After a lengthy hiatus I finally return with an update.
Since my last post a number of non blog related factors (house purchase/house decorating/arrival of first child) have meant a pause in activity. I am pleased to confirm however I have been quietly making some progress in the background which I will now begin to present in the coming weeks.
I chose to focus my limited time on exploring the first gap in Edwards story. His time from enlisting in the army to arriving in the Italian theatre. Having very few leads on this element of the tale I decided to seek guidance.
I submitted a general enquiry as to how I would go about obtaining further details of Edwards story through the Warwick Fusiliers website unsure if I would get a response (it noted their museum was closed for renovations).
To my surprise I received a very quick reply back from a gentleman named David Baynham, a museum assistant offering to call me and discuss my information requirements. Following a very positive and supportive call I provided David with a link to my blog and explained where the gaps in my story lay.
Only a few days later David replied:
Looking at the booklet pages you have I decided to check up the Commanding Officer and found that Lt Col Bates-Oldham was CO of the 70th (Young Soldier) Battalion. We have a book on them & I will go through that to see how much help it can provide. One error in your interpretation is that the publisher information does not mean that the photos were taken at Aldershot, but that firm Gale & Polden are based there.
To have some direction so early was encouraging. The photos in the collection providing a link to the 70th Young Soldier Battalion not only provided me with a new line of enquiry but also hinted at an answer to the blogs long running question of Edwards age of enlisting.
A possible correction to my presumption Edward had been through Aldershot (as stamped on the back of the previously explored photos) was also intriguing. Had I just added to the story, or reduced it further? David agreed to take a more in-depth look into the blogs contents and report back soon.
With a request for Edwards service records still pending and the museum closed for renovations, hope of progress now lay solely in the hands of a friendly stranger named David. His emphusiasm and initial insight had me confident more was to come, and so I chose to make a donation to the organisation, now a registered charity (link below).
Note: website currently under maintenance - Charity number 272357
I awaited David's next email.
Good to see the story of Private Timothy back up and running. Looking forward to the next instalment and hopefully you will soon receive details of his service history which should help