Register of Apprentices and Prospectives 1890-1915 (UK Railway Employment Records)
William D Powell Medal Card
William On Medal Role
Williiam Daniel Powell worked for the GWR but was made redundant pre 1910.
James Powell his father also left GWR in 1910 owing to ill health, that is perhaps why Annie his wife had to find a job in London as a housekeeper and why James is living with William in the 1911 census. He was at Portsmouth HM Dockyard in 1914 as a Boiler Maker
William never returned from the war although he didnt die, so its unknown where he went at present. The family grapevine is he went off with another woman in france
From the medal card you can tell he was in the R.E (Royal engineers) regiment, his regiment no, was 54409
He was awarded the Victory Medal and British War Medal
He did not qualify for the Star
Because he never qualified for a Star, it means he cant have gone overseas until after 01 January 1916.
The notation in the remarks section seems to show that the medals were returned and sent back to Woolwich for breaking up. (probably as the medals were undeliverable). Kings Regulations 992 will state the reason why
Reference the motorbike Tom Morgan said I know you're more interested in the rider than in the motorcycle, but if it's any help, the machine is a Zenith Gradua. The Gradua bit was the name for the patented system of gearing. The bike is belt-drive with a v-belt running between two pulleys, one on the engine and one on the back wheel. There was no gearbox, but the engine pulley could be opened and closed by means of a crank. You can see the crank-rod running up in front of the rider's leg. At the top of the rod was a crank with a wooden knob, which appears as a shiny black ball between the rider's fist and the end of the handlebar. The crank opened and closed the engine-pulley, allowing the v-belt to run in it at different circumferences and a worm-gear moved the rear wheel in and out to compensate. The result was a gradual change of gearing from high to low, and the rider could select any point between the two extremes of gearing. Zenith used this system between 1908 and 1920, I think.
