Updates to the ‘Awards and Honours of the Macedonian Campaign’

Awards and Honours of the Macedonian Campaign

July 2025 Update

Now containing almost 5,000 names, the Awards and Honours Database (available through the Members’ Area ) continues to grow. With so many entries we can expect errors to creep in, although it must be said these are mainly due to the carelessness of the person entering the information (not true! – ed). Obviously, accuracy is important, but this assumes from the outset that the source materials are also accurate.

The database contains a page explaining the sources used to compile it and an issue has recently come to light with the source for those awarded the Military Medal. The majority of the information has been drawn from Forces War Records UK, by Ancestry. This is fully searchable but does not include an index for identifying the theatre for which the medal was awarded. The Genealogist website also has a searchable database of medal awards, the source being the Military Medal index cards. These are a fascinating set of images organized by surname. Most of the cards are over-stamped with the theatre in which the medal was earned, which makes it especially useful. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a way to filter the awards by theatre.

As part of a routine check of the first part of the database to be compiled (the 10^th (Irish) Division), these two sources were compared side-by-side. The original entries were based on the battalion identified by Forces War Records. All of these were checked against the relevant London Gazette, but this does not often identify the battalion to which a man belonged. Sometimes the London Gazette identifies the theatre, but when it does not a judgement has to be made on whether a man should be included or not. Knowing the right battalion and when it served in Salonika is obviously key. Although the source material for both must surely be the same, in a few cases it appeared as though the Forces War Records information did not always correctly identify the battalion in which a man served.

This is fundamental, and the consequence is that there are several awards that were assumed to have been earned in Salonika when in fact they were earned elsewhere, in Gallipoli, France or Palestine. Work to correct this was undertaken and, as a result, all Military Medals (MM) and Meritorious Service Medals (MSM) have been checked to ensure that the database is correct i.e. all medal awards identified were indeed earned in Salonika.

The lesson here is that it may not always be sensible to rely on one source of information, and using both sources mentioned above will help improve the accuracy of the database as a whole.

Fifth Update, 12 July 2024

The database was first made available to Members at the end of December and the fourth update published on 14 June. Since then, the number of entries has increased from 4015 to 4938. The database is in the Members’ Area.

Summary figures for each Division are set out below.

Sheet	No. of entries	Full Citations
22^nd Division	406	87
26^th Division	186	39
60^th (London) Division	11	5
10^th (Irish) Division	134	27
27^th Division	185	41
28^th Division	185	15
Army & Corps, LoC	533	21
Exact Bn. Or unit unknown	574	55
Chancery Awards	500	1
Red Cross Awards	126
Serbian Awards	2083

The change in the total is entirely due to adding many more Serbian awards. There are many different awards listed in the London Gazette which were made throughout the war and the order of precedence is not entirely clear. Also, the London Gazette identifies several awards with similar names. For example, there are separate Gold Medals for Good Service, Valour, Military Virtue, Merit, Zealous Service, and simply “Gold Medal”. It is not clear if these are separate awards, and in some cases could be the same one. For now, I have recorded them as they are cited in various editions of the London Gazette. I hope there is someone out there who could shed some light on this issue.

There are still far too many names on the “Exact Battalion or Unit Unknown” sheet. Hopefully this can be trimmed over time if and when further details emerge about the individuals concerned. There remain several entries here where the exact unit is known, but it isn’t obvious where they belong in the Order of Battle as set out on the main Division sheets. For example, several entries identify a battalion which did not serve in Salonika. In these cases it is likely a “home” battalion that has been identified and not the battalion of a regiment to which the soldier is attached.

This latest update (version 14, Fifth Update, 12 July 2024), is probably the last major update to the database. As reported in the notes on the fourth update, only a limited amount of help has so far been provided by members. I hope more members will find themselves able to provide additional information in the future. As usual, if you can and want to help, please check the database and contact me before sending any information. There is a possibility that the work has already been done.

Finally, I have continued to work on the Mentions in Dispatches of which around a two-thirds have been edited into a usable format. It will be a few months before this is ready for wider circulation.

Rob Elliott

* Rob can be contacted via the form below.

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Previous Project Updates

Update, 14 June 2024

The database was first made available to Members at the end of December. Since then, the number of entries has increased from just under 3000 to over 4000. Previous updates can be seen below while the database itself is in the Members’ Area.

Summary figures for each Division are set out below.

Sheet	No. of entries	Full Citations
22^nd Division	406	87
26^th Division	186	39
60^th (London) Division	11	5
10^th (Irish) Division	134	27
27^th Division	185	41
28^th Division	185	15
Army & Corps, LoC	533	21
Exact Bn. Or unit unknown	574	55
Chancery Awards	500	1
Red Cross Awards	126
HM The King of Serbia	1175

The biggest gap remains the 60^th (London) Division and no suggestions have as yet been made as to why this is so. The Division was in Salonika between 8 December 1916 and 30 June 1917. Was it involved in any notable actions during that period? Does anyone have the War Diary that might shed some light on this?

The bulk of the additional names to be added can be found on the awards conferred by His Majesty the King of Serbia. While currently just under 1200, there are a few hundred more yet to be added. There are many different awards listed in the London Gazette which were made throughout the war. I am unsure which if any were directly awarded by the King of Serbia of if they were mostly awarded en bloc through reciprocal arrangements. I suspect the latter, but there will be someone out there who knows a lot more about this than me.

There are still far too many names on the “Exact Battalion or Unit Unknown” sheet although this is slowly being trimmed as details emerge. There remain several entries here where the exact unit is known, but it isn’t obvious where they belong in the Order of Battle as set out on the main Division sheets. For example, several entries identify a battalion which did not serve in Salonika. In these cases it is likely a “home” battalion that has been identified and not the battalion of a regiment to which the soldier is attached.

No additions have been made to the “Chancery Awards” and “Red Cross Awards” sheets. These may now have all been captured.

Only a limited amount of help has so far been provided by members. One or two people have contacted me through the website and offered details drawn from unit histories in their possession. This has been very welcome and allowed for a few names to be moved into their correct place. I hope more members will find themselves able to provide additional information in the future. As usual, if you can and want to help, please check the database and contact me (see the Contact Form below) before sending any information. There is a possibility that the work has already been done.

Finally, I have continued to work on the Mentions in Dispatches of which around a third have been edited into a usable format. It will be a few months before this is ready for wider circulation.

Rob Elliott

Update, 13th May 2024

The workbook represents a start on collating honours and awards bestowed upon British troops during the Salonika Campaign. The latest version (v13) of the workbook now has over 3000 entries across the whole Order of Battle. It is available to members of the Society on the SCS Members’ Area.

I have used as a framework the order of battle at March 1917 as set out in the appendix of “Under the Devil’s Eye”, Alan Wakefield and Simon Moody, Pen & Sword 2017, page 239. I have made a few tweaks to that based on information on the SCS Website and elsewhere. Particularly useful is the Order of Battle set out in appendix 1 of “Uncle George”, by Graham Nicol, Reedminster Publications Ltd., 1976. page 296. If a unit known to have served in the theatre but is not included here, it is because I have not yet found any related honours or awards.

Each division has its own sheet, and there is a separate sheet for Army and Corps Troops and Lines of Communication. The sheet headed “Exact Battalion or Unit Unknown” is for those individuals where I am in some doubt as to where to place them. Some sources such as the London Gazette only identify the corps or regiment rather than the Battalion, for example. Where only one battalion of a regiment served in Salonika it can be assumed to be the right one for DCM awards and below. DSO and MC awards are more problematic since these are often cited as the person’s “home” battalion when the individual might be attached eslewhere. There are other occasions when the Battalion is given but there is no record of it serving in Salonika, so care needs to be taken to ensure the award was for services in the right theatre and not for Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine, or even the Western Front.

I have made some additional changes to the overall structure since the last update. The main change is an additional sheet on which are listed awards made by His Majesty The King of Serbia. This is likely to include several hundred names when completed. A case might be made for additional sheets for awards by other allies such as France, Greece and Italy. Where these have been found they are have so far been included within the main sheets, but there may be many more.

The issue of Rank has the potential to cause some issues, given that many were in either Acting or Temporary roles. For this reason, the records herein assume the substantive rank occupied, hence “Temp. Lieutenant” is recorded as “Lieutenant”. and “A/Major” is recorded as “Major”.

Sources

The current lists are compiled from various sources and include the London Gazette and The New Mosquito. Some have been drawn from Regimental Histories and War Diaries, and for most people these last two items will be a valuable source of names and awards which can then be more fully researched in the London Gazette. Family memoirs and private research are further sources that can be drawn upon, as can medal index cards and rolls and service records where available.

There are also several books containing lists of awards which members may own. Some of these have been digitised and are available through online resources. A detailed look at some of these and guidance on how to use them can be found on the final sheet, “Books and Online Resources”.

Finally, there are now over 3000 entries across the whole Order of Battle and there are likely to be several hundreds more.

If you have any ideas, comments, corrections and (most importantly) contributions, they will all be very welcome.

Update, 21 February 2024

The database was first made available to Members at the end of December. I hope that many have had the opportunity to review it and perhaps considered making a contribution. My thanks again to Society Chairman Alan Wakefield, and Members Harry Fecitt and Andy Siddall for their contributions to the first update.

That first update was made available on 12 January with the database containing 1067 entries with 276 citations, although there were still major gaps. The second update is now available and comprises 1960 names of which 283 have full citations. The reason for the number of entries growing faster than citations is that the vast majority just do not have citations at all, and this version includes a number of awards of the Meritorious Service Medal.

22^nd Division remains the best represented with 368 entries of which 87 have full citations. The 26^th, 10^th, 27^th and 28^th all have over 130. We have big gaps though, in the 60^th (London) Division where only 8 names have so far been identified. Why is this? It is always possible that there simply were no awards made, although I find that hard to believe. These battalions or individuals within them must surely have been involved in something that merited an award.

The sheet with the highest number of names is “Exact Battalion or Unit Unknown”. The main reason for this is the identification of awards to the Royal Field Artillery, Royal Garrison Artillery and Royal Army Medical Corps in particular, where it has not yet been possible to find the correct unit. The London Gazette is not specific in many cases. There are several entries here where the exact unit is known, but it isn’t obvious where they belong in the Order of Battle as set out on the main Division sheets. Where possible several units have now been moved to the correct sheet, especially the Field Ambulances to their respective divisions. Also, the GHQ Troops sheet has been renamed to “Army and Corps Troops, L of C”, where “L of C” represents ”Lines of Communication”. This has allowed several units to be moved from the “unknown” sheet.

There are two further additional sheets. The first is “Chancery Awards” and a start has been made to capture these, from the Order of the Bath to the OBE, of which 181 have so far been extracted from the editions of the London Gazette. The second is entitled “Red Cross Awards”, on which 74 Nursing Staff have so far been found.

The introductory notes sheet has been updated to reflect these changes.

Some help to fill in the gaps, which are many, would be very welcome especially from those with knowledge of the 60th (London) Division. If you can want to help, please check the database and contact me before sending any information.* There is a possibility that the work has already been done.

Finally, I have made a start on extracting The Mentions in Despatches. There are many thousands of these and to include them in the same database would make it clumsy and unwieldy. I will set them out in a separate workbook for now until we can decide on the best way to present them.