I posted this photograph of George Biggin on the British Army Ancestors Facebook page and was contacted by George’s great great niece, Sally, shortly afterwards. I had written the following: “241908, formerly 4936 Pte George Biggin of A Company, 1/5th Battalion, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was killed in action on the 19th July 1917. […]
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Thomas Greener was born in Horfield, Gloucestershire in about 1861 and by the 27th June 1882, when he attested for service with the Royal Engineers, he was working as a rigger. He was issued with the regimental number 17506 and less than two years later, on 1st May 1884, he married Alice Kingswood at Chatham. […]
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The 1921 census of England & Wales – a study of suffering. It sounds dramatic, but let’s not beat about the bush here. Close to 800,000 men did not appear in the 1921 census because they’d been killed in action, died of wounds or died of sickness and disease between 1914 and 1918. Thousands more […]
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This photo of 4814 Pte George Tubb of the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) and his three comrades is a recent discovery for me. George is the man third from right, his left arm in a sling having been shattered by a German bullet on the Somme in August 1916. The photo was sent to the editor […]
Read more...The British Army overseas in 1921 is now easy enough to find. Findmypast has comprehensively indexed the 1921 census of England & Wales and also produced a handy table showing the various worldwide locations – which includes Ireland and the Channel Islands – where the British Army was stationed. Each volume of census returns is […]
Read more...Was your British Army Ancestor in uniform in 1921? It’s often very tempting to assume that our lack of success in finding a service record for our British Army Ancestors is because of the unerring aim of Luftwaffe bomb-aimers in September 1940. Yes, millions of service records and a good deal more besides was destroyed […]
Read more...Today, on the 11th November 2021, it is fitting that I should spend a few minutes remembering two family members who made the supreme sacrifice in two world wars. John Frederick Nixon was my grandfather’s older brother and the second eldest of the five Nixon brothers. Edgar was the eldest, followed by John (known to […]
Read more...I’ve recently added records for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission 1914-1921 to the British Army Ancestors site. That’s 738,386 records of men and women who served with the British Army or Royal Flying Corps who lost their lives during the First World War and immediately afterwards. In each case, these new records include the same […]
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Every day on the British Army Ancestors Facebook page I take time to commemorate a British soldier. This post will look at three of the men I have remembered recently; from left to right: William Polge, William Polliitt & Walter Scrivener. William Edwin Polge Second Lieutenant William Edwin Polge of the 7th London Regiment was killed […]
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The McCorquodale Group, founded in 1846 by George McCorquodale when he established McCorquodale & Co Ltd in Newton-le-Willows, was a printing company which, by the time of the First World War, had also opened up branches in Glasgow, London and Wolverton. There were also affiliated companies in Crewe, Flint, Liverpool and Manchester. The McCorquodale Roll […]
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