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Original WWI British Silver War Badge No. 72258 – Researched to Private Richard Arthur Syrett, 10308, Welsh RegimentAn especially interesting individually numbered First World War Silver War Badge with substantial surviving research connecting it to its original recipient and the Battle of Loos.The reverse of the badge is individually stamped 72258. Research of the surviving Silver War Badge records identifies No. 72258 as issued to:Private Richard Arthur Syrett
Service No. 10308
Welsh RegimentSyrett was a pre-war soldier, having enlisted in the Welsh Regiment in 1910. His medal records show that he entered France on 19 January 1915.Surviving service records show that Syrett was posted to the 1st Battalion, Welsh Regiment on 7 September 1915.On 1 October 1915, his records document him as “Wounded in Action.” Medical/casualty entries record G.S.W. (gunshot wounds) involving his thigh and right arm/hand.At this time the 1st Battalion Welsh Regiment was engaged in the Battle of Loos, including operations around the Hohenzollern Redoubt and Little Willie trench on 1 October 1915.Syrett was subsequently moved through the casualty treatment system and evacuated from France to England. He was ultimately discharged from the Army on 26 April 1916 under King's Regulations Paragraph 392 (XVI), “No longer physically fit for war service.”He was subsequently issued Silver War Badge No. 72258 — the numbered badge offered here.An additional family connection makes his story particularly poignant.
Richard's surviving service records identify George Syrett as his brother and give their family address as 26 Devonshire Street, Old Kent Road, London.His brother, Private George Richard Syrett, No. 10560, 2nd Battalion Welsh Regiment, was killed during the Battle of Loos on 26 September 1915.Richard was wounded in action just five days later, on 1 October.George is commemorated on the Loos Memorial.Richard survived his wounds and was eventually discharged as physically unfit for further war service, resulting in the award of this Silver War Badge.Estate provenance: The badge was discovered loose among an old collection of buttons and pins in a family estate. The individually stamped number prompted further research, which led to Richard Syrett and his surviving military records.The badge is being sold in the original estate-found condition shown. It has not been cleaned or polished. The Silver War Badge was manufactured in sterling silver; these badges were generally not hallmarked.Please review all photographs carefully.Research information is provided for historical context. The sale is for the physical Silver War Badge shown; original military service documents are not included.
