34981: Pre William
Tilley, 91st Company, Machine Gun Corps.
William Tilley grew up in the small Black Country town of
Great Bridge, close to Tipton in the West Midlands. He is entitled to the BWM
and Victory pair, along with the MM, which he won in 1918, serving with the 91st
Company of the Machine Gun Corps. He is mentioned in the London Gazette of the
4th February 1918. There is every chance William actually won his MM
in the last few months of 1917 (Possibly for actions at Passchendaele) as the
gazette entries could be announced around 3 months after the actual award.
As no service papers exist for William it is difficult to
say how he won his award. The MIC gives no clues, along with no theatre of war
mentioned. His Military Medal card simply shows ‘France’. I have been
approached by a collector in the past regarding William’s MM group, as it is
something of a mystery. Apparently the 91St were not in France at
the time of the award, thus is this a mistake on the MM card or a mistake on
the medal?
Wherever he won it, it is clear he was proud, as the MM has
seen more polishing than the other two medals in the group (He would have not
received his BWM and Victory until around 1921, some
three years after the war ended)
William’s medals have been court mounted for display and to
keep them together and safe.
If you have any information on the 91st Company
of the Machine Gun Corps, please share!
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