Hello I am trying to research a 6295611 H.L. Back in the Royal West Kent Regiment. However I am struggling based on his surname being a common word. All I know is that has a pre WW2 Palestine bar entitlement for a GSM. I have a copy of the medal roll for this. Any information on his service including WW2 would be much appreciated.
This service number is within the range of 6278001 - 6334000 allocated to The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) in the army renumbering of 1920. Army Numbers - British Army Numbers of WW2 This ties in with a record on the medal Roll for the Buffs Palestine GSM Bar of the late 1930's, for which I can't see the whole number. .....11 Pte. BACK H.L. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imagevie...os=6&queryId=f6c78361753918dcd3c39e913d2f8506 I am unsure which battalion(s) of the Buffs served in Palestine before WW2, but for this type of garrison/policing duties in the Empire at that time it would usually have been either the 1st and/or 2nd Regular Battalions.
Ah my error, got my Kents confused. Yes I think that is the same chap on the Palestine medal roll. Surely this is an unusual name though and is making any (mainly Google) research hard. Thanks for your help
Agree an unusual name, so had a quick look at any H L Back births in Eng & Wales on ancestry & there is one possible candidate, Harold Leslie BACK, who is not on the 1939 Register (serving in the Army ?). He features on several online trees on ancestry but none show any military service or other occupation. Harold Leslie Back born 25.2.115 Farversham Reg Dist Kent, married 1948 to Cynthia, died 2008. Son called Ralph. As other members will echo, in the long run this is only a guess at the moment & no substitue for his service records, for which you will need his death cert. Although by a long way not all soldiers joined their local regiment in the interwar years, Faversham is in the Buffs recruiting area.
Many thanks. Hopefully service records are released in the relatively near future, but I imagine some genealogy website will charge a premium when they are released!
It may be a long time before they get in the public domain - do you have his death details (post #4) so that you can apply for them, just £30. https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records
