Military Service and WW1

These photographs feature William Herlingshaw, during his military service just before WW1 started.

In this photograph below he is sitting on the left with one of the dogs on his lap. This photo is thought to be pre-1912. It might date from his very first days after enlistment in 1906 as all soldiers were required to have a moustache then and he and the others in the photo do no (apart from the lance-corporal).

In this picture below he is standing in the line, fourth from the left with a moustache, no cap. This probably dates from around September 1914. The soldiers without moustaches would have been newly recruited.

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These are the actual WW1 medals awarded to William Herlingshaw (War medal left, 1914 Star with "Clasp and Roses" right, Victory medal below). The clasp was only added for those within range of enemy fire between 5th August and 22nd November 1914:

This is William's Silver War Badge (actually a brooch), awarded to military personnel that were wounded, became sick or otherwise disabled during WW1. It was created so that people would know that the wearer was not evading war service. William was Private 8281 in the Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) and was discharged due to his injuries on 5 June 1916 after serving for 8 years and 321 days plus 1 year and 159 days in the Army Reserve. At that time he was 30 years and 5 months old. He fought in the first Battle of Ypres in 1914 and in the Battle of Loos in 1915. He was in the 2nd Battalion of the Howards, at least initially.

This is William's Old Contemptibles Association badge, membership was reserved for those who fought in the very first battles of WW1 in 1914:

This is William's British Legion badge:

The cap badge below is a conundrum. It is said to be William's but is from the York and Lancaster Regiment. William was definitely in the Yorkshire Regiment from the beginning of WW1. According to my late cousin "Young Billy" Herlingshaw, in a note from 2004, William was in the York and Lancaster during the Boer War. So maybe that is the explanation - but this particular badge apparently dates from no earlier than 1903 as the fixing is a "slider" rather than a brooch arrangement.

However the "Green Howard's" (Yorkshire Regiment) cap badge below almost certainly was William's. This particular version of the badge was only issued between 1914 and 1918.

This "In Memoriam" card was almost certainly given to William when he was serving in the army before WW1, perhaps he was one of those called upon to take part in the funeral ceremony. Unfortunately King Edward's attempts at peacemaking in Europe were to fall apart within a few years of his death.

Eventually William received a soldier's pension and a gratuity. On an army form from the 1920's he is listed as living at 118 Stapylton Street, Grangetown. Intriguingly his pension record form no. SB36 also states "96297D  Alias Shaw" - he probably initially used that surname for at least some of his periods in the army.