211238 Pte. William James "Titch" Barnett British Army 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment from:Reading, Berkshire My father, William Barnett joined the Militia in 1899 as a 15 year old. He then transferred to the regular army in 1902 when he signed on for a 12 year engagement with the 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment when his Regimental number was 7039. He served in Egypt and for two years then did Home Service until 1914 when WW1 was declared. His regiment was sent to France on 12th August 1914 where they landed at Rouen. They were involved in action for almost the whole of the rest of 1914 and 1915. He was wounded in March 1915 and then for a second time at the Battle of Loos in September of 1915. This battle is known for the fact that the British used gas for the first time. It was a disaster as the wind changed and blew the gas back to the British lines. It is also known as the battle where the the son of Rudyard Kipling was killed.
My father's wounds were bad enough for him to be sent back to Blighty where he underwent treatment at Tooting Hospital in London. He was there for 10 weeks by which time his 12 year engagement ended on 31 December 1915.
This story now becomes rather sketchy. He was awarded the 14 Star, British Medal and Victory Medal. On his medal Index Card at the National Archives at Kew the first two medals are shown as awarded while he served with the Royal Berkshire Regiment but the last, the Victory Medal was awarded while serving in the R.E.
This must mean that he volunteered again after serving his 12 year engagement but I have been unable to find out anything about this. I have tried researching his R.E. number of 163123 without success so if their are any kind souls out there could point me in the right direction I would be forever grateful.
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