Results 1 to 6 of 6
  1. #1
    Joel
    Guest

    Default Thomas Giblin...

    I'm trying to find out what, where and how my great-grandfather, Thomas Giblin, fared in WWI. I don't have much to go on though and i don't really know what to do.

    on freebmd, i've found that his birth was registered in December 1900... my nana believes he signed up when he was 17 and she knows he definitely served in the trenches and he survived with no injuries amazingly but beyond that she knows very little.

    He was born in Birmingham, but not being from the area, i am unfamiliar with the regiments he could have potentially been and fought in.

    Can anyone give any insight into where he went and what regiment he was with?

    Much appreciated.

  2. #2
    pattenwalsh
    Guest

    Default

    Looking at the 1901 census there is a Thomas Giblin with parents Thomas and Annie in Birmingham at Lower Tower St which is in the Birmingham sub district of St George.On Ancestry there is a Thomas Giblin signing up in the parish of St George in Birmingham and giving his age as 18 years and 5 months, this looks like it was signed in october 1918? and he was enlisted in The Royal Regiment of Artillery with a number of 36355

  3. #3
    pattenwalsh
    Guest

    Default

    Looking more closely at this document it seems to be dated 1911 so cannot be him

  4. #4
    Swanee
    Guest

    Default

    Hello,

    There is more than one Thomas Giblin in Birmingham listed on Absent Voters list .
    There are a few with same name from Birmingham / Warwickshire listed in WW1 records.
    There are a number who married in Birmingham after first world war.

    Can we establish which family we are looking at ?
    Do you have the names of Thomas Parents ?
    Do you have his marriage certificate ?
    Who did Thomas marry after the war and which year ?

    There is a Thomas Giblin birth registered in Burton on Trent in 1899
    For the year you suggest he was born , a later census has a
    Thomas Giblin living in Birmingham, estimated year born 1900 in Staffordshire , Burton on Trent.
    Birth place of Staffordshire applies to both his Parents,too.
    Although his younger siblings were born in Birmingham.

  5. #5
    Coromandel
    Guest

    Default

    Thomas wouldn't necessarily have joined the local regiment.

    Have you tried the medal roll index cards? There are several Thomas Giblins there. If you (or your local library) has an Ancestry subscription you can see the cards free online. You can also see them free at The National Archives, Kew. Otherwise you can pay £2 a go to see them via TNA's Documents Online website: https://www. nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/medals.asp

    Since your Thomas survived the war, you can rule out any who are listed in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database or in Soldiers Died in the Great War (also available on Ancestry), so cross-check these various databases. Some Army service and pension records are on Ancestry too but many of the service records have not survived.

    If you have lots of spare time it may well also be worth ploughing through local newspapers: in the local paper for my area I have found letters from the front, photographs, etc. The chances of finding one specific individual mentioned are quite slim: but it is all worth the effort if you find something. If you have a date of death for your great-grandfather you could also check the local paper for an obituary, just in case it mentions his war service.

  6. #6
    Joel
    Guest

    Default

    thanks for the replies people, much appreciated.

    Swanee, i know some of that information which may help. After the war, he married Rose M Brown in 1921 (registered in the March i think). Unfortunately i have neither the names of his parents or his marriage certificate yet. But using information from my grandma, he had two brothers and the 'Giblin' surname is actually his mother's, his father's surname is Tracy/Tracey.

    My grandma thinks (she seems fairly certain though) that his father was born in Sheffield and his mother was born in Sunderland, but it could possibly be the other way round.

    Pattenwalsh, thanks for looking but yes i doubt that can be him ha.

    Coromandel, I have not yet looked at the medal roll index cards but i shall check it out. The obituary idea is very good... i know at what age he died so with a little digging i may be able to find something worthwhile there.

    Many thanks.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Select a file: