WW1 1918 MILITARY MEDAL GROUP PTE GENTRY EX RFC & 2ND BN LINCOLNSHIRE REGIMENT

Offered is a Military Medal group to Private Gentry 2^nd Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment which was awarded for the battle of Albert 1918.

Military Medal, (G.V.R) impressed named 42285 P^TE W.GENTRY 2/LINC:R., British War and Victory Medal impressed named 47319 PTE. W. GENTRY. R.F.C. Comes with copy medal index cards, medal roll, London Gazette 1919, 1911 & 1939 census, newspaper article 1919 extracts from History of the Lincoln Shire Regiment 1914 -1918, Battalion War Diary August 1918 & photograph.

M.M. London Gazette 7/2/1919, schedule number 204,900.

Schedule 195,000 – 200,999 this gazette covers the awards for the battel of Amiens 8/8/1918 – 3/9/1918.

Wesney Gentry was born on the 2/12/1880 in Chelmsford, Essex. The 1911 Census records him as living in Chelmsford and his occupation ‘taylor’. Unfortunately his records did not survive the WW2 “Blitz” but what is known: Enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps in 1916, with a regimental number of 47319. (The numbering block for the RFC 47301 – 49300 Aug 16 - Nov 16.) He transferred from 31/BS Royal Flying Corps to the 10^th Battalion Lincolnshire Regt (Grimsby Chums).on the 23/9/1917. At some stage he was posted to the 2^nd Battalion Lincolnshire Regt, this was possibly after 18/5/1918 when the 10^th was reduced to cadre strength after suffering heavy casualties.

M.M. action: 21/8/1918 – 29/8/1918 Near Beaumont Hamel. 7 pages of the War Diary covering the attack. 4 pages in the Lincolnshire Regimental history. Pte Gentry is listed in the history as MM winner. He survived the war and is recorded on the 1939 Census as a Master Taylor living in Chelmsford. He died in Colchester, Essex, in 1968.

Of note the medal roll for the Lincolnshire Regiment has numerous ‘transferred from RFC’ recorded as previous service in the same serial number block as Pt Gentry.

A good 2^nd Battle of the Somme fighting MM.