German Medal Free
Jul/110
How do i find out what my great grandfather received his military medals for in the First World War?
He fought in WW1, one was received i beleive for storming a german machine gun nest and taking it out of action, but the other i do not know and my grandmother has always wanted to know, he was called John Muir, from Dreghorn, Ayrshire, Scotland, are there any places that can trace this sort of information for free?, if not are there any that are reasonably priced? thanks for all answers
He was wounded in the thigh by shrapnel but was not killed, he did not pass away until the late 1950s early 1960s i beleive, dont no the exact date or what his unit was as he kept transferring to different regiments as the regiments received a great many casualties and were depleted of soldiers, grandmother thinks he may have also had something to do with the officer Douglas Haig and could have been mentioned in his despatches but these were destroyed by fire in WW2 or something, i no its hard to keep track of that many different things but thanks for helping,
You say he was from Dreghorn, but was he possibly born in Straton?
I have found the following at the National Archives, UK.. see first link.
Context
help - opens in a new window: quick reference
WO Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies
Division within WO Records of the Royal Chelsea and Kilmainham Hospitals
WO 97 Royal Hospital Chelsea: Soldiers Service Documents
Subseries within WO 97 1760-1854: discharge papers arranged by regiment, but each described at item level. (WO 97/1-1271)
WO 97/329 11th Foot: Mark - Pol
Record Summary
Scope and content
JOHN MUIR
Born STRATON, Ayrshire
Served in 11th Foot Regiment
Discharged aged 24
Covering dates 1825-1830
Availability Open Document, Open Description, Normal Closure before FOI Act: 30 years, This series is currently undergoing digitisation. Access to certain pieces will be disrupted over the next 3 years and advance ordering of this series is not possible during this time. Please check with us that the pieces that you wish to consult are not affected before you travel.
Held by
The National Archives, Kew
* second search... there are 40 John Muirs on this site...see second link in reference to Scottish Roll of Honour
I will leave you to search through these, as it will help if you know his middle name at least.
Best of luck.
EDIT: I should have added that the first entry would not have
been your great grandfather, but military service often runs in families as a traditional thing to do. I tend to forget that not all think along the lines of a researcher and simply wanted to say that in your search, you may also be interested in this man. Your best bet would be to search through the second list I noted, as you should have the second name and maybe further details.