WWI Medal Found

A World War One medal found in the old Teynham School playground many years ago will be of great interest to any surviving relative. 

It was a medal issued to the first volunteers of the War and carries the name Pte. (Private) E. Jacobs A.S.C. M1-119009.

It would have been presented in 1914 or 1915 as conscription was then brought in and those soldiers were issued with a different medal. (1914-18 War medal).

The man who found it, Barry Knell, said: “I cannot remember a Jacobs family in Teynham, although I think there was one. If any relatives come forward they can have the medal. I don't think it's of any monetary value but it would be of great interest to the family.”

The initials A. S. C. on the medal stand for Army Service Corps.

Teynham Parish Council Chairman Brian Sharman explained: “The ASC was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and domestic materials such as clothing, furniture and stationery and the supply of technical and military equipment.

“It seems during World War One each unit probably cooked their own food as the Army Catering Corps did not exist as a separate Corps in the Army until 1965 when it was granted the status of a Corps in its own right. Until then the Catering Corps had been under the control of the Royal Army Service Corps since its formation in 1941.

“My Dad was in the RASC as a Dispatch Rider during World War Two and also flew over France with the RAF to drop supplies to the Resistance. He had more flying hours than most RAF Pilots and often spoke about flying above the tracer bullets.”

[Research on Pte Edward Victor Jacobs by John Tilling]