Kiwi Medals

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.

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 medal group belonged to a Peter Birchall. The group is impressed to 51660 PTE. P.BIRCHALL CHES. REG. Peter was enlisted in the Cheshire Regiment in 1915 and demob’d at the end of the year. He was redrafted into the Labour Corps and served the rest of the war there.

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 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.

This lonely little Orphan is the BWM, or British War Medal for Private Harold Birchall. The medal is impressed to 330057 PTE. H. BIRCHALL . L’POOL R. At some point Harold was transferred to the Labour Corps and issued a second number, 325057.

Here’s a nice WW1 group to an early arriver in France. Impressed to 9095 L.Cpl H.W.BURCHELL 2/R SUSS:R. & L-9095 T.SGT H.W.BURCHELL R.SUSS.R. This man landed in France on the 12th of August 1914 and has the November Bar on his 1914 Star to show it.

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.

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.