Documents Online - stuck!

[Zoe Archer]

Well many of the records are now online, most of the alphabet is complete. I'm still stuck!

Firstly I'm seeking Henry Sidney STRONGMAN and his father William Richard STRONGMAN (birth cert as Richard William). Neither names appear in the database even though the S's are listed as 100% complete.

Secondly, I'm also seeking Henry LYONS and Frederick William BARNES, but there are so many of them I can't pick which ones belong to me.

All these gentlemen lived in London at the outbreak of WW1, none were in service prior, expect FW BARNES who did serve in the Boer War but had a break in service in between (yes I'm in the same boat there too!). I have the birthdates of all, but don't know which regiments they served in. The STRONGMAN lads were likely Middlesex according to family lore, all medals lost in the WW2 bombing.

Where would I go from here?

As I am unable to research at Kew, would hiring a researcher be ridiculously expensive since searching the medal rolls has failed miserably?

[Geoffers]

[I'm seeking Henry Sidney STRONGMAN and his father William Richard STRONGMAN (birth cert as Richard William). Neither names appear in the database even though the S's are listed as 100% complete.]

The father may appear in the medal roll, but not under his full name, e.g:

[font=Book Antiqua][size=2]Medal card of , Strongman, William
Corps:, Worcestershire Regiment
Regiment No:, 14165
Rank:, Private...
1914-1920 WO 372/19

or conceivably, someone may have misread the 'R' as an 'H'...

[font=Book Antiqua][size=2]Medal card of , Strongman, William H
Corps:, Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry
Regiment No:, 2203
Rank:, Private...
1914-1920 WO 372/19

As to his son, I had a look at the 1901 census and Henry Sidney was shown as just 6 months old. Did he definitely serve in France?

Could he have had another forename? There are only 25 Strongmans in the WW1 medal roll, you may be able to search the 1901 census/CWGC site and discount at least some of them after comparing them against the index to the medal roll (e.g. there's a Horace W Strongman on the medal roll and a Horace Strongman aged 4 on the 1901 census, so these are possibly one and the same).

Do you have any photos of them in uniform?

[Secondly, I'm also seeking Henry LYONS and Frederick William BARNES, but there are so many of them I can't pick which ones belong to me.

This is the eternal problem of frequently occurring names. I doubt that you'll solve the Henry Lyons without additional information. However, there are only two Federick William Barnes and a couple of dozen Frederick W Barnes - again try a comparison against the 1901 census, you may get nowhere, but you might be able to eliminate some of the. Do you know if he was killed/injured in/after the war and a pension granted? - if so, try searching 'The catalogue' on TNA website using just a surname and the document reference 'PIN' (should bring up both PIN26 and PIN71 files).

Were either married and had children whilst they were in the army? Birth certificates may give the father's rank, number and regt.

[All these gentlemen lived in London at the outbreak of WW1, none were in service prior, expect FW BARNES who did serve in the Boer War but had a break in service in between]

If he served in South Africa, he should have the South Africa medal and so appear on that medal roll too, unfortunately this is not online and can only be seen at Kew in WO100.

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire

[Zoe Archer]

Thanks Geoffers,

I appreciate the suggestions, I will spend some time checking the medal rolls against the 1901 census.

Henry Sidney STRONGMAN, even though only 6 mos on the 1901 census, did serve close to the end of the war, and perhaps a short time afterwards. I do have a photo of him in uniform but he's the only one out of the four. I also have a photo of him in a group, on the back it reads "Beuna Vista North Front" which I think may be somewhere in Gibraltar.

I know that Henry LYONS was injured during the war and had to have his face repaired which meant ongoing surgeries long after the war ended, but don't know about any pension.

Does the area that they were living have a bearing on the regiment? Can I safely rule out Cornwall, Essex and other non-London regiments?

Thanks again for your advice!
Cheers
Zoe Archer

[Geoffers]

Thanks Geoffers,
Does the area that they were living have a bearing on the regiment? Can I safely rule out Cornwall, Essex and other non-London regiments?

Not necessarily. I know of Norfolk lads who joined regiments from all over the country (Yorkshire, Worcester, Hampshire, Kent to name but four).

There were of course the 'Pals' battalions where groups of friends were encouraged to enlist together - these can be useful if you know friends of the family who were of a similar age. If you can locate them, you might look more closely at their unit to see if your relative was serving in the same company or battalion.

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire