How can I discover the story behind David’s desertion?
QMy great grandfather, David Jones (regimental number 41216), served with the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War. His medal card has “RFA/168B” written on it. He deserted on 22 April 1918. The WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls collection on ancestry.co.uk shows he did not receive his medals (due to his desertion). The document, dated 20 February 1920, notes that he is still a deserter. Was that because they hadn’t found him?
Heather Bruce
ARoyal Artillerymen are probably the hardest to investigate, and I’m afraid there are few clues to help in this case. All we have is his Medal Index Card and his medal roll, which you have found.
The “RFA/168B” on the card simply refers to the medal roll as bound in the volume 168B. Even his service number is of no assistance – you’ll notice that there’s another man with the number 41216 on the same page, and two men with the number 41217.
You’d expect to find a deserter in the Police Gazette, published weekly. This listed (among others) deserters from the armed forces, with descriptions, unit and place of origin. Copies covering the First World War are on findmypast.co.uk (for ‘Pro’ subscribers) and british newspaperarchive.co.uk. I’ve searched for him in both, without luck.
David probably deserted in Britain. Deserting in France was harder, especially if you didn’t speak the language. The Military Police regularly checked papers, the French police watched strangers in case they were spies – and it was almost impossible to cross the Channel. The German spring offensive meant that British troops were in some disarray, so he may have worried about going back after home leave.
The important question is: what happened to David after the war? You probably know from your own research about his life in Britain afterwards. The Army had better things to do after the Armistice than chase deserters, so he appears to have got away with it!
Phil Tomaselli