General Chat

JUST READ THIS THREAD, AND I WISH I HAD SOMEONE LEFT IN MY MOTHERS FAMILY WHO COULD TELL ME CERTAIN THINGS.

I WOULD'VE LOVED TO HAVE KNOWN MY IRISH ANCESTORS WHO WERE GYPSIES, AS THEIR WAY OF LIVE HAS ALWAYS FASCINATED ME.

Awww Alyson .....xxx Vods my GGrandmother was fun and all ohh the lies she must of told her grandchilden....

One relative I never tire of researching is my maternal grandfather.

He was a professional soldier and served in the Middlesex Regiment (The Die-Hards) from 1905 - 1927. He was in India before WW1 and served on the Western Front from 1915 until the end of the war. He fought at the Somme and Passchandaele, and was the victim of three gas attacks.

I have some fantastic pictures of him - one is a sepia print of him in his fatigues taken at the Inglis Barracks in Mill Hill before the war. He has this fantastic waxed moustache that looks as though it could be used as a weapon!

After the war he was posted in Germany where he met my grandmother. Bizzarely she worked in a munitions factory during WW1. I have a photo of them on their wedding day; granddad in his Number 2 Uniform, proudly displaying his long service chevrons and ribbons and gran sitting demurely by his side.

When he left the army he worked for the Metropolitan Water Board at the pumping station in Green Lanes, which is now a listed building.

He suffered from ill health in his later life as a result of the gassings incurred during WW1, and he passed away aged 62 in 1949 - 14 years before I was born - so I never had the privilege of meeting him.

As to other rellies and their occupations, I have a GPO Wire Hand, a railway goods checker, a pianoforte maker, clock maker, journeyman turner (wood), straw plaiter, a railway carman and a nurse monthly!

Thank you for your post ED, I enjoy researching military stuff as well, one of my uncles was a JPOW, I found the camp and was lucky enough to be sent a photo of him in the camp along with other prisoners it’s a group photo and I was very surprised as they look healthy and well nourished dressed in very clean pressed shorts and t-shirts I didn’t expect them to look so well groomed. The photos were believed to be propaganda pictures issued by the Japanese to ensure that the prisoners were being fed well and kept in humane conditions and by looking at the photo you can believe that, as that group had only just arrived and were chosen and given clean clothes especially. Whilst researching as well I found out that most JPOW were outraged by the film over the river kia as they felt it didn’t portray them in a good light or the conditions they lived and worked under. I found it fascinating as well as sad. I have also managed to get a copy of his prisoner card that he wrote his rank name and number and the rest is written in Japanese. I remember my Uncle when he was alive and to be honest I didn’t like him much he scared me but I now have a very good insight of what he suffered.


My maternal Grandfather was also gassed in the WW1 and he was partly blinded as well he was wounded twice before he was medically discharged. I was lucky enough to get his army record off Ancestry thanks to our Kitty. I noticed he went AWOL on several occasions this was often put down to transport, on one occasion though he turned up at the gate house 2 days late after being reported AWOL he was also very drunk because of this when he joined his regiment a couple of days later and was deployed to France he was carried on to the ship in shackles and the captain of ship refused to set sail until till the shackles were removed as he was outraged that in his opinion my Granddad was treated like cattle and so they were removed. Sadly my Granddad’s health suffered greatly after the war he died in 1950 many years before I was born he was 62. My mother says he was very quiet and gentle man, who still like a pint and often very grateful to my Mum and her brothers who like to slip him a few bob as a treat.

I haven’t done any work on my Oh FT but I did find his Grandfather’s army record, he had served 10 years in the navy before being medical discharged as it was thought he had caught a common stomach compliant it begins with D but I can’t think of it off hand. He then joined the army 3 years later; he was wounded in France and returned to the front line. Again he was discharge with another stomach and it though this was caused by the original one this is what was written in his army medical record it also describes his appearance at the time of the officer’s visit. My FIL his son had celiac disease and by the symptoms described I have wondered if his father also had, it as it was unheard of. I passed that information on to my SIL.