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THE LONDON GAZETTE
The London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes are the official newspapers of
record in the United Kingdom. Their reporting of the status of the
individual soldiers during the Great War can provide significant information to
aid the researcher. You can now search these on-line, however we caution
the user to also see the supporting information for the search process,
otherwise you may miss some or all of the available information.
The main site for all three (3) Gazettes is here: Gazette
Main Page
Excellent instructions prepared by others are here: Gazette
User Instructions
One of the unresolved problems of my research on Grandfather George Van Wyck
Laughton, M.C. is that Gazette Record of his award of the Military Cross in
April 1917 does not match the record that is reported in the Canadian Newspapers
and other official records. The gazette record relates to another reported
event. We are still awaiting the retrieval of records from the PRO (Public
Records Office) to confirm their information.
In my latest search of the Gazette records I have
searched by time period and with different search terms (i.e. Laughton; G.
Laughton; George Laughton; Van Wyck; G. V. W.). Records have been found
for the 1917-1918 period, however no records were found for 1915, 1916 or
1919.
During my last search, I also used the specific terms from the Canadian
report to the Ontario Legislature which used terms such as "all but he
had been killed or wounded" and "single-handed captured"
the gun. For the period of April 1, 1917 to December 31, 1917 there were a
number such statements reported in the London Gazette, unfortunately none of
them could be tied back to G. V. W. Laughton., M.C.
To date I have been able to identify the
following records, however I presume there are still others that I have missed.
(Note: be sure to look at the top of the search results
page for the specific issue as there are often more than one "hit" in
any issue):
| GAZETTE Link |
Event Date |
Event Reference |
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| January
30, 1917
(found with search term "Van
Wyck", September 2003) |
December 19, 1916 |
The under mentioned
cadets to be temp. 2nd Lts. (attd.) :
19 Dec. 1916. George Van Wyck
Laughton., Joseph William James Price. |
| June
26, 1917
(found with search term "G. V. W." April
2005) |
December 19, 1916 |
War Office,
26th June, 1917.
REGULAR FORCES. The
undermentioned temp. 2nd Lts. (attd.), unless otherwise stated, are
transferred to Serv. Bns., with seniority shown against their names:
INFANTRY - North'd
Fus.—
G. V. W. Laughton. - 19th Dec/ 1916. |
| July
17, 1917
(found with search term "Van
Wyck", September 2003 and "Laughton" April 2005) |
Not specified |
His Majesty the
KING has been graciously pleased to
confer the Military Cross on the under mentioned
Officers and Warrant Officers in
recognition of their gallantry and
devotion to duty in the Field :
2nd Lt.
George Van Wyck Laughton, North'd Fus.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to
duty. During 24 hours he was on a picquet
in front of our own lines and conducted a
daylight patrol to within 300 yards of the
enemy trenches. Throughout he displayed
the greatest courage and determination. |
| October
23, 1917
(found with search term "Laughton", April
2005) |
October 25, 1917
(note: there were 2 G. Laughton's in the
26th N.F. so this may not be G. V. Laughton) |
War Office,
25th October, 1917. REGULAR
FORCES.
The
undermentioned temp. 2nd Lts., from attd.,
unless otherwise stated, are transferred to
Serv. Bus., with seniority from dates shown:
North'd Fus. - G.
Laughton. 26 Apr. 1917.
|
| April
23, 1918
(found with search term "Laughton", April
2005) |
April 25, 1918 |
War Office,
April, 1918. REGULAR
FORCES.
INFANTRY. Service Battalions. North'd
Fus.
Temp. 2nd Lt. G.
V. W. Laughton, M.C., relinquishes
his commission on account of ill-health
contracted on active service, and is
granted the hon. rank of 2nd Lt. 25 Apr. 1918. |
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