Description

Offered is a group of 4 medals to Warrant Officer Class 2 W. Foster, Royal West Kent Regiment, later Military Foot Police, who served as the Deputy Assistant Provost Marshal in Mosul, Iraq, a city the British Army would again lay claim to nearly 100 years later.

1914 – 15 Star, impressed named S-198. L-CPL. W. FOSTER. R.W. KENT. R.; British War and Victory Medals, impressed named S198 T.W.O. CL2. W.FOSTER. R.W.KENT. R.; General Service Medal (1918 -62), clasp IRAQ, impressed named p17759 T-W.O. CL. II W. FOSTER. M.F.P. Comes with copies M.I.C., medal rolls, 1911 census.

William Foster was born 14/1/1885 at Dartford Kent, the 1911 census records him working as a ‘carman’ for an ironmonger. He initially served with the 7^th Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment landing in France with them on the 26/7/1915 as a Lance Corporal. The 7^th was formed at Maidstone 5/9/1914 as part of K2 and it is highly probable that he was a founding soldier of the unit. At some stage he was transferred to the 2^nd Battalion R.W.Kent Regiment as a Sergeant. The 2^nd was serving in Mesopotamia (Iraq) and lost ½ their strength when 2 companies were taken prisoners at Kut-al-Amara, 29 April 1916. The 2nd Battalion returned to India from Mesopotamia in 1919.

Temporary WO2 Foster, transferred to the Military Mounted Police and served in Iraq as the D.A.P.M. Mosul (Deputy Assistant Provost Marshal) 12/11/1919 – 27/3/1920 qualifying for the G.S.M and clasp IRAQ. The 1939 census records him as living in Dartford working as ‘Instructor Engineer Iron Keeper’. He died in October 1963.