, 2008 10:14 pm

Hi djcrtoye
Probably a daft question, but am I right in thinking he survived WW1?
Oddly enough, I think those who were fortunate enough to survive can be much more difficult to find out about.

His records may be held at TNA - but I expect you 've already tried a search on their site?
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Also worth going to http://www.1914-1918.net/grandad/grandad.htm and the forum at http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/

Best wishes
Lesley

djcrtoye · Post by **djcrtoye** » Fri May 30, 2008 10:13 am

Hi, he survived the war. Got his marriage certif for 1919. Tried National Archives also asked for medal roll look up at Kew several times on Great War Forum no one has got back to me as of yet. So I'm getting really frustrated over this he is the only ggranda I've no battalion record of. Thanks .

winslowsmom · Post by **winslowsmom** » Fri May 30, 2008 8:04 pm

You are so lucky to know his service number. With such a common surname, it would have been murder to figure out!

Let me start by saying I have no expertise in this area. But to start with, weren't many battallions drawn from certain areas? Many fellows signing on from certain areas went together? Maybe service numbers were issued in order?

What if you could find a casualty from the Seaforth with a service number close to your grandfather's? It would be a free search on the CWGC.org
Pick a common name from the area your fellow lived, and then just look at the entries for the Seaforth. I picked J Campbell out of the blue and found one 3000 numbers off and he was in the 7th, parents in Fraserburgh. This was in 30 seconds. I think in an hour or two you could find someone from the same town within less than 200 numbers, and have an idea of what battallion it was, especially if he turned out to be from the same town!

Of course, thats just a start, but then you could learn how the battallions were reformed, etc, and maybe have some idea of where he served.

I know it sounds convoluted, but maybe worth a try until you can find something more definite, and the price is right!

Cathy H

djcrtoye · Post by **djcrtoye** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 2:37 pm

Wimslow mom thanks for tip. I have traced him to the 6th Bn Seaforths as a casualty was within 10 numbers of his own so it looks like I have evantually pinned him down.

Adam Brown · Post by **Adam Brown** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:08 pm

Sorry djcrtoye he may not have been in the 6th Battalion

The 6th Seaforths were the territorial battalion for Morayshire. Pre-war terriers would have low serial numbers. In 1916 they were renumbered and given six number serial numbers beginning 2*****.

Seaforths with numbers prefixed S/* were war volunteers who joined the Seaforth Service battalions after August 1914. This would put him in 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th battalions to start with.

After many battles and movements of troops a man who started in one battalion may not have stayed with that battalion. The man with the number S/22581 may have served in the 7th Bn and then the 5th Bn and the man with S/22683 in the 9th Bn and then the 4th Bn.

I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy to find his unit.

Regards

Adam