James it is a Sergeant Major, a Warrant Officer first class, you get an official warrant when you get the promotion from the war office, still got it. I was REME so the official title is ASM, Artificer Sergeant Major, when I was doing some training with the Guards at Pirbright it caused some angst, they called us greasemonkeys and we called them button sticks, we got a lot more money than they did. In the end we parted friends.
HI Frank Its the extra few bob that counts times then like now must have being very hard
I am waiteing on my wife to fill out the form i got from M.O.D to apply for her fathers world war 2 medal he is entitled to the Italy gold star and clasp dont know what clasp is maby for pinning on the medal
when i was researching my family tree i met with family i knew nil about my grandfather and there grandfather were brothers my grandfather was killed in Galipolli on the 10/8/ 1915 he was a member of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers 7th bn my new found family applied for there grandfathers W.W.1 Medals an army officer arrived with them plus my grandfathers saying they could not contact anybody in dublin they were presented to me 2years ago at the Royal Dublin Fusiliers dinner by an retired Irish army general i knew nil about them until the night of the dinner was i chuffed
Not boring at all James. You should be very proud. Funny what turns up when you search your family tree. I have been doing it off and on for a while now, but came unstuck with the Irish side of the family as all records were destroyed in a big fire years ago. You will know what I am talking about as you referred me to a possible lead when on Beeb board. What I did find fascinating was being able to look at the 1911 Census where I found my Grandfather's handwritten completed form. Never knew much about my Dad's family so it was interesting. The thing that struck me most was that my Granddad and Dad's handwriting was identical. Both wrote beautifully. Was good to see.
Know this isn't a rant but it's good to chat.
James, if you're worried about your spelling, there is a spell check (abc) on top bar. We are spoilt on this forum.
James the Clasp is an extra award to the medal, you pin it on the ribbon above the actual medallion, we called it a bar, I have two for one of my medals. You can wear the medals on special occasions and with pride but you must put them on the right side of your coat, the person who earned them wears them on the left side. Armament Artificer was the top trade and quite hard to get, the extra cash was quite a lot and the second you did pass out after 18 months solid work you became a Staff Sergeant as with all things many failed and there was no second chance in my day. Tina, on Tuesday we buried my Cousin and I met most of his own family for the first time, I spent the afternoon telling them about their dad's early days, they said they had not known as he never told them, more probably they never listened. In the end I had to spell it out for them to grasp, his mother was my mothers sister, I think they got it. He was ex army so for many years did not see each other it happens in all families, we have our own itinerary and lose sight of each other. Now they want me to write it all down for them, pity they did not take more notice when he was living.
Frank, I remember very well that when my Grandma was alive (Mum's Mum), everyone would converge at her home, one aunt would get on the piano, another with a beautiful voice would start off the singing and a good time was had by all. All the 'kids' took advantage of several bannisters, it being a 3 storey house. When Grandma went, everything came to a halt. Shame.
My grandchildren are very fortunate that their greatgrandma, whose parents were missionaries in China, prior to the invasion by Japan in 1937, wrote everything down and this is now in my daughter's possession, together with loads of photos. I think they are very lucky.
Tina, it was our house that got everyone, we had the biggest house and the fresh food, plenty of bacon ham and eggs plus what came out of a large garden. The front room only open for get together Sunday tea or my piano practice would be crowded, me on piano and they were all singers, I could play Alice blue gown, just like the ivy, come into the garden Maud without looking at the music, I really wanted to play all the Glen Miller songs but got voted down, oh well I did carry on the tradition when Joan and I had our own family Joan was a very good singer and I would be on the accordion, the kids still talk about those days and we were all together yesterday for my Grandsons birthday. We are still all very close, as last man standing in the extended family group they all now want to know about life before they arrived.
G/G, my mother told me the family history mainly because she wanted me to have goals way above what they had achieved, saying that Uncle Raymond was a director at Dorman Long Steel. I did draw the line at gentleman Farmer, she wanted to send me to college, and Sea going Officer on Cargo ships, one fault with that was I could not cross the bridge over the river Tees without feeling sea sick. Dad a bit of a wit said " you went overboard with that one Gladys" Engineering was out, but put the immovable block against the immovable object and atomic explosion, I became an engineer.
Frank,you were so lucky that your mother told you so much about your family history,I know some but not as much as I would like about mine.My grandfather served with the Somerset Light Infantry out in India and kept a notebook with details of his travels,he never talked about it a great deal,but I wish I,d tried harder to get him to relate his experiences.Once home he had one of the first coal barges in the area,and worked hard all his life, always smoking a pipe occasionally enjoying a drink and dying in 1990 aged 103.His brother a Coldstream Guard was killed in France.
Gilly Soldiers tend to live for the day, keeping a diary was not something many did, I have hundreds of pictures and to me they all tell a story, bring back memories and names long forgotten. We think our lives not important or out of the ordinary so why bother, now my Grandchildren really want to know so now it gets written down as going through the photo's the memory comes back, not all good though. When I did the BBC documentary they had gone through some of the stories and wanted to know about what I thought mundane bits, when it was all put together those mundane bits brought it all to life so write it all down even if you do not think it matters. One grandson told me he now knows where he gets his crackpot ideas from, I am still working that one out.
My late father in law was a war & peacetime soldier. He was awarded the Burma Star and had been a prisoner of the Japanese. He would not speak about his experiences to my husband, his son. I do know that he had nightmares until the end of his life, and his wife told me they were about the time he woke up and found his mate dead at the side of him with his throat cut. He was the kindest most charitable and hard working man I've ever met, he worked part time until he was nearly 80. I am so happy that his son, my husband takes after him.
Posts
James it is a Sergeant Major, a Warrant Officer first class, you get an official warrant when you get the promotion from the war office, still got it.
I was REME so the official title is ASM, Artificer Sergeant Major, when I was doing some training with the Guards at Pirbright it caused some angst, they called us greasemonkeys and we called them button sticks, we got a lot more money than they did. In the end we parted friends.
Frank.
HI Frank Its the extra few bob that counts times then like now must have being very hard
I am waiteing on my wife to fill out the form i got from M.O.D to apply for her fathers world war 2 medal he is entitled to the Italy gold star and clasp dont know what clasp is maby for pinning on the medal
when i was researching my family tree i met with family i knew nil about my grandfather and there grandfather were brothers my grandfather was killed in Galipolli on the 10/8/ 1915 he was a member of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers 7th bn my new found family applied for there grandfathers W.W.1 Medals an army officer arrived with them plus my grandfathers saying they could not contact anybody in dublin they were presented to me 2years ago at the Royal Dublin Fusiliers dinner by an retired Irish army general i knew nil about them until the night of the dinner was i chuffed
Sorry if this is boreing and excuse the spelling
Not boring at all James. You should be very proud. Funny what turns up when you search your family tree. I have been doing it off and on for a while now, but came unstuck with the Irish side of the family as all records were destroyed in a big fire years ago. You will know what I am talking about as you referred me to a possible lead when on Beeb board. What I did find fascinating was being able to look at the 1911 Census where I found my Grandfather's handwritten completed form. Never knew much about my Dad's family so it was interesting. The thing that struck me most was that my Granddad and Dad's handwriting was identical. Both wrote beautifully. Was good to see.
Know this isn't a rant but it's good to chat.
James, if you're worried about your spelling, there is a spell check (abc) on top bar. We are spoilt on this forum.
James the Clasp is an extra award to the medal, you pin it on the ribbon above the actual medallion, we called it a bar, I have two for one of my medals.
You can wear the medals on special occasions and with pride but you must put them on the right side of your coat, the person who earned them wears them on the left side.
Armament Artificer was the top trade and quite hard to get, the extra cash was quite a lot and the second you did pass out after 18 months solid work you became a Staff Sergeant as with all things many failed and there was no second chance in my day.
Tina, on Tuesday we buried my Cousin and I met most of his own family for the first time, I spent the afternoon telling them about their dad's early days, they said they had not known as he never told them, more probably they never listened.
In the end I had to spell it out for them to grasp, his mother was my mothers sister, I think they got it. He was ex army so for many years did not see each other it happens in all families, we have our own itinerary and lose sight of each other. Now they want me to write it all down for them, pity they did not take more notice when he was living.
Frank.
Frank, my parents told me very little about my antecedents and I now regret that very much, because it is good to know your heritage.
Frank, I remember very well that when my Grandma was alive (Mum's Mum), everyone would converge at her home, one aunt would get on the piano, another with a beautiful voice would start off the singing and a good time was had by all. All the 'kids' took advantage of several bannisters, it being a 3 storey house. When Grandma went, everything came to a halt. Shame.
My grandchildren are very fortunate that their greatgrandma, whose parents were missionaries in China, prior to the invasion by Japan in 1937, wrote everything down and this is now in my daughter's possession, together with loads of photos. I think they are very lucky.
Tina, it was our house that got everyone, we had the biggest house and the fresh food, plenty of bacon ham and eggs plus what came out of a large garden. The front room only open for get together Sunday tea or my piano practice would be crowded, me on piano and they were all singers, I could play Alice blue gown, just like the ivy, come into the garden Maud without looking at the music, I really wanted to play all the Glen Miller songs but got voted down, oh well I did carry on the tradition when Joan and I had our own family Joan was a very good singer and I would be on the accordion, the kids still talk about those days and we were all together yesterday for my Grandsons birthday. We are still all very close, as last man standing in the extended family group they all now want to know about life before they arrived.
G/G, my mother told me the family history mainly because she wanted me to have goals way above what they had achieved, saying that Uncle Raymond was a director at Dorman Long Steel. I did draw the line at gentleman Farmer, she wanted to send me to college, and Sea going Officer on Cargo ships, one fault with that was I could not cross the bridge over the river Tees without feeling sea sick. Dad a bit of a wit said " you went overboard with that one Gladys" Engineering was out, but put the immovable block against the immovable object and atomic explosion, I became an engineer.
frank.
Frank,you were so lucky that your mother told you so much about your family history,I know some but not as much as I would like about mine.My grandfather served with the Somerset Light Infantry out in India and kept a notebook with details of his travels,he never talked about it a great deal,but I wish I,d tried harder to get him to relate his experiences.Once home he had one of the first coal barges in the area,and worked hard all his life, always smoking a pipe occasionally enjoying a drink and dying in 1990 aged 103.His brother a Coldstream Guard was killed in France.
Gilly Soldiers tend to live for the day, keeping a diary was not something many did, I have hundreds of pictures and to me they all tell a story, bring back memories and names long forgotten. We think our lives not important or out of the ordinary so why bother, now my Grandchildren really want to know so now it gets written down as going through the photo's the memory comes back, not all good though.
When I did the BBC documentary they had gone through some of the stories and wanted to know about what I thought mundane bits, when it was all put together those mundane bits brought it all to life so write it all down even if you do not think it matters.
One grandson told me he now knows where he gets his crackpot ideas from, I am still working that one out.
Frank.
My late father in law was a war & peacetime soldier. He was awarded the Burma Star and had been a prisoner of the Japanese. He would not speak about his experiences to my husband, his son. I do know that he had nightmares until the end of his life, and his wife told me they were about the time he woke up and found his mate dead at the side of him with his throat cut. He was the kindest most charitable and hard working man I've ever met, he worked part time until he was nearly 80. I am so happy that his son, my husband takes after him.