Anyone here know what all the abbreviations mean?
Recently discovered, from my grandfather’s card, that he was an officer in the army stationed in India and in 1918 was transferred to Egypt and into the RAF. The standard medal annotations are clear but:
S.W.B. Eligible 13-6-19 LG/18-6-19 154165/2
I’m assuming SWB is Silver War Badge but as for the rest…
I’ve got a photocopy, difficult to read, of his service record and it looks as if he had an accident around October 1918 as he was ‘struck off strength’ on the 16th.
Any help would be gratefully appreciated as at the moment I’m out of work and can’t afford to go to the PRO, or pay someone to do it for me.
Oh and the medals office have been worse than useless, probably because all three services are in the one place.
By: waghorn41 - 5th August 2011 at 19:14
Thanks for all the help and pointers, really appreciated.
By: Chris B - 5th August 2011 at 12:41
I’ve found the ‘Great War Forum’ very helpful in trying to interpret my ancestors medal index cards and service records.
http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showforum=31
Regards
Chris
By: SimonSpitfire - 5th August 2011 at 11:05
Silver War Badge
There is a ‘Roll’ of the SWB held at the National Archives. It gives the rank, regimental number, full name, unit discharged from,number of the badge,date of enlistment/discharge, DOB of holder and cause of discharge, and date of when issued. His medal card will have the official roll list number on it (eg:SWB/ Royal Artillery/4008) These badges were issued during 1919. The badge was not issued to officers who had retired, resigned, or relinguished their commissions subsequent to 31.12.19.
By: darnsarf - 5th August 2011 at 00:27
LG refers to the date the medal award was published in the London Gazette, presumably 18th June 1919. You can search the LG archives here – http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/search
By: Gin Ye Daur - 4th August 2011 at 23:03
Hi there,
The SWB refers to the ‘Silver Wound Badge’ that was issued to service personnel to wear when back in the UK to avoid any retribution/ill feeling/white feathers etc.etc. from those who might think someone of ‘fighting age’ may be avoiding the slaughter of the front! They are individually numbered, though Officers medals tend not to have any details other than the rank and name impressed on them, unlike OR’s who had service number and regimental details to help us!
Cheers,
Martyn
By: kev35 - 4th August 2011 at 19:52
PM me all the details you have and I can check Ancestry etc for you. Can’t promise anything but I’ll do my best.
Regards,
kev35
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August 4, 2011 at 7:50 pm