WW1 Medal pair - British War Medal and Victory Medal – Awarded to LOUIS GRAYDON of the 1st Battalion the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment

Stock Reference – MM-MED-0060

WW1 Medal pair - British War Medal and Victory Medal – Awarded to LOUIS GRAYDON of the 1^st Battalion the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment

You are looking at British War Medal and Victory Medal pair awarded to Private LOUIS GRAYDON of the 1^st Battalion the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment.

The medal is inscribed ‘19932 PTE. L.GRAYDON. R.LANC.R.’

LOUIS enlisted into the Royal Lancaster Regiment on the 4^th of August 1915, and he served with the regiment’s 1^st Battalion, with another document suggesting he had also served with the 3^rd Battalion, although this reference would appear to be wrong, because we know LOUIS served overseas and the 3^rd (Special Reserve) Battalion were home-based throughout WW1.

He was discharged from the army on the 8^th of February 1917 according to one military record, the 1^st of March 1917 according to another, suffering from ‘Chronic Nephritis’, a serious inflammation of the kidneys, also referred to as ‘Trench Nephritis’ and ‘War Nephritis’, usually caused by the cold and wet trench conditions troops found themselves in, and often exacerbated by infection and poor diet........He was awarded the Silver War badge.

From August 1915 to March 1917 when LOUIS was serving, the 1^st Battalion were on the Western Front.  

From November 1915 to February 1916, the battalion was part of the 36^th (Ulster) Division in the area of the Somme, in the April of that year they were involved in the ‘Ransart Raid’ against enemy trenches, and from July to November, they were involved in the Battle of the Somme itself, and specifically, Beaumont-Hamel (1^st July), Battle of Albert (1^st to 13^th July), and the ‘Capture of Spectrum Trench’ (23^rd October)....From November 1916 to March 1917, when the Somme offensive had effectively ground to a halt, the battalion remained in the area, and during what was considered to be one of the most bitter of winters, living in muddy and often frozen trenches, repairing infrastructure and preparing for the spring offensive (Battle of Arras) that was scheduled to start in the April.

We know Private GRAYDON was discharged after suffering ‘chronic nephritis’, and it is possible he came down with this condition during this bitterly cold winter period, as did many British troops at the time.  

When acquired, the paperwork that accompanied these medals provided that he was the son of GEORGE and MARIA GRAYDON of Bradford, who was born in Bradford in 1897....This attribution is wrong.

LOUIS ALFRED GRAYDON, the son of JOSEPH and ELIZABETH GRAYDON, was born at Halifax in Yorkshire in 1875 (1876). He moved with his parents to Dublin in Ireland when he was very young, and in 1898, when the family were living at Henrietta Street in the city, he married LUCY LOGAN. As a married couple, they came to England, and in 1901 they were living on Bates Street in Oldham, and they were at 14 Charter Street in the town in 1911 and in 1921. LOUIS died in 1945 at the age of 70.  

SELLER NOTE = Supporting documentation obtained and / or created during this research will be provided.