Loose

[ChristineR]

Because of the mention of a Boer War wound, I had a quick look at the Boer War nominal rolls for Australian enlistments https://www.awm.gov.au/nominalrolls/boer/ and there are two Arthur Harvey names, but neither appears to be the correct one.

Checked the NZ Boer War embarkation https://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/saw-database

No Arthur Harvey there. So maybe he enlisted in the English contingent.

GeoffD

I didn't think to follow that up - good thinking - but I went back and reread his file

He says in his WW1 attestation in Australia that he served six years with the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, seeing 3 years active service, including a couple of months in 11th Batt Machine Gun section.

He has two attestation papers - the second says he was born Nelson, NZ
And now he says Canadian Scouts Burghes Horse

It is his discription, the tattoos and bullet wound in the thigh that indicate he is the same person! Sounds like he was fond of adventure.

JJOP will be over the moon. I know I am and it isn't even my family.

Christina, yes I am sure that she will be pleased. I was pleased with myself too. That Archives site is a great place to get clues - I cracked my maternal grandfather's true identity with it and some help from BG Forums.

ChristineR

[Geoffers]

A letter in the file from Charles Harvey Johnson ( a nephew) gives his full name - middle name Spencer - this fellow wished to claim his medals in 1967. It states that Arthur died in England 8 Nov 1924.

Arthur's death is recorded in the GRO index

1924 September qtr
HARVEY, Arthur S. Aged 46
District - Christchurch. Volume 2b Page 777

A copy of the certificate can be ordered via the GRO
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

For a small fee you can download his medal card from TNA's documentsonline
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/d...ne/default.asp

[ChristineR]

His file in Australia states his two periods of service here.
One in the 11th Batt for a year, the other in the Royal Engineers. His 1914/1915 medal was sent from Melbourne to him, in Kent.

There is a copy of the letter from the London War Office in regards his other medals issued from there - he was then Lieut Arthur Spencer Harvey, Royal Engineers. Still the same Australian Number 2257
So that will make it easier to find his medal card. No Military Cross mentioned (his nephew thought he had earned one in France with the Royal Engineers).

His Australian file makes very interesting reading.

JJOP, to find it easily - put in the keywords section on the search page
Arthur Harvey 2257
https://www.naa.gov.au/collection/recordsearch.aspx

ChristineR

[JJOP]

https://www.british-genealogy.com/for...-jumphappy.gif
You don't know how happy I am to find all this information. Thank you so very much. I only wish my mother was still alive so she could know this.At the moment I am still trying to digest the fact that everybody has been so clever and helpful to a "newbie"who doesn't know how to go about this researching correctly and I actually have some ancestors!

[Geoffers]

A couple more things

GRO birth index
June 1893
LOOSE, Florence Elizabeth
Docking, vol 4b page 315
(Docking is the name of the district which contains Brancaster)

Online maps will help if you are not familair with this area, try:
https://www.streetmap.co.uk/

Brancaster Staithe web-site
https://www.brancasterstaithe.co.uk/

Also, Norfolk (like many parts of the country) has its own dialect. It isn't as strong as it used to be, but many local words still survive. Just out of interest in the survival of dialects, I wonder if Florence passed onto your mum, who then passed onto you any words or phrases which you can remember which seem odd? Did she, for example use the word 'together' or 'do' a lot in sentences? Or did she ever refer to a bishey-barney-bee, a dickey, dodman or harnser. Did she ever point out a mawkin? Did she like a bit of a mardle or tell someone "thass a load o'ole squit?"

[GeoffD]

If you search for info about the Canadian Scouts, they were a rip-roaring bunch of adventurers from all over the place, not just Canada.

https://www.civilization.ca/cwm/boer/...nscouts_e.html

https://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-...ian_scouts.htm

[christanel]

I would just like to say thank you to all on this thread for opening up so many new areas of research to me. Best thing I ever did throwing in my measly twopence worth at the beginning.
Christina

[ChristineR]

A letter in the file from Charles Harvey Johnson ( a nephew)

Just further on this man - he and two brothers, who were killed in action, also served in WW1 - their files online.

Looking at the NSW BDMs online, they are the children of George Johnson and Alice E, all three born in the 1890s at Wallsend, NSW. I expect that they are related to Arthur's side since he has Harvey as a middle name, Alice might be his sister?

Christina, no contribution is ever measly!

ChristineR

[christanel]

Christina, no contribution is ever measly!


Scold noted ChristineR and now I am a one star contributer to these forums.
And just yesterday I drove a friend to Wallsend to look at some depression glass.
Today I recover from too many wines whilst watching the election results last night.
Christina

[JJOP]

Once again thank you to all for the information re Arthur. I have downloaded his army records and spent the weekend looking at them; the address given in his attestation papers for his South Australian sign up is the same as is on my mother's birth certificate; wife is also stated as Florence. Terrific. I have also communicated with the son of the "nephew". Needless to say Charles is dead, but his son, in his 70's was a lovely fellow but said he didn't know anything about that side of the family. A piece of the puzzle is completed! A few more to do though
Regards Jenny