WWI & WWII Medal Group Trones Wood Somme Casualty Lieutenant Northants Rgt

1914-15 Star trio awarded to Lieutenant John Falk Arnold, 6th Battalion Northamptonshire regiment , Defence Medal, 1939-1945 War Medal and Air Efficiency Award medal awarded to Acting Squadron Leader JF Arnold RAF Volunteer Reserve.  The medals are housed in a case and mounted as worn. Also with the group is an Old Comrades Association silver enamelled badge for the 6th battalion Northmaptionshire regiment, hall marked Birmingham 1921.  All medals are correctly named – The Defence and 1939-45  medals are unnamed as issued.

John Falk Arnold was born in 1887 the son of Frederick Arnold a clerk with the War Office.  On the 22nd September 1914 he enlisted with the 6th battalion (with which he stayed) Northamptonshire regiment with the rank of 2nd lieutenant . He disembarked in France on 26th July 1915.  The war diary for 6th battalion mentions Arnold (then Lieutenant) on 22nd June 1916 as second in command of D company. His next and final mention in the war diary is on the list of officers wounded on the 14th July when the 6th battalion took part in the final assault on Trones Wood – Sergeant William  Boulter of 6th battalion won the VC on the same day at Trones Wood.

By the 11th August 1916 he was back in England and admitted to the Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital, Millbank. The admission sheet (copy included) records his injury as gun shot wound to the right arm. He was discharged after 35 days.

Arnold was discharged due to his wounds and the silver war badge award is noted on his medal index card where captain has also been written in suggesting he was discharged with this rank although the promotion was never gazetted and all of his WWI medals give his rank as lieutenant.

In 1939 Arnold is listed on the 1939 register as an educational officer with the RAF Volunteer Reserve. He is gazetted on the 8th September 1939 (with the service number 73733) as an acting Squadron Leader (the rank that is engraved on his Air Efficiency Award) in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch. In 1954 he is Gazetted as retiring and retaining the rank of Squadron Leader and his death in 1970 again appears in the London Gazette where is listed as Squadron Leader (retired).

An interesting group to a very interesting man.

Copies of census registers, army lists, medal index cards and gazette entries confirming his ranks are also included along with a copy of the 6th battalion’s war diary covering the July 14th action at Trones Wood (Arnold is listed in the diary as wounded in that action as part of D company and on a previous entry as the 2nd in command of D company – This war diary can be downloaded for free in it’s entirety from the National Archives, record number is WO 95/2044/2

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