Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

Hi

I am trying to find more information on Bertram George Vass as his name is on Litherland Civic Memorial as B. G. Vass. I have only managed to find his Medal Index Card but I have traced him and his parents on the 1911, 1901, 1891 and 1881 Census Returns. I have also found the marriage of his parents Arthur and Caroline and his birth in 1893 in Waterloo. I have also found a death in 1923 at Launceston, Cornwall for Bertram George Vass age 29. This was his mother's place of birth.

I have not found any trace on CWGC, FMP or Ancestry in their Military Records apart from the Medal Index Card. I am assuming that he died from injuries received during the war and the official date only goes up to 1921 for WW1.

Can someone please explain the details on the Medal index card, which may assist me in some way.


Eileen

The SWB note indicates that he was discharged from service through wounds or illness. CWGC sometimes took a different view about cause of death from those compiling Rolls of Honour. The date of death is after the cut-off point used by CWGC.
Vass arrived in theatre of war no. 1 - France & Flanders - on the date shown, and was entitled to the standard three medals. He served in the King's (Liverpool Regiment) as a private. His 1915 Star was returned to the medal office for amendment.
His regimental number changed during his service. If he was a Territorial, this may be the reason - it is a separate art to 'read' the numbers!
The medal rolls at the National Archives at Kew [not online] might tell you which battalion Vass served with, but might not. The numbers etc by the names of the medals are references to those rolls.
For the cause of death you will have to get a copy of the death cert, from the GRO. If it looks war-related, there could be a case for submitting his name for reconsideration, but the date of death probably means it will fail.
D

His service number shows that he served in the 7th Battalion of the regiment.

Ken

Ken

I thought the same number range was used for 6th-9th Bns?

If this is a 7th Bn number, it is from August 1914

Sorry, I meant that his 6-digit number is from the block allocated to the 7th Bn.

Hi Daggers, Ken and Stephen,

Thanks for your input, which is a big help to me. I am doing the research for the Litherland memorials for Merseyside Roll of Honour. I mistakenly said B G Vass was on the Litherland Civic, but it is actually on the Linacre Methodist Mission memorial.

I can now add a Battalion to the biography and a little of his service history. As I am researching so many names, to have sent for a death certificate was not going to be possible. I have not won the lottery because I am not in it to be able to win it

Eileen

It's a pity a little of the lottery fund can't be used for such research.