william bradley, my grandad

Thanks for the welcome liverpool annie The information i have is william bradleys medal card. There was 2 w.bradleys, One is mentioned in the london gazette its says he was born in marple stockport . my william bradley is from preston (but he married a stockport girl)which just adds to the confusion . The medal card that i am assuming is my grandads puts him in the 9th south lancs,regt number 17956 but is it possible to be sure its him? he survived the war & married my nan julia gallagher she once said he had been gassed during the war.Unfortunatly shes dead now, but 9th s/lancs were in salonika? Could he have been gassed there?
any help no matter how small would be very helpful ,Thank you ..paul

 

Hi Paul !

OK first things first - so we can make sure we have the right soldier !!

Do you have Williams birthdate ? do you have him on any census ? when did he marry Julia - do you have their marriage cert ? ... it's possible that might give his regiment and number on that ! and lastly ... how do you know he was in the South Lancs ? is that family stories ?

I know it sounds like a lot of questions but there are a boatload of William Bradleys ... just want to make sure we're chasing the right one ...

Annie

 

Hi annie, thanks for your reply, heres what i know, his birthday was 11 sept 1890 ish (i wish i could be more exact) born near or in preston lancs. I dont know when he got married,but my auntie said it wasnt long after ww1 ended. i know he was in the south lancs because i have a couple of photos of him. i would post a piccy but cant work out how to do it any help is greatly apprieciated. thanks..paul

 

The 9th Battalion of the SLR was formed in September 1914 and went to France on 6th September 1915, landing at Boulogne the following day. William’s MIC confirms that he was part of this force.

They did see some action whilst in France and only embarked for the Eastern Mediterranean in October. They left Marseilles on 29th October and arrived in Salonika on 5th November.

They remained in Salonika throughout the war before heading for Kum Kale on the Dardanelles in January 1919.

William’s MIC shows that he was discharged to Class Z of the Army Reserve on 25th April 1919. The 9th Battalion stated to demobilize its men towards the end of February, so it looks like he was one of the lucky ones selected to come home early.

The remained of the Battalion finally returned to the UK in September of that year.

 

I did find another William Bradley in the South Lancs ... different service number and it looks like he came home also ! - so I've sent you a PM Paul - in the hopes you can help us .... help you !!

 

Thanks very much stephen, i cant believe where he went & where he ended up,its facinating stuff, .thanks again..paul

 

thanks so much annie, youve got mail ..paul

 

Heres Paul's photos ... I had to make them a bit smaller to add to the thread ... but all contributions will be gratefully received if you can help !! (The first medal card is the one that matches the card I posted !! )

 

Heres Granddad in a football team ... wonder if it's regimental ?

 

Thanks annie for posting the photos, the medal card of the W.bradley 202358 is the one from marple( it says marple in the peace gazette i assume thats where he was born?) I dont think hes my w.bradley he got the msm, i have no family history of msm being awarded.
A close up of my w.bradleys medal ribbons hope somebody can tell what they are, a friend told me the purple and black ribbon is the msm ! (its getting confusing is this).
The photo of the footy team is taken who knows where? some of them have a badge on the shirt some dont,could the trophy/cup be recognised? My W.bradley is circled, ive since been told he was injured (gassed ?) and ended up at stockport infirmary for a while? I bet flippin columbo would struggle with this ! lol.. anybody recognise any footballers in the photos? pls
anyway,,HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL. paul

 

Quick question,! on the photos kindly posted for me by liverpool annie. On the first footy photo theres 2 men in uniform.The uniformed man on the left has upside down stripes on his forearms. Anybody know what it signifies? thanks ..paul

 

Paul

The uniforms are Khaki Drill worn in warm climates, rather than the Service Dress worn on the Western Front and other cooler places. I think that the inverted chevrons on the sleeve are Good Conduct stripes, which suggests that the wearer is a Regular soldier with with long service.

Gareth

 

Thanks for the reply gareth , Now would khaki drill have been worn at selonika? I hope so, thanks.. paul

 

Paul

Yes KD (as it was usually called) was worn on the Salonika Front.

Gareth

 

Thanks Gareth is was great you noticed the KD & took the time out to let me know. Ive done a bit of googling (hours...) Seems selonika was an ideal place to send soldiers who were gassed in flanders the climate aided recovery. My W.Bradley was an early gas casualty in flanders. another bit of the jigsaw. gareth thanks again..

 

Hi Paul !

My "genius census" friend Mo and I can`t find a blooming thing that fits ! Apart from the 1911 census when he is in Hampshire in the barracks aged 20 born Preston, BUT the writing looks like it says the Royal N Lancashire Regiment! ... which might tie in with the inscription on the back of the footie picture !! "2nd Royal Lancashires 1914 Madras cup "

We certainly can`t find his military records ... which is a shame ... looks like they maybe in the 70% that got bombed during WW2 !!

Still looking though !!

Annie

 

Thanks annie, Im proper gutted,thanks for looking. His birthdate is 1890 not 1891,1 brother austin,1 sister catherine.He joined loyal north lancs 1906,served in india,east africa,then 9th south lancs served in france,selonika.( In 1920 royal irish constabulary)
In 1922 married Julia Gallagher.williams father was Robert Bradley ,cotton operative, Julias father was James Gallagher,journeyman,(of county mayo)
William then rejoins the army (south lancs?) in 1939 and is disembodied 14/7/1941
That still seems like a lot of history about him,but a lot of it is oral family history.Would be wonderful if anybody could help further.The thing is when ive got a proper map of his travels. Ide love to do the journey myself, maybe on a bicycle for the army widows fund or something similar.Anyway, thanks annie & any further help is most welcome..paul

 

OK Paul I had to call for help ... and these Lancashire girls found a bit of the family history ... I think ! seems to me this is the right family .... unless you know otherwise !!

Robert Bradley married Margaret Cannon in the first quarter of 1886

The first child is registered as Augustine (not Austin) as it says on the 1891 and 1901 census

Robert died in the first quarter of 1905 aged 46 ( he's listed on the 1922 marriage cert - but did it say deceased ??)

There are some (4) other Bradley/Cannon births registered at Preston which do not show up on the censuses

http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/

1891
6 Darwen St
Walton le Dale

Robert Bradley 30 H cttn grinder Preston
Margaret 30 W cttn slubber Liverpool
Augustine 4 S Walton le dale
James 9m S Walton le dale

RG12/3444 /Folio 45 /Page 2

1901
6 Darwen Street
Walton le Dale

Robert Bradley H 42 Cttn Spin Mill bobbin carrier worker Preston Lancs
Margaret W 44 C Card Frame Tenter worker Liverpool
Agustine son 13 ? dyer works worker Higher Walton
James son 10 " "
William son 9 " "
Catherine dau 4 " "

RG13/3957 /Folio 61 /Page 15

 

Thank you annie, youre so kind. I will take this latest information & put it with the stuff i have. hopefully i can find out a bit more about these people. thanks again,all the best to you,, paul

 

Do you think it's the right family Paul ?

If it is .... we have a better idea of who were looking for and can start looking for the army stuff !!