why didn't he fight?

[toff]

Wow! What a great response in such a short time. You are all such kind people - I'm overwhelmed! Thank you for all the valuable information - it's certainly got me thinking. My mom is fairly sure he didn't enlist but that is probably just because she doesn't remember any mention of it as she was growing up (he died when she was 22). This is reinforced, in my mind at least, by the fact that I can't find any military records for him and also the fact the he fathered two children during that time (not impossible for a serviceman, I know, they must've been allowed home occassionally!) During WWII my mom remembers him travelling to Coventry every day to "do something in a factory" as part of the war effort.

I'm not sure (yet!) what SKS is (thanks peter nicholl) but I'll give you his details in case someone is able to check. His name was William Frederick PRICE, born 1887 in Netherton, Dudley, Worcs. On Ancestry.com I found a William Price who signed up for the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (then stamped with "Dorset Regiment" ???) in October 1915. I got very excited by this document as his address was given as Prince Street, Netherton, which is where my grandad lived. However, the age didn't tie up and his marital status was single. I thought he may have lied about this for some reason and then my brother pointed out that it was in fact granddad's cousin, living a few doors away and with the same name!

Thank you Jan1954 for the link to the TNA papers - I'll certainly check them out.

Thanks again to everyone who replied to my query - hope I can be of help to someone too in the future!

Toff

[notanotherminer]

I'm not sure (yet!) what SKS is (thanks peter nicholl)

It's simply an abbreviation for "some kind soul", Toff

[Guy Etchells]

snip
His name was William Frederick PRICE, born 1887 in Netherton, Dudley, Worcs. On Ancestry.com I found a William Price who signed up for the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (then stamped with "Dorset Regiment" ???) in October 1915. I got very excited by this document as his address was given as Prince Street, Netherton, which is where my grandad lived. However, the age didn't tie up and his marital status was single. I thought he may have lied about this for some reason and then my brother pointed out that it was in fact granddad's cousin, living a few doors away and with the same name!

snip

Toff

You might even have the answer to your question in your answer above.

Perhaps he did not receive his call up papers as the authorities thought he was his cousin.
Records were all manual in those days and such a mistake could easily have been made.
Cheers
Guy

[toff]

Perhaps he did not receive his call up papers as the authorities thought he was his cousin.
Records were all manual in those days and such a mistake could easily have been made.

That's a definite possibility and one I hadn't even thought of. Thanks Guy!

I'm going to enjoy posing my little questions on this board, there are obviously lots of brainy folk out there and they say "two heads are better than one"! You're all certainly SKSs!! (what a lovely abbreviation )

Toff

[Peter Goodey]

he fathered two children during that time

Which begs the question "what occupation is shown on the birth certificates for these two children"? If you seriously want the question answered, you need to assemble as much evidence as you can.

Over to you

[toff]

Which begs the question "what occupation is shown on the birth certificates for these two children"? If you seriously want the question answered, you need to assemble as much evidence as you can.

Over to you

He's down as a barber/hairdresser on both birth certificates.

I've begun to wonder if he did enlist and then went AWOL/deserted. This may go some way towards explaining the second query I have regarding him, which is: "why were there no children born between 1917 and 1926?" I have checked the birth registers for this time period thinking that perhaps a child had been born but died young, but the only possiblity was disproved once I'd acquired the birth certificate! I find it strange that my grandparents had 5 children in quick succession, a 9 year gap (1917-1926) and then 4 more children during the next 8 years (this in an age where contraception wasn't widely practised). Any thoughts regarding this would be most welcome as it's been puzzling me for sometime! Was either of them "away" somewhere (prision, hospital in-patient???). Unfortunately there are no family members from that time still alive to ask and I'm unsure where to go next for information!

Toff

[Peter Goodey]

He's down as a barber/hairdresser on both birth certificates.

My feeling is that if he was in the forces, he would have said so. Perhaps he was simply unfit for service.

Don't like the sound of that nine year gap, though

[Coromandel]

I don't think there are any surviving records of these tribunals but hopefully I could be wrong and soneone may correct me.

I have seen quite extensive reports of tribunals in my local newspaper. They make most interesting reading. I'll try to remember to print some off next time I'm in the library and then perhaps post a new thread about them.

[Coromandel]

Electoral rolls for the 'gap years' may be interesting. As well as the usual rolls, there may be Absent Voters' lists. Perhaps the folk at the Dudley Archives & Local History Service would be able to advise on what records survive and where:

http://www.
dudley.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/local-history--heritage/archive-and-local-history/