From the Papers – Sunday Post 18 June 1916

Paisley Sailor Drowned. Paisley Saturday. Mrs Knox, 6 Maxwelltown Street, Paisley has received official intimation of the death of her brother, Ordinary Seaman William Steward, H M S Defence, who went down with his ship in the North Sea fight on 31st May.

He joined the navy after the outbreak of war, having formerly been employed in the turning shop at Ferguslie Mills. Deceased was 23 years of age a brother, Sergeant Daniel Stewart, is serving with the KOSB

Canadian Woodcutters at Kirkconnel – Today the Canadian woodmen who arrived at Kirkconnel on Thursday have all things in order to start to clear the large plantations in Kirkconnel parish and on the estate of the Duke of Buccleuch. The men are in the charge of several officers, and number twenty-five.

Irvine Family Hard Hit. Irvine, Sunday – The family of Mr and Mrs Thomas Potts has been hard hit with the war. They had three sons serving. One named Tom, of the Gordons, has been missing since Loos in September of last year; Robert wa badly wounded in the fighting, but ha now returned again to France; and William has been killed. The latter was attached to the Canadians and fell on 2d June. He was struck with a stray bullet.

Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer – From the War

A Liverpool Mans Request – A clause in the will of Mr. W. S. Marvel, a provision broker, of Liverpool, requests that on his decease his remains “shall not in any way be interfered with, neither washed nor re-clothed, but shall be conveyed in an inexpensive case or casket to the nearest crematorium, and there burned, the ashes being thrown away,” and that “there shall be no funeral ceremony or religious service, and no outward showing of mourning, either of the wearing of mourning by his relatives or the pulling down of blinds, or anything of that character.” The deceased left £11,627.

Pte. Edmund Leatherbarrow

Casualties to Yorkshiremen in various units. – Pte. Edmund Leatherbarrow, of the Liverpool Pals, was killed in action on July 1. He was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. J Leatherbarrow of Ryecroft, Lidgett Lane, Roundhay, and was in business in Liverpool. His youngest brother, L. Corpl. W Leatherbarrow, Yorkshire Regt., was killed in action in the Dardanelles last August. (see top photograph)

Pte. J. W. Blanshard, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, killed in action on July 7. His home is at 29 Lodge Avenue, New Wortley, Leeds. He leaves a widow and four children.

Pte. J. W. Blanshard

Private Percy Rhodes, West Yorks, the son of Mr. William Rhodes, 15 Milner Street, Hunslet, died of wounds in the General Hospital, Havre, France, on July 12^th. He was 18 years of age

A Goods Guard’s Sudden Temptation – At Wakefield today, Henry Hemingway, a goods guard, in the employ of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, was fined £5, or one month’s imprisonment, for stealing a bottle of brandy from the goods yard at Kirkgate Station. He said he committed the theft under sudden temptation.

Mrs. Mary Wheatley, of New Market House, Adwalton left £3000 in her will.

How our wounded were dealt with on the Somme – One of the most gratifying features of the operations on the Somme has been the splendid work of the medical units.

On the fourth day of the battle the Commander-in-Chief issued the following order of the day, addressed from Advanced General Headquarters to the deputy directors of medical services, and by them sent on to all medical units with instructions that it should be read on parade :- “The Commander-in-Chief directs me to convey to you, and through you to the directors and all concerned under them, his high appreciation of their hard work and the efficiency of arrangements for dealing with the medical aspects of the present situations”.

It seems certain (says the British Medical Journal), that the proportion of light to serious cases has been unusually large, while even among the more severe the prognosis is regarded as more hopeful than usual. The reason would seem to be that the enemy depended for the most part on machine rifle fire in their endeavours to repel the attack, and rifle bullet wounds, if they do not cause immediate death, tend on the whole to heal more quickly than those caused by high explosive and other shells.

The rate of evacuation from the front to the bases was so considerable that by the end of the fourth day – that is to say, within a few hours of the end of the initial battle – most of the casualty clearing stations and field ambulances seem to have had very few patients left on their hands. The great majority had already been put on many of them the ambulance trains or otherwise safely removed to a distance from the scene of action, and they were in hospitals at home.

The staffs of most of the units named had previously been strengthened by sending to them men who for the time being could be spared from their ordinary duties elsewhere. For the most part they were all medical officers who had had previous experience of the same kind of work either as battalion medical officers, field ambulance officers, or members of the staffs of casualty clearing stations. Some previous experience is very desirable, for the work that has to be done at front line formations during the progress of heavy duty actions is quite special in its character. The number of casualty clearing stations distributed within easy reach of the part of the line at which the operations were most active, was, we believe, considerably above the usual proportions. As a rule, they were arranged in pairs with the idea of allowing one of the two to have time to deal with the cases already taken in, while the other was open for the admission of fresh cases. They emptied and filled alternately.

This was one strong feature in the arrangements; another was the care taken to provide for the prompt classification of cases. From the fighting line backwards the cases were winnowed and re-winnowed, men being sent to one place or another according as the apparent gravity of their wounds or their general condition seemed to demand. In addition, for instance, to the casualty clearing station, there were also places to which those who were only slightly wounded could be sent and receive immediate treatment, as well as medical rest houses, some for officers, some for men, to which could be sent those who were not wounded but only temporarily exhausted from their exertions.

The Battle of Jutland

A battle took place on the 31^st of May 1916 – 100 years ago today it was The Battle of Jutland.

The battle was the main sea battle during 1914-1918, taking place over two days. The German vessels, including Lutzow and Derffinger, were under the command of Vice-Admirals Reinhard Scheer and

Jutland map via Wikipedia

Franz Hipper, while commanding the navy were British Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty. The ships included HMS’s Defence, Invincible, Black Prince, and Lion, Beatty’s Flagship.

In total the navy lost 14 vessels, including HMS’s Defence and Black Prince while the Germans lost 11. British casualties amounted to some 6,800 men. After all these years it is still debatable as to who won the battle, but one thing was sure, the German fleet never ventured out of port again although there was still the odd skirmish in the North Sea between vessels. German ships out of Scapa Flow surrendered at the end of the war.

The Black Prince was commissioned in March 1906, being launched two years earlier. She was 505ft in length, 73ft 6in wide and displaced 12,790 tonnes and could reach 23 knots.

HMS Black Prince via Wikipedia

Separated from the rest of the British fleet, according to German reports, Black Prince approached the German lines at approximately midnight. She turned away from the German battleships, but it was too late. The German battleship Thüringen fixed Black Prince in her searchlights and opened fire. Up to five other German ships, including battleships Nassau, Ostfriesland, and Friedrich der Grosse, joined in the bombardment, with return fire from Black Prince being ineffective. Most of the German ships were between 750 and 1500 yards from Black Prince — effectively point blank range for contemporary naval gunnery. Black Prince was hit by at least twelve heavy shells and several smaller ones, sinking within 15 minutes. There were no survivors from its crew, all 857 being killed.

One of those 857 was Joseph Edward Oldroyd, son of Joseph and Elizabeth of 18 Brooks Square, Bridge Street Morley – One source gives the family’s address as Brook Street, Hollow Top, Morley.

Joseph was born on the 5^th of October 1885 in Leeds. The Royal Marine Grave Rolls confirms that Joseph was born in Leeds and was killed or died as a result of enemy action. Consulting the census of 1891, not one entry could be certainly our Joseph. The same goes for the 1901, but there is an entry for an Oldroyd family living in the Hunslet area.

The Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services confirms why the 1911 census entry I found for Joseph in the navy, was the one I was looking for, as he signed up on the 15^th of February for 12 years, ending up as Stoker 1^st Class, 308243 in the Royal Marine Light Infantry.

Joseph was 5ft 7½ in tall with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. He seems to have been through the wars a bit as he had three scars on his head, a scar on his left cheek and a scar on his right loin. His conduct seems to have been generally good throughout his service with the odd glitch where he had spent some time in the cells. On the 22^nd of October 1908, he is reported to have broken out of his ship and served 14 days in cells. Even though there was the odd mishap he was still awarded three Clasps for Conduct.

He served on various ships including:- Nelson, Victor II, Hampshire, Patrol, Monotour, sometimes having return postings to previous ships, finally ending up on the Black Prince. During his service he transferred to the Royal Navy. The National Archives hold the Register of Service for Joseph and can which can be downloaded for £3.45

The wreck of the Black Prince is classified as a war grave site and is regulated as such.

Another seaman who served during the Battle of Jutland was as a young naval officer named Prince Albert, later King George VI. Prince Albert fought in the battle on 31st May 1916 on the British Battleship HMS Colossus and came under fire.

There is a Wikipedia page for the Black Prince which gives more information on the vessel and its service.

Western Front Association Conference – July 9th 2016

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, the Western Front Association is hosting an all-day conference at the Manor Academy, Nether Poppleton, York YO26 6AP.

The all day event has a full programme of talks which are as follows:-

‘Reflections on 1st July, 1916’ – Prof John Bourne
‘BEF Artillery on the Somme and the lessons learned’ – Geoff Spring
‘British Intelligence on the Western Front in 1916’ – Dr Jim Beach
‘Rawlinson on the Somme’ – Prof Gary Sheffield
‘The Somme of the parts’: The BEF experience on the Somme, 1916-1918′ – Rob Thompson

The first talk starts at 10:00, with doors opening at 09:15. The conference is likely to end about 16:45. The fee of £30 includes tea/coffee on arrival, plus during the morning and afternoon breaks, and buffet lunch.

There is ample, free, on-site parking at this venue. It is easy to find, being just off the York ring road.

To book your place follow this link to the Western Front Association eShop – Book your place

wfa york directions map

Western Front Association – Charles F Payne

Don’t the months go by so quickly? It doesn’t seem a month since my last visit to the Western Front Association meeting in York. The speaker at this months meeting (May) was Chris Payne. I had been looking forward to his talk as it seemed to be more about a person not a battle.

Charles Frederick Payne was the reason I ventured north for the Saturday meeting. Chris was informative and enthusiastic in telling the packed audience of Charles’ time during WW1 and seemed to hold the every one of us in the palm of his hand.

Although I was a little disappointed that there was more battle information than family history information, I didn’t mind as Chris guided every one of us through Charles’ time fighting for King and Country.

Charles F Payne via Chris Payne

Charles was the son of Henry Stableforth Payne and Emily Clarke and was born in 1883 in Westminster, London and had 6 siblings. He married Ida Muriel Payne – after the meeting I spoke to Chris about Charles’ wife having the same surname – was this how he included them on his tree or was his Ida a Payne before marriage as well as after her marriage – yes they were both Paynes and distantly related. That sorted that one! And was confirmed by FreeBmd who showed them marrying in the early summer of 1909 in the Wandsworth Registration District of London.

1911 has Charles and Ida living at 44 Tranmere Road, Earlsfield, London. Charles was aged 27 and a Pitman qualified shorthand typist. During his life Charles travelled in Europe where his skills were needed.

1914 came around and Charles enlisted into the West Riding Regiment with the service number 235435. His service took him through France, seeing fighting near Arras and Rossignol Wood (Nightingale Wood) and all the while he was receiving letters and packages from Ida and his family. I think I will let Chris Paye tell you more about Charles Frederick Payne letters from his wife.

Chris went into details about the places and conditions that Charles and his fellow soldiers endured during their time in France and all the while seemed very concerned that one of his parcels from home had not arrived.

I think the whole room breathed a sigh of relief when we found out from Chris that the war was over and Charles was still alive. However, Chris continued his talk and a silence fell around the room, you could hear a pin drop and I am not ashamed to say I had a tear in my eye – Charles Frederick Payne died on the 11th of February 1919 aged 35 and rests in Terlincthun British Cemetery, on the outskirts of Boulogne.

Terlincthun CWGC Cemetery

Terlincthun had been a site for rest camps since June of 1918 and from 1914 Boulogne and Wimereux had had hospitals and other medical establishments within their boundaries. By 1920 the CWGC cemetery had over 3,300 burials, including Charles. The cemetery during WW2 suffered greatly from shelling during the early part of the war and later from German occupation. The inhabitants of the cemetery has grown and there is now over 4,300 Commonwealth burials and more than 200 graves of other nationalities – mainly German.

So it seems that Ida was all set to welcome Charles back home to his children and family to be so distraught and disappointed some three months later when she would have heard the news of his death.

Ida never re-married and died on the 18th of May 1980 in Cornwall.

Sugar Lane Cemetery – Stocks Family

What can words inscribed on a headstone tell you?

For starters, you will hopefully find names and dates of death but I have written about a headstone remembering ‘father and mother’, luckily other people were remembered on the headstone to work out who the parents were. The missing parents names is quite unusual in my experience. While others omit information there are the families who add extra snippets of information. These snippets are a boon for family historians and genealogists, as they can confirm information already known or, give a clue to information yet to be found.

Stocks family headstone © Carol Sklinar 2015

One such headstone in Sugar Lane Cemetery, Wakefield, is to the Stocks family. The headstone is delicately ornate as it stands proud among a few lower commemorations, even though there is a slight leaning to the right (depending on which way you look at the stone!)

Harriet (nee Kirkbhthe wife of Edward Stocks of Wakefield died on July 1864 aged 46. Her husband died on November 25th 1890 aged 73. What happened to the couple prior to their demise? There is a marriage for a Harriet Kirkby and Edward Stocks that took place in the Huddersfield Registration District during the September quarter of 1848.

In 1861 the couple were living in Park Street in the Primrose Hill area of Wakefield with Elizabeth their 10 year old daughter. A few years later we know that Harriet had died. What became of Edward?

Edward, born in Marsden, Huddersfield was by 1881 was hotelier of the Royal Hotel on Wood Street, Wakefield, living with his second wife, Mary and his daughter Elizabeth and Mary Duckworth who he states is also his daughter! It appears that Mary was a Duckworth (nee Woolley) prior to her marriage to Edward in 1867 in the Huddersfield area. Edward we know was proprietor of the Royal Hotel, which was owned by Hy Mark Carter and others, Brewers of

Strafford Arms Hotel, Wakefield via Twixt Aire and Calder WakefieldMDC

Wakefield, he would be in later years the licensee of the Stafford Arms. The Stratford Arms, according to the Alehouse Licences, was owned by Trustees for Hatfeild Carter Esq., for whom J T White, Esq., of Westgate, Wakefield was the agent. I suppose you could say that life continued, in a way that life still does today and more than likely will do in years to come.

We know that Edward died in 1890 but information on Ancestry leads me to

Edward Stocks funeral card via Michael Coffey

believe that his passing was not quick. His daughter, Elizabeth died on March 29th 1891 aged 40. That leaves the two Mary’s – Mary Stocks and Mary Duckworth her daughter.

Mary Woolley, the wife of John Duckworth. She was the sister of Sarah Woolley, who married William Henry Gaskell who inturn is connected to the Gaskell family who lived in Wakefield.

Mary Stocks funeral card via Michael Coffey

Mary Stocks – it is here where the headstone caught my attention. The information about Mary would be a bonus for anyone looking for her death and who ended up frustrated,annoyed and probably said they were not going to do this anymore. Without the information on the headstone, if you were a distant relative, you would have searched death records and returned zero finds. Whoever added Mary’s death details of September 14th 1906, also included that she died in Dublin aged 69 and was interred in Wakefield. If you, the researcher, did not have access to the headstone or knew of Wakefield MDC’s online Burial Records, you may not have known where she died and now rests.

Four people are mentioned on the headstone – Edward, his two wives and his daughter to his first marriage. But what of Mary Duckworth? Was it Mary Duckworth that had this information placed on the headstone to remember her mother? It could well be as there is a marriage for a Mary Duckworth to a Stephen Feary in 1888 – the couple married in Wakefield Cathedral.

It appears that Mary and Stephen lived in Ireland – could her mother have moved with them or been on a visit when she died? This entry seems to be all questions doesn’t it? There goes another question to add to the pot!

Mary Feary, now a widow, of Hollybrook Park, Clontarf, Dublin died on the 4th of February 1920 leaving over £1200 to Robert Henderson Feary and Geoffrey Clarke Ferguson according to Probate which took place in England.

It looks like it could have been Mary who included the valuable information about her mother.

One last question. Did Mary accompany her mother on her final journey and stay until after the funeral? Does anyone know?

Wakefield City Police – Constable 17

My father was brought up by his grandparents from being about 2 years old – the reason, well not quite sure, as both his parents were living, but have a good idea and he was the only one of his siblings being brought up by the Victorian couple.

It appears from the stories told to me by my father that his grandmother was the hub of the family. It seems she was a very strong willed woman and after the death of her husband always wore black.

Wakefield City Police helmet via Pinterest – date not known

What did my father tell me? I heard of three soldiers who were KIA during WW1 and their siblings and cousins who lived to be reunited with their families. I heard a tale of a hangman (but that’s another story), a very vague story about a woman who attempted to murder the Prime Minister, and the story of a policeman who used to enter the house and stand between the dresser and the back door. By the time I was born my great grandma had died – the hub of the family had gone, so I missed the vast number of relatives who used to pop by and see her.

Who was the policeman? Walter Siddle, my third cousin, was born in Wakefield in 1881 to Walter Siddle and his wife Sarah Margaret nee Walker one of their 11 children. Walter snr. worked as a hawker and salt dealer to earn a living, while home, was on Grantley Street, 90 Stanley Road and Brickmakers Yard.

Years later, I was in contact with Colin Jackson, a retired Wakefield City Policeman, who had written a fantastic book about the Wakefield Constabulary 1818 – 1968, and I came face to face with Constable 17, Walter Siddle.

Walter jnr. joined the Wakefield City Police and completed his probation on 30th September 1907 and was appointed PC17 on 16th October of the same year. The area at the time had two police forces – the City force, where you had to live within the city boundary to be eligible to join and the West Riding Constabulary which catered for those outside the city limits. Prior to him joining the police, Walter was employed as a stoker. Walter was 5′ 10″ tall, with a fresh complexion and brown hair and seems to remind me of Sgt. Dixon from Dixon of Dock Green – some of you may remember from tv series by that name years ago.

1911 is an eventful year for Walter. The census is taken and he is living with his parents and four siblings in Brickmakers Yard. This census gives a wonderful insight into family life at the time as it tells that Sarah Margaret had given birth to 13 children but by the second of April 1911, she had lost seven of her children – such a loss for all the family. But 11 days later, on Thursday the 13th of April, Walter and his family were just down the road, waiting in St Andrew’s church for Clara Leonard to walk down the aisle and become his wife. Another milestone came in Walter’s life in the autumn, when Sarah Margaret his daughter was born, followed in May of 1913 by Walter Leonard.

Life would have continued for the family but some 15 months after the birth of Walter Leonard war was declared. Men from all walks of life signed up to go, as ‘it would be all over by Christmas’. Many occupations were ‘reserved’ i.e. farmers, iron and steel workers, coal miners and doctors (although some miners and doctors did join the services) and the police. This all changed in December 1915, when all members of the police force under 41 years of age (including Walter) attested and were placed n the reserve list, under Lord Darley’s Scheme (World War 1). By March 1917, the goal posts were moved and all under 41 years of age were to be examined by the Army Medical Board, again Walter qualified for the examination.

The war ended the following year with Walter not having to go to war but 11 constables did go and fight. By reading the local newspapers for the time, it seems that the police forces had enough to deal with at home – soldiers deserting, overstaying leave and generally causing chaos was enough to keep any force (about 60 constables, 9 sergeants and 4 high ranking officers (191 nominal roll)) busy. So busy in fact, that with having to contend with the possibility of air-raids (several alarms of Zeppelins raids were reported to which the Police and Fire Brigade were put on standby), in the early part of 1916 the Chief Constable found it necessary to reduce monthly leave to only day with payment being for the extra days worked. Towards the end of 1917 daylight raids were a possibility and the Watch Committee was asked to purchase bicycles. Factory buzzers and the Town Hall bell were to be used to warn of such raids and Clayton Hospital had made arrangements for the evacuation and handling of its patients and the possible casualties resulting in these raids. Although these precautions were made, there is no record of any actual raids.

King Street Police on left with lock-up and Fire Station

In January of 1918 the Force applied to the Watch Committee for an increase in pay, it was not until December and the war was over that the men got their increase in pay and a War Bonus of 12/ ½d per week was eventually paid to regular members of the Force.

Life continued for Walter and Clara and his career seemed to be on the up. On the first day of 1920 he is appointed Detective Constable. By July 1923 he is promoted to Uniform Sergeant ‘C’, with responsibilities which include drilling the Fire Brigade and a few days later his responsibilities include the cleanliness of both the Police and Fire Stations.

Walter Siddle via Colin Jackson

April of 1931 the family move from the police house at 22 Thompsons Yard, to the Police Station at 26 King Street. In March of 1933, on the retirement of Supt. Tattersfield, Walter is promoted to Superintendent of the Fire Brigade. During his service Walter would have been serving under Inspector George Kealey Spindler, the father of Nellie Spindler, who was KIA during the war – this is another connection I have with Nellie!

On June 8th 1934 the Watch Committee were informed of the death of Superintendent Siddle. His widow, Clara, was granted a gratuity of £758 6s 8d and informed that she must vacate the property by the end of October, but in the meantime pay 23s 6d per week rent.

Clara lived to see both her children married – Sarah Margaret married Willie Rushworth Brownhill in the Cathedral in 1934. While Walter Leonard married Joan Donnelly in 1949.

Walter and Clara now rest within the boundaries of Wakefield City Cemetery, Sugar Lane.

FREE family history charts and forms

If you don’t use a family tree programme to keep your family history organised, where do you keep all the information you have found online, in the archives or gathered from relatives or family friends? Please tell me it is not on scraps of paper that just hold the smallest amount of details. But, where did you collect this information from? Will you remember in weeks or months to come which census these scribbled notes refer to. Or, which newspaper the snippet about great uncle Ted was taken from!

You don’t have to go to the expense of a family tree programme when you begin to research your family history, but you do need to keep things orderly and make a note of where you found information and what information you need to find next – saves searching for the same thing over and over.

census summary chart excerpt Here are a few websites that offer FREE downloads of forms that will help keep your research in some form of order, where you are from the UK, Canada or USA.

Wakefield Family History Sharing – printable charts and logs including check lists, research journals, census summaries, family group sheets with continuation sheet, inquiry forms, family tree/ siblings tree, deed index and cemetery transcription sheet
Cyndi’s List – has a wonderful collection of forms and is well worth a look
Vertex42 – has a selection of templates including a good selection of family tree layouts. You do have to put up with a few advertising banners , but hey, they are FREE
Mid-Continent Public Library – has made available a good selection of charts, forms and worksheets. The site also has a form for each of the American census – fantastic if you have a family member who went to the USA prior to 1940
Pinterest – Don’t forget to have a look here, it is wonderful what people upload to this site
Family Tree Magazine – mainly USA based forms, but still some that could be of use to UK researchers

Don’t forget to use a pencil when including your newly found information on the forms and charts – you may need to amend the details later!

Wakefield Express WW1 – Pioneer Briggs

Who was Pioneer Briggs and what has he done or achieved to make have an entry in the local newspaper?

Pioneer Briggs, was according to the parish registers of St Michael, East Ardsley, the son of Christopher and Mary Ann Briggs. The registers also tell that he was baptised Haydn Harry on the 2nd of May 1897. The family at the time were living on Cave Lane, East Ardsley.

A few years later when the census enumerator came to call Christopher told him he was aged 40, from West Ardsley and working as a Railway Engine Driver. He was the husband of Mary Ann aged 39, who came from Bowden in Cheshire. The couple were parents to five children aged between 17 and four, the four year old being Haydn.

Ten years later, Mary Ann was a widow, who had given birth to seven children, with six living to be counted in the census. Home was now Old Hall Farm, East Ardsley. Her occupation now being given as farmer. Her two eldest daughters were elementary school teachers. while the boys worked on the farm. The farmhouse boasted ten rooms – not including the kitchen, bathroom scullery or landing. Haydn Harry was now 14 years old, a teenager, but in a few years time he would have to become a man!

Military Medal

East Ardsley Soldier’s Gallantry – Pioneer H H Briggs, Royal Engineers, youngest son of the late Mr Christopher Briggs and of Mrs Briggs, The Hall, East Ardsley, has been awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous gallantry during the months of July and August. Prior to enlisting he was employed as a fitter at the Great Northern Railway sheds, Ardsley. He was twenty years of age, and attended as a boy the local Council School. His elder brother Fred, is serving in the Royal Flying Corps.

The next question is did Haydn and Fred make it through the war? A look though the CWGC website revealed no entries for either brother, but that could be due to a transcription error – no transcriber is perfect! No record of Haydn’s death in the surviving military records or a record of any medal awards – as there should be……..never mind. The question is still looming, did he survive? I am pleased to say that the Electoral Registers for 1921 gave the answer, as both Haydn and Fred are included in the listings, along with their mother, Mary Ann who are all still living at Old Hall.

FREE family history websites to get you started

When starting your family project you don’t always want to commit a sum of money. Although you may be curious about your family’s history, you may not want to or have the funds to splash out on a pay-per-view website……………yet!

With FREE in mind, here are a few websites I used while researching, but not listed in any specific order.

FreeBMD – An ongoing project to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriage and deaths for England and Wales. Not yet fully transcribed but a very useful site and if you know a few shortcuts the site opens up other avenues of research. FreeBMD is part of the FreeUKGEN initiative helping to make high quality UK primary records freely available online
FreeCen – another of the FreeUKGEN sites. Covering the 1841 – 1891 census for the UK it is a wonderful tool if you don’t have access to a pay-per-view site – you are minus the image but a good transcription could help you go back a few generations. Some areas have greater coverage but still useful.
FreeReg – Another of the FreeUKGEN initiative sites, this time focusing on Parish Registers. Another good site but………. error messages appear if you don’t fill in enough of the search boxes. However, the information given is useful.
FamilySearch – FamilySearch is the online family history face of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The FamilySearch website has been around for many years and is a must for all family historians and genealogists. The aim of the Church is to preserve family history and historical records and allow them to be freely available. What can you search for? Census, Parish Registers, Passenger Lists and Service Records to name a few. The records are worldwide and are also available, for FREE, in the Church’s Family History Centers.
CWGC – The Commonwealth War Graves Commission – Covering WW1 and WW2 and lists names of servicemen and women who died through enemy action at home and abroad. You can search by casualty or by cemetery, with most of the cemeteries run by the CWGC having at least one image. A very good site to visit.
The Marriage Locator – This site helps convert the General Register Office reference numbers for marriage from a Registration District into a church – how good is that! But with like all volunteer projects it is an ongoing work. My recommendation is that you keep popping back.
UKBMD – Again a site using information transcribed by volunteers. One set of information on this site is the transcription of the registers from many local Register Offices. I personally, found this a hard site to manoeuvre around, but for FREE information, give it a go!
Cyndi’s List – Cyndi’s List has been around for many years and continues to grow. Cyndi has collected and been sent many links to family and local history site worldwide. Whether you search by country or category you are certain to find something that will help you in your search. You may end up going a little bit off your search criteria as you wind your way around the site, but it will be worth it. Grab a cuppa and enjoy the trip ……..Happy Hunting!
Rootsweb – Although Rootsweb is part of the Ancestry community, this part is FREE and is full of information from family and place name message boards and mailing lists to hints and tips, blank charts. Rootsweb like Cyndi’s list has been around for quite a while.
FindAGrave – This site is the home to over 145 million grave records and is searchable by name or cemetery. If you are looking for a picture of a headstone, don’t forget this site.
DiscoveringAnzacs – Looking for military personnel from Australia or New Zealand who served in The Great War, look no further.
Canadian soldiers of the First World War – Another good website for researching Canadian servicemen from around 1914 – 1918.

While mentioning a few of the websites I have used during the years it seems amiss of me not to include my own – Wakefield Family History Sharing & Genealogyjunction

Enjoy!

Gen Blog – Official Blog of Wakefield Family History Sharing

www.wakefieldfhs.org.uk/blog

From the Papers – Sunday Post 18 June 1916