WW1 medals x 2 (missing 1914-15 Star) - British War Medal & Victory Medal - awarded to Private ALBERT WINTLE of the Gloucestershire Regiment – DRUMMER – Western Front, Somme, Passchendaele & Italian Front

Stock Reference – MM-MED-0022

WW1 medals x 2 (missing 1914-15 Star) - British War Medal & Victory Medal - awarded to Private ALBERT WINTLE of the Gloucestershire Regiment – DRUMMER – Western Front, Somme, Passchendaele & Italian Front

You are looking at a British War Medal and Victory Medal, awarded to Private ALBERT S A WINTLE of the Gloucestershire Regiment.

ALBERT was also entitled to the 1914-15 Star, unfortunately missing.

The medals are inscribed ‘1785 PTE. A.S.A.WINTLE. GLOUC.R.’

In early 1917, when the army implemented their new Territorial Force renumbering system, with numbers allocated in blocks to regiments and other units, ALBERT was issued the new service number 200204.

ALBERT WINTLE was a member of the 1/4^th (City of Bristol) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, also known as the ‘City of Bristol Rifles’, and he landed in France on the 31^st of March 1915.

On the 24^th of June 1915, ALBERT, a Lance Corporal in rank, was admitted to military hospital suffering from scabies, and within the medical record, there is a note to suggest he was treated at ‘Le Mont des Cats’ in France, but close to the Belgium border, that was being used as an Advanced Dressing and Casualty Clearance Station. 

The 4^th Battalion were in action at the Battle of the Somme (1916) and sustained heavy losses on the 1^st of July, the first day of the battle. They were also in action at the Battles of Bazentin Ridge, Pozieres Ridge, Acre Heights, Ancre (all 1916), and the Third Battle of Ypres  (Passchendaele) that took place from the 31^st of July to the 10^th of November 1917.

On the 21^st of November 1917, so less than two weeks after the Third Battle of Ypres had ended, although it is not clear the battalion were involved in the battle up to its bitter end, the 4^th Battalion were deployed to Italy and the Italian front, and in 1918, there were in action at Asiago Plateau (June 1918).

On the 30^th of July 1918, ALBERT, a ‘DRUMMER’ by rank according to the record, was transferred from a sick convoy with his ailment described as ‘debility’, and he was transferred to sick convoy on the 5^th of August........The record states ‘Transferred from 1/2^nd South Midland Field Ambulance. No 39 Ambulance Train’, and we know these medical units were working in the mountainous region of Asiago where the fighting had taken place.

‘Debility’ was a general term used by military doctors to describe someone suffering from physical or nervous weakness, exhaustion and / or loss of strength, and may include shell shock, disease, and things like malnutrition and dehydration brought about through the trench conditions soldiers found themselves in.

The rank of ‘DRUMMER’ is interesting, because in 1918, these musicians were often involved in combat action alongside their rank and file comrades, in that they often worked as battlefield messengers, stretcher bearers and signallers.  

The battalion also went on to fight in the Battle of Vittoria Veneto (24^th October – 4^th November 1918).

ALBERT was disembodied from the army on the 20^th of March 1919.

ALBERT SAMUEL ANTHONY WINTLE, the son of ALFRED and ROSE WINTLE, was born on the 18^th of August 1895, and he spent most of his life in the Bristol area. He died on the 15^th of February 1974.

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