Genealogy Chat

I have just come across a postcard my nan sent to her father when he was a prisoner of war. At the moment I am trying to playaround with an image to decipher the address of the camp. So far I believe it says rifleman John Bingham, B(?) company KRRC (Kings Royal Rifle Corps), British Prisoner of War. Now for the hard bit~ the camp address in Germany I would like to know if this address will help in my search~ and where to go for help~any suggestions?

Lorna, Can't help with the prison camp I'm afraid but thought you might find this interesting. The Royal Rifle Corps were incorporated into the Royal Green Jackets and this is an extract from: www.royalgreenjackets(.)co.uk/regheritageframeset.htm about the royal rifle corps World War 1 (1914-18) In 1914-15 the regiment expanded to twenty-two battalions, not counting those with training and reserve rolls at home. Fighting in the early months still favoured the traditional Rifleman`s skills of fire and movement and in 1914 at Hautesvesnes 1 KRRC used them to distroy a whole German battalion. The later stages were not conducive to tactical innovation, but marksmanship developed in peacetime was an invaluable asset at a time of ascendancy of fire over manoeuvre. The vast majority of the regiments effort was devoted to the Western Front, where it gained eight VCs, 2128 other decorations and seventy- one Battle Honours at a cost 12.824 dead. Emma.

Thanks Emma~I know my nan says her father was captured in the first battle (or maybe it was just his first battle) and spent the entire war in Germany where he was used as a human guinea pig in mustat=rd gas tests

First World War, 1914-1918 Establishing if an individual was a PoW The National Archives does not hold a comprehensive list of all British and Commonwealth PoWs. Consequently, it can be difficult to establish whether an individual was actually taken prisoner and, more particularly, in which camps they were held. Officers Establishing whether an Officer was a PoW is relatively straightforward and researchers should ask in The National Archives library for List of British Officers taken prisoner in the various Theatres of War between August 1914 and November 1918, compiled in 1919 by the military agents Cox and Co. This is arranged by theatre of war, and then by regiment. It includes an index of regiments at the start of the book, and a name index at the back. The list covers the British Army, Royal Air Force, the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Naval Division, and gives the name and rank of the officer, the date when he went missing, where and when he was interned (but not the specific camp/s), and the date of his repatriation. If the officer died while a prisoner, the list gives the date and place of death. In addition, Officers were required to provide a report concerning the circumstances behind their capture. These, if they survive, will be found in the individual service records. Other ranks There are no known official or published sources to help determine whether an ordinary serviceman or NCO was a PoW. Theoretically, it is should be recorded on their service record, although this information is usually minimal, merely giving dates of capture and/or release, or is sometimes indicated on the WW I Medal Entitlement fiches held in the Microfilm Reading Room. Alternatively, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva keeps an incomplete list of known PoWs and internees of all nationalities for both World Wars. Searches are only made in response to written enquiries, and an hourly fee is charged. The address to write to is: International Council of the Red Cross, Archives Division, 19 Avenue de la Paix, CH-1202, Geneva, Switzerland. Searching for an individual Ask at the Research Enquiries Desk for the guide ‘Researching British & Commonwealth Prisoners of War: World War One’. This not only indicates which of The National Archives' sources are most likely to provide personal details but includes: copies of nominal indexes of British, Irish, Colonial & Indian PoWs extracted from WO 161/101 ; The National Archives references to identified nominal lists of Military and Merchant Navy PoWs; a list of PoW camps in Germany and Enemy territory; an indexed map of the main PoW camps in Germany and Austria. The primary source for personal information are the reports made by repatriated, escaped or interned Officers, Medical Officers, Other Ranks, and occasionally Merchant Seamen and Civilians, held in WO 161/95 to WO 161/100 and indexed by WO 161/101 . As well as a narrative of variable length, these reports usually include details of unit, home address, when and where captured, wounds suffered, transfer between camps, comments on treatment and conditions in camps and escape attempts. Secondly, all PoWs can be searched for by name or unit, ship, etc. within the card index to Foreign Office Correspondence. This is located in the Research Enquiries Room at Kew and between 1915-1918 each year also includes a dedicated PoW section arranged by country and subject. If an entry is found it will usually lead to an FO 383 reference. This series of records contains the files of the Prisoners of War and Aliens Department established in 1915 to deal with all matters relating to conditions for prisoners, repatriation and general policy. Other Merchant Navy records are contained in MT 9 (code 106), this includes some files indexed by individual name and/or ship. While, for Royal Navy, RNAS, RNR and RNVR try searching the ADM 12 registers, and for the RAF RFC & RNAS the Air History Branch indexes to AIR 1 located in the Research Enquiries Room. 5. Deaths of Prisoners of War 1914-1918 Deaths of PoWs and internees occurring in military and non-military hospitals and in enemy and occupied territory were notified to British authorities by foreign embassies, legations, registration authorities and American authorities in charge of British internees. The record series RG 35/45 to RG 35/69 (Microfilm Reading Room) contains an incomplete collection of these certificates, however, it should be noted that the majority of this information is in French. In addition, PoWs who died while captive are recorded in registers held in the Family Records Centre (Office of National Statistics), at 1 Myddelton Street, Islington, London EC1R 1UW. 6. Other sources Records concerning PoW camps and related subjects are mostly found in two record classes. Once again the most comprehensive are the reports held in WO 161/95 to WO 161/100 that are accessed by searching the places and subject indexes in WO 161/101 . Individual camps can also be searched for by name in the card index to Foreign Office Correspondence referred to above. Further records relating to PoW camps, administration and policy are found in WO 32 and CO 693 , with registers relating to the latter in CO 754 and CO 755 . The records of the Committee on the Treatment by the Enemy of British PoWs (1914-1919) are in HO 45/10763/270829 , and HO 45/10764/270829 , with additional material in WO 162 . Various PoW-related reports are located within the Parliamentary Papers preserved on microfiche in the Microfilm Reading Room at Kew. The easiest way in to these is via the CD-rom kept behind the enquiry desk of our Library. Finally, researchers should be aware that local newspapers often published articles and letters (some with photographs) about PoWs from their area. Additionally, both national and local newspapers can include nominal lists