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Sunday 22 February 2015

Effects Form 118A

 
 
How much misery, despair and distress is recorded on these sad forms I wonder. It is what is says on the tin: details of personal effects to be returned to the next of kin. From a family historian's perspective, and in the absence of other surviving material, this document is useful because it lists the name and address of the next of kin. In some cases, details of personal effects may also be given, either noted on this form or recorded separately.  Note that this Effects Form 118A does not record sums of money owing, just personal effects.
 
The image below shows the items returned to my great-grandmother after her second eldest son, John Frederick Nixon, had been killed in action in October 1918:
 

The two discs are his identity discs which I have and which, when removed from his body on the battlefield, effectively denied him a marked grave. Instead, he's remembered on the Vis-en-Artois memorial. RIP, Jack.

Images used on this post are Crown Copyright The National Archives.

Sunday 8 February 2015

W.3428 - Accidental or self-inflicted injuries

 
I've not seen too many of these forms for reporting accidental or self-inflicted injuries, and this print run dates to July 1918 and a modest print-run of just 6,000. This particular man suffered a fractured forearm when he was thrown from a mule. Apart from the mule, there were no witnesses.
 
The image is crown copyright The National Archives.