A Blackburn interest Meteorologist's Great War Indian Army medal pair: Lieutenant William Albert Harwood, 19th Agra Company India Defence Force, late Indian Army Reserve of Officers (att'd 6th Field Service Company King George V's Own Bengal Sappers &

- British War Medal. Silver issue (Lieut. W. A. Harwood.)
- Interallied Victory Medal (Lieut. W. A. Harwood.)

Medals Verification: There are very few Indian Army British Officer medal rolls for 1914-18 in the public domain. Similarly although many Medal Index Card's for British Officers of the Indian Army are accessible as of 2026 - the series is not comprehensive. No MIC or Medal Roll entry has been found digitally for William Albert Harwood

- British War Medal: July 1917 IA List shows 6 Co Bengal S&M 1916-17 (6 CO served Mespot)
- Interallied Victory Medal: July 1917 IA List shows 6 Co Bengal S&M 1916-17 (6 CO served Mespot)

William Albert Harwood second son of John Harwood (who was a Cotton Waste Merchant) & Elizabeth Harwood (nee Barnes)  was a native of Blackburn, Lancashire, England where he was born on 19 April 1888, and where he was baptized on 16 May 1888. in early 1888 and attended the School of Physics and Astronomy at Manchester University. A noted meteorologist, he was to publish numerous papers over the coming years. An early example was ‘On Recent Balloon Ascents from Manchester’, namely ascents undertaken at the university’s Kite Flying Station on Glossop Moor. On graduating from university, he joined the Indian Meteorological Department as an Assistant Director at Agra, and he was likewise employed when commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Agra Volunteer Rifles in September 1915. As a member of the Indian Army Reserve of Officers he was attached to the King George's Own Bengal Sappers & Miners circa 1916-17 (the Indian Army List issue of July 1917, under regimental nominal list of the King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners, records William Albert Harwood, having been attached to the corps from 15 February 1916 and under remarks that he was serving with '6 Co - the 6th Field Service of the Corps was serving overseas in Mesopotamia during Albert's attachment to the Corps 1916-17, and for which active service William earned his Great War campaign medals. He resigned his commission in May 1920

For much of the inter-war period he was employed at Malta’s meteorological office and come the renewal of hostilities in September 1939, he joined the Air Ministry’s meteorological office in Edinburgh as a Principal Technical Officer. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he retired to Torbay in Devon, where he died at, East Ogwell, Newton Abbott, on 29 May 1975

Condition: GVF

Code: 26105