WW1 British War & Victory Medals: WKR N.L.Barker QMAAC

I've been reading about the Queen Mary Army Auxiliary Corps (QMAAC) in connection with these beautiful WW1 medals which were awarded to Worker N.L.Barker.



The QMAAC ladies served their country both at home and in France in a number of roles, which helped free up some of the men for more active front line duties. I note that these ladies carried out there work wearing skirts that were no more that 12" off the ground (a detail that seemed to be very important in the 1900s).

Unfortunately most of the records for the 57,000 women that served have been lost. So I stand little chance of discovering what Miss/Mrs Barker got up to.

I don't yet know who she was or why my dad kept her medals along with his own, and those of both my grandfathers. "Barker" does not appear to be a family name, but I suspect she was someone close to my fathers family, and that the answer probably lies in Dorset, not a million miles from Sherborne where my dad grew up in the 1920s.

 

Hi Steve,
Would this be her. ?
Graham.

 

UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920
Name: Nellie Louisa Barker
Military Year: 1914-1920
Rank: Worker
Medal Awarded: British War Medal and Victory Medal
Regiment or Corps: Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps
Regimental Number: 3060 0


Possible:
Nellie Louisa Barker
1896–
BIRTH 9 NOV 1896 • St Martins, London, England
DEATH Unknown



TD

 

In my post #2 above, the record I saw (which is not shown)states Cheshire, England.
Had a look in the Cheshire area and there is a Nellie Barker.
Born 1894.
Address, Great Warford near Alderley Edge, Cheshire.
Parish, Great Warford.
Registration district, Macclesfield.
(it might not be her)

Graham.

 

You guys are amazing!

I'd done a search on the National Archives which just came back with 12 'Barker' results...none of them were for N.L.Barker, so I must have been asking the wrong question and/or in the wrong place.

A closer look at the edge of each medal does indeed reveal the number 30600.

So it looks pretty certain that her name was: Nellie Louisa Barker

It doesn't look like there is a Dorset connection, which only adds to the mystery.

Thanks very much for your help.

 

I took a second look at Nellie Barker today in connection with a family photo from c1925...



...I am now 90% convinced that Nellie married my grandad's brother Reginald Davis in the early 1920's.

She was awarded the Victory Medal & British War Medal for service in a theatre of war from 9th April 1918 until 24th October 1919.

I wonder if (like my grand father) she served in India and maybe that is how she got to know Reginald.

Although her rank is described as "worker" what would the 2 stripes on her sleeve have signified?

 

I would suggest the two stripes are Overseas Service Chevrons. Each chevron = 12 months overseas service.
ttps://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/how-to-research-a-soldier/tips-for-interpreting-photographs-of-men-in-uniform/whats-that-on-his-sleeve-an-overseas-service-chevron/

Tim

 

Hi,

If she did serve in India alone she would have only been awarded the British War Medal - as it wasn’t classified as a Theatre of War. As she was also awarded the Victory Medal it is clear that she served in a Theatre of War.

Unfortunately the Medal Index Cards (and rolls) for personnel who went overseas for the first time after 1.1.1916 doesn’t show the Theatre of War.

Steve

 

Thanks Steve,
I'm not very knowledgeable on WW1, but I think this web page:-
WW1 Operational Theatres of War 1914-1920
...is telling me that only Egypt and possibly Russia were 'operational' theatres of war in April 1918.

Also, I don't understand why she had 2 chevrons, as the war ended in November 1918, 6 months into her posting.

 

I think you are misreading the link. This is something to do with codes used to identify the theatres of war not the dates they were theatres of war. For instance the Western Europe says 'and from 1 January 1916'.
Award of the chevrons depended purely on service overseas irrespective of whether it was or was not in a theatre of war. The posting you refer to is the one qualifying for the Victory Medal. There is no indication as to where she was serving before this posting.

Tim

 

Thanks Tim.
Can you point me towards a straightforward list of WW1 Theatres Of War?

I am assuming that the lower arm cevrons were just a WW1 thing. And I still don't understand why she had 2.

 

Theatres of War: History Worksheet - History.
2 chevrons = at least two years service overseas but under three. It could have been anywhere.
Overseas Service Chevron - Wikipedia

Tim

 

From memory I think the overseas service chevrons were reintroduced for WW2 in late 1944?

Overseas Service Chevrons

Steve

Edit to Add - AO 19 in Feb 1944 reintroduced both wound stripes & overseas service chevrons for use by British Army personnel.

 

The Medal Roll posted above states that she served in Theatre of War 1(a) which was France and Flanders.

 

Brilliant EmpireUmpire!
I wouldn't have seen this as 1(a) ...I thought the " | " was just pointing to something!

 

Hi Steve, I have just seen this thread. You are correct that the medals were awarded to Nellie Louisa Barker (to whom I am related) and reflect her service in WW1 in the QMAAC. I can give you more information on Nellie and would like to make contact given the family connection. Richard

 

Hi Richard, for any info that expands Nellie's war time service, please post on this thread as it may help future researchers.

For anything personal, you can contact me via a PM (the Personal Message service) on this forum.

Cheers, Steve

 

Thanks Steve, I'll make those 5 posts and pm you in due course.

 

It now looks like I added 2 + 2 and ended up with 5.

Thanks to the information supplied to me by Richard (RB24) I no longer think this is my great aunt Nellie. In fact I'm pretty sure we are not related.

Nellie lived at 148 Kents Hill Road, Benfleet with her husband Cecil Gardner, less than a mile from our old family home. My memory of this time is poor, but I visited a guy thereabouts and remember he was very disabled by the mid 1960s. He couldn't move his head independently of his back, either left to right or up & down. He had prismatic glasses that looked downwards, so when laying on his back he could see forwards.

His hobby was electronics, and I was most impressed with an electric piano/keyboard that he was building. This was before the days of integrated circuits (chips) so each key had its own dedicated oscillator built with individual transistors, resistors, capacitors & so on. It was a work of art.

Cecil & Nellie didn't have any children, so the medal ended up with my dad, who was The Last Chairman of Benfleet British Legion. Dad used to visit many disabled ex-servicemen in and around Benfleet. I don't know, but I wonder if Cecil was injured in WW1.

If anyone is able to find more info for Nellie and/or Cecil Gardner I'd be very grateful.

Cecil died in July 1971 and Nellie in December 1975.

Additional:-
According to FreeBMD:
- the marriage of Nellie & Cecil was recorded in the district of Edmonton June 1927
- Cecil was probably born 4 April 1897, so age at death 73
- There is a Cecil George Gardner born March 1897 registered Newbury

- Nellie birth:-
> (1) Nellie Louisa birth registered December 1896 Strand
> (2) Nellie Louise birth: registered in West Ham September 1898,
> (3) but death cert says born 9 November 1896

 

Hi Steve,

Nellie Louisa was indeed born on 9 November 1896 in the Strand (Neal Street) and baptised on 27 November 1896 at St Giles in the Field, Parish Church. I think you are correct on your dates for Cecil George Gardiner.

Richard