Seems I have a bit of a flush of Birchall’s this year. My 65th Birchall is a WW1 pair to G.J. Burchell 57346 of the Suffolk Regiment. George John Birchall was moved later to the Northamptonshire Regiment and then to the A.S.C. likely as he aged out.



Interesting orphan off EBay. This Long Service in the Volunteer Force Medal was awarded to Corporal William Birchall, 6889, 2V.B. South Lancashire Regiment. William had served 20 years by 1908 in this regiment and reenlisted as a regular in the same regiment in 1908. He served through the First World War, being discharged due to age on the 29th of September 1917 at the rank of C.S.M (age 48).
These medals are always pretty difficult to identify, just a name and a king to go by. Luckily George V didn’t live that long and I find a John Burchill, Protective Officer of London being gazetted on the 1st of October 1914. For long service and likely a retirement award. A Protective Officer was similar to a police officer but working for one of the large ports within Customs and Revenue.
A poignant item named to Alfred Burchell who served in the Royal Marine Light Infantry Plymouth Bn as a Private. He died of wounds at 7am on the 28th of May 1915 in 15th General Hospital Alexandria. He suffered a GSW in the left shoulder deemed dangerous, at ‘Y’ Beach, Gallipoli two days earlier on the 26th leading to the amputation of his left arm). He is buried at Chatby War Memorial Cemetery (Egypt 6). He was ex-1826 Private 4th Bn. Somerset Territorials, enlisted 8/4/1913 (later transferred to RMLI) ; Plymouth Bn. at Dunkirk & Defence of Antwerp 1914 ; MEF 6/2/15-28/5/15 DD. PLY/16337 Son of Mrs. Frances H. Burchell, of Hillside Cottages, Bleadon, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. 1914 Star issued to father 31/10/19.
This lonely orphan BWM is all I have to commemorate James Burchall. The medal is impressed to 683648 PTE J.BURCHALL S.W.B. James was initially mobilized into the South Wales Borderers (15116) in 1914 and served there until he was released to the Labour Corps in 1917. He was 29 and a labourer from Barrow in Lancashire. He was entitled to the Victory medal and the 1914-1915 Star, both lost to time. From his records he served in Salonika in Greece as well as in France, as a farrier. He was pensioned due to illness from malaria and dysentary.
This pair of WW1 service medals appeared off EBay. They are impressed for K46500 R. BURCHALL STO.1 R.N. Richard was born on 30th September 1892 in Wigan in Lancashire. He was a bricklayer by trade. His K prefix on his number shows that he was transferred from the Army upon enlistment to the Royal Navy on the 19th of October 1917. His first ship was HMS Vivid on the 31st of December 1917. His final posting was on HMS Dido, a cruiser, before being discharged on the 19th of February 1919.
This is a lonely little orphan Victory Medal for Pioneer James Burchell of the Royal Engineers. The medal is engraved 110501 PNR.J.BURCHELL R.E. James enlisted voluntarily on August 14th 1915 at the age of 46. While this seems old for the time he did indicate 5 years prior service with the Royal Sussex Regiment. James was retired sick and no longer fit for service on the 31st of July 1916. He was entitled to the SWB #236,996.
This group is the usual suspects for a mid war soldier in France. These three were awarded to Alfred Charles Burchell. They are impressed to K-1445 PTE A Burchell, R.Fus. Alfred disembarked into France on 17th November 1915. On the 8th of July 1919 he was released into Z Pool, basically a civilian again.
When the British soldiers reached France in 1914 & 15 many of them sent these embroidered postcards home to their family and friends. Usually pretty bland in content they are a very period specific bit of tourist kitsch.
This one is from a Henry Birchall to his sister “E” in Southport in Lancashire. It reads…
Dear Sister
I am pleased to hear that your Father Mother is keeping in good health. they will think I have forgot them because I have not wrote to them for a long time. I will … them a line just to let them no that I have not forgot them. So good by, till we meet again.
When I find a Birchall impressed medal out there on the Intertubes I am always pretty stoked. Sometimes it’s an orphan, a medal that has been split from its group. This one is particularly poignant as it belonged to a Military Medal winner, 685885 GNR J.Birchall, RA. James Birchall was gazetted for the Military Medal on the 4th of February 1918. I also found him listed as wounded on the War office casualty lists for July 9th 1918.
A sad little orphan 1914-15 Star. Impressed to Private William Burchell, 17691, of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. William entered France on the 15th of October 1915 and was killed in action on the 1st of July at Thiepval on the Somme. I have some German ball shrapnel from the same area. Thiepval was an abattoir on that day although the Berkshires reached their objectives on schedule. William was 33 on the day he was killed. He is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial. Coincidentally a Sergeant in the Lancashire Regt named identically was also killed at Thiepval on the same day.
These postcards were very popular, especially with the British troops, during WW1. This particular one has a personal connection being sent by a soldier with the surname of Birchall.
“With my best wishes to you and all in Garston. Yours with kind regards, L. Cpl J. Birchall.”
It is sent to a Nellie Tomas in Garston. Likely one I found in Garston on Ancestry, born in 1900. No sign of a marriage tho so Romeo was unsuccessful.
Along with the military medals, occasionally drifts a Masonic medal. This one is the 1930 Royal Masonic Hospital Charity Jewel from 1930. It was awarded to Worshipful Brother J. Birchall of the Robinson Lodge (2046) in Maidstone, Kent.
Another ordinary pair of Squeak and Wilfred, the two most common ww1 service medals. These belonged to Private 202702 John Birchall of the Liverpool Regiment.
This Death Penny belonged to Sidney Burchell, a Private in the 7th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Regiment. Sydney died from illness while a prisoner in Germany on the 26th of June 1918. This is likely not his actual death date as the POW rolls have him dying on the 20th of June. Sidney enlisted in Chichester, initially as TR/10/6344 in a Training Reserve Battalion, probably the 23rd based in Shoreham, although Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919 probably erroneously states the 2nd. Later he became Rifleman A/205284 in the 7th Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps, part of the Army’s 14th Division.
Sidney was taken prisoner on 21 March 1918 and held at Camp Stendal, Prussia. He died of kidney infection while in captivity on 20 June 1918 aged 19. [Some current records state he died on 26 June which is likely to be the date of his burial.]
He was buried in grave V.A.11 at the Hautmont Communal Cemetery. Hautmont had been captured by the Germans in the early days of World War 1. The communal cemetery was used by the German troops for the burial of their dead. The Allied prisoners who died in the local German hospitals were buried there too by the authorities of the town.
Sidney is also commemorated on the Lodsworth war memorial.
This lonely little WW1 Victory Medal orphan belonged to M2-033111 Private A.J. BURCHELL of the Army Service Corps. Arthur James Burchell entered France on the 18th of July 1915 and was therefore entitled to the 1914-1915 Star in addition to the BWM and Victory Medal. His M2 prefix on his service number indicates that he was an electrician.
This modest little group belonged to John James Burchall-Ward, 997361, 114 Squadron. John was a Sergeant-Observer in the RAF Volunteer Reserve. He was killed in action on the 27th December 1941 when the Blenheim he was helping to crew was shot down into the sea at the island of Vaagso in Norway during Operation Archery. He is buried in the Møllendal Church Cemetery in Bergen.
Surprising this week, after a drought of a few months, a plain old garden-variety British General Service Medal (1962). The recipient is Gunner R. Birchall 23381785, Royal Artillery. The lack of any of the 14 possible theatre bars means he didn’t deploy from the UK during his service.
This trio are a 1915 Star, Allied Victory Medal and British War Medal awarded to Private C. Burchell (M2-048414). I haven’t found his first name yet but his army number indicates that he served as an electrician in the Army Service Corps. His record shows he entered France on the 16th of March 1915 and that he was released into the Class Z reserve on the 21st of April 1919. I hope he had a decent war.