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Royal Engineers Ernest May

Royal Engineers Ernest May

Posted: 23 Aug 2014 8:41AM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 6 Mar 2015 4:07PM GMT
Surnames: May
Hello

Can anyone please help with the attached photos. I was told my great uncle was in the royal engineers WWl. Is this the uniform of a royal engineer ? I would appreciate any information on the photos. Unfortunately I have no other information.
Sandra

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Re: Royal Engineers Ernest May

Posted: 26 Oct 2014 10:22PM GMT
Classification: Military
Edited: 6 Mar 2015 4:08PM GMT
Yes he did serve in the Royal Engineers. The cap badge is a “pierced” GvR cypher badge current until 1916 when a solid economy version was issued, after WWI a new pierced design was issued; for examples of both Google for royal engineers cap badge WWI.

His bandolier, riding crop and spurs indicate he was a mounted soldier. RE Field, and signal companies had riding horses attached and other companies used horse transport too, see http://www.1914-1918.net/cre.htm for much more detail.

Re: Royal Engineers Ernest May

Posted: 15 Mar 2015 6:32PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thank you for this vet useful information

Re: Royal Engineers Ernest May

Posted: 16 Mar 2015 2:32PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 17 Mar 2015 12:06AM GMT
Surnames: May
You didn't say if he survived the war, also, any and all of his biographical details, if known, are relevant to attempting to identify his military identity.

Ernest May Royal Engineers...
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_fn=ernes...

E. May Royal Engineers...
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_fn=e&...

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/medal-index-cards...

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/medals/ww1-campaign-medals.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/cre.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/soldiers/findnumber.html

These are the badges that you've just been told about.
http://tinyurl.com/mh9cn7s

http://www.dawnmonksillustrations.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2...

http://www.re-museum.co.uk/

Of the men who were listed on the medal records as having served in the Royal Engineers, and or in any other regiment or corps as well as the Royal Engineers, and who had the first forename of Ernest or the first forename initial of E. two of them died in WW1 whilst serving in the Royal Engineers.
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx?cpage=2&sort=regi...

Ernest May 67183 http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/688489/MAY,%20ERN...
He died on 18th August 1915 in Gallipoli, he enlisted in Camberwell in Surrey, his wife was Emily L. May.

Ernest Alfred May 150044
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/117968/MAY,%20ERN...
He died in France on 23rd August 1916 aged 32, he born in Devon. he enlisted in Exeter in Devon, his wife was Mary Louisa May.

The majority of WW1 Army service records were destroyed in the WW2 London Blitz.
http://www.1914-1918.net/arnside.html

Of the men who had a first forename of Ernest and a surname of May and who served in the Royal Engineers in WW1 there are 5 surviving service records, and in the case of at at least one of them he had preciously served in the Royal Engineers prior to WW1.

Re: Royal Engineers Ernest May

Posted: 16 Mar 2015 6:49PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thank you again for all the information. The only real facts I have about Ernest May is his DOB 7 August 1885 in Birmingham. The photographs were sent to me from a distant relative.

Re: Royal Engineers Ernest May

Posted: 16 Mar 2015 8:46PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 16 Mar 2015 8:52PM GMT
"Thank you again" ?! the first reply to your first post wasn't posted by me.

So he only had one forename, i.e. Ernest.

That means that if he served in the Royal Engineers, and, he served outside of Britain, which he almost certainly would have done, he is one of the 11 men listed on the medal records with a first forename of Ernest.

5 of those men can be excluded because one of them was the Devon man, and all 5 of them had both additional forenames and also dates of birth, which except for one of them, were nowhere near 1885, and that man was also one of the men with additional forenames.

Therefore, if he served outside of Britain in the Royal Engineers during WW1, he must be one of the remaining 6 men.

However, out of the remaining 6 men on the medal records, and out of all of the 11 men on the medal records who had a first forename of Ernest, there are only 3 men who's first forename is listed as only Ernest, therefore he must be one of those 3 men, but double check that for yourself.

It also means that there is a 2 in 3 chance that he survived the war.

67183 Sapper Ernest May Royal Engineers...killed in 1915 in Galipolli

75842 Sapper Ernest May Royal Engineers

WR337370 Pioneer Ernest May Royal Engineers Waterways and Docks

The WR number prefix in the Royal Engineers = Waterways and Railways

Sapper is the usual Royal Engineer term for the rank of private but in some Royal Engineer units the rank of private was referred as a Pioneer.

Re: Royal Engineers Ernest May

Posted: 16 Mar 2015 9:00PM GMT
Classification: Query
Yes definately only Ernest on his birth cert. This is so exciting, down to three names. Can't thank you enough. I will let you know

Re: Royal Engineers Ernest May

Posted: 17 Mar 2015 12:39AM GMT
Classification: Lookup
Edited: 17 Mar 2015 12:16PM GMT
Surnames: May, Humphrey
:):) You will let me know what. ? Their service records don't appear to have survived, and medal records don't usually contain any biographical information.

However, in this case there is another likely clue in the medal record cards, which are attached.

WR337370 Pioneer Ernest May Royal Engineers Waterways and Docks does have a card, but it isn't for campaign medals, and he didn't have any campaign medals, because he didn't serve outside the U.K., probably because of the the length of his service, and the circumstances of his discharge.

His record card is for the issue of a Silver War Badge (SWB), and SWB records show dates of enlistment and discharge, and they also show the age at at the time of discharge.

He was discharged because of sickness on 16th October 1918 and he had enlisted on 10th June 1918, and his age in October 1918 was 43 so he was born circa 1875.

His full name was Ernest George May he was aged 43 and was born in Kent.

He had suffered from chronic bronchitis since childhood and he walked with a limp due to a pre war ankle injury caused by a fall from a ladder, jeez, what state did a recruit have to be in before he failed an enlistment medical. ?!!!

So you can rule him out, assuming of course that the birth year that you have for your relative is correct, and in any case, I can't imagine that a man who enlisted into the Royal Engineers in 1918 would have been issued with the prewar design badge, all of the stocks of which would probably have already been issued well before that.

Which means that your relative is either...

67183 Sapper Ernest May Royal Engineers...killed in 1915 in Galipolli

75842 Sapper Ernest May Royal Engineers who survived the war and was discharged to the Class Z reserve at the end of the war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_Z_Reserve

It's circumstantial of course, but it seems unlikely that if your relative had been killed in WW1 that no memory or mention of that would have survived within the family.

There is a definite way in which you might be able to resolve the matter, via the marriage certificate of 67183.

That will give you his age and his father's name and occupation.

He married EMILY LOUISA HUMPHREY in the Camberwell Registration District in London in the April/May/June quarter of 1908 Volume 1D Page 1537.
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

The marriage registers for Camberwell are now held by Southwark.
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200010/births/91/copies_of_...
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Re: Royal Engineers Ernest May

Posted: 17 Mar 2015 2:05AM GMT
Classification: Lookup
Edited: 17 Mar 2015 12:32PM GMT
Surnames: May
Oh hang on a second, I'm being dim, they married in Camberwell, he enlisted in Camberwell, and it just occurred to me that it's very likely that they would be living almost certainly in London, and possibly in Camberwell in the 1911 census, and that appears to have been the case.

There's one apparent exact match for them in 1911.

116 Warner Road Camberwell S E, Camberwell, London, England

Ernest May and his wife Emily Louisa May, she was aged 24 and was born in Battersea in London and they had been married for 3 years, and there weren't any other corresponding marriages.

He was aged 32 born circa 1879 in Aldershot in Hampshire, and he was a Motor Wheel Maker, so a certain candidate for the Royal Engineers, sadly, they had 3 young children.

So, seemingly, a bit of a slam dunk wouldn't you say. ?

However, double check it all for yourself.

So, it seems highly likely that your relative was almost certainly...

75842 Sapper Ernest May Royal Engineers who survived the war and was discharged to the Class Z reserve at the end of the war.

He served in France and possibly also in Belgium from 5th October 1915 which means that he wasn't conscripted, he volunteered.

He was awarded the 1914 - 1915 Star Campaign medal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914%E2%80%9315_Star

The Allied Victory Campaingn Medal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Medal_%28United_Kingdom...

The British War Medal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_War_Medal

He was discharged to the Class Z reserve on 10th April 1919.

75840 Marshall Royal Engineers enlisted 6th June 1915

75842 Sapper Ernest May Royal Engineers enlisted ? arrived in France 5th October 1915

75843 Jones Royal Engineers enlisted 7th June 1915

75844 Hodkinson Royal Engineers enlisted 9th June 1915

Figure it out. :):)
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