A RETIRED ex-Army Colonel and former High Sherriff of Merseyside from the Wirral is appealing to the people of Hampshire in the hope that they might be able to help him reunite a lost First World War medal to the family of soldier it once belonged to.
Colonel Martin Amlot, who served with the King’s Regiment up until 1994, accidentally acquired the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal belonging to Private Stanley Barton of the 1st/4th Battalion the Hampshire Regiment by mistake some years ago when he had his grandfather’s Great War medals mounted for display by a local frame dealer.
When the completed display was returned it was noticed that Barton’s medal had been included in error, prompting Colonel Amlot to make inquiries with various organisations and old Army colleagues in an attempt to return the medal to Private Barton’s family.
But, despite his best efforts, these attempts to trace the family have, as yet, been unsuccessful.
Colonel Amlot believes that Private Barton survived the war and his research has suggested that, in addition to his Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, Private Barton would have also been entitled to the 1915 Star, the War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Other than that, very little else seems to be known about Private Barton.
When contacted by the Daily Echo, Lt Col Colin Bulleid, of The Royal Hampshire Regiment Trust, echoed the frustrations encountered by Colonel Amlot when tracing information regarding individuals from the First World War.
It is estimated that as many as two thirds of Army records from the First World War were destroyed as a result of bombing during the Second World War, which makes finding a surviving record for an individual something of a lottery.
“We have no records for Stanley Barton and so we don’t know where he came from”, Lt Col Bulleid explained, “Records have just not survived.”
“What we do know is that Stanley Barton was in the 1/4th Battalion and therefore was probably from the general Winchester area or north of the county rather than south towards Southampton”, continued Lt Col Bulleid.
“We can see from his medal index card he entered a theatre of war at Mesopotamia on 18th March 1915 but according to the records he wasn’t with the group that wasn’t taken prisoner at Kut el Amara.
"Having been awarded the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal he must have served 12 years as a Territorial to qualify, so clearly hadn’t just been drafted in.”
Do you have any information relating to Private Stanley Barton?
Hampshire Heritage would be delighted to hear from readers that may be able to offer any further information that could assist Colonel Amlot trace Private Barton’s family in order to return the medal.
If you can help, then please contact Jez Gale on 02380424777 or at jez.gale@dailyecho.co.uk.
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