The medal card can contain a lot of information about a soldier.
From the medal card of Charles Barnes we see that he served in the Royal
Field Artillery (RFA) with the rank of gunner with two service numbers;
1597 and 900582. (1597 is a Territorial Force number). The medal card
shows that he was entitled to the
Victory Medal, the
British Medal and
the 15 Star (this is for service in France and Flanders between November
23rd 1914 and 31st December 1915 or any other operational theatre of war
between 5th August 1914 and 31st December 1915). The S W B List entry
RA/4429 refers to the Silver War Badge records and using this reference
it was possible to find the entry for Charles George Thomas Barnes and
that he had enlisted on the 29th August 1914 and the reason for the
Silver War Badge being issued. The theatre of war first served in is
also shown, in this case (5) Asiatic (India and Mesopotamia). Finally
the card also shows the date of discharge, 11th December 1919. The
1st World War officially ended on the 28th June 1919 with the signing on
the Treaty of Versailles. |