Hello from Texas

[glennaa]

Hi, not really new to genealogy, but with the 100th anniversary of the Great War, I have a renewed interest in decoding my grandfather's (James Austerfield) personal history. He was from Morley, Yorkshire, UK, enlisted in Dec 1914 at the age of 16, (he lied and said he was 20), was wounded on the first day of the Somme offensive in 1916, and emigrated to the US in 1920. He has detailed notes of where he lived, worked, where he fought, but it's been hard to transcribe his old handwriting. I guess what I am saying is I'll be looking to help and be helped more with early 20th century history (coal mines, wool mills, streets and addresses) in west Riding, Yorkshire and the great war than with actual people.

[christanel]

Welcome to the British-Genealogy forums glenaa

So many of us will envy you having your grandfather's personal notes about his experiences in WW1, however hard they are to decode. Over a third of WW1 official personal records were destroyed by bombing/fire in WW11 which means the majority of people can only expect to find medal roll cards, award and medal roll entries for their ancestors.

Helping each other is what we are all about and social history is an important part of our ancestors lives which affected the decisions they made. Which is why some of us ended up so far away from our roots.

Enjoy the forums.

Christina

[glennaa]

Yes, I was pretty lucky - His WW1 military records were still available, and I had his original discharge certificate. Also, with the Ellis Island database available electronically, I was able to verify the information on his trip from England to the US. But so many of the streets he mentions in Morley don't exist anymore, it's hard to trace some of that info. What's the best way to get English street maps from 1900-1920 timeframe?

[gasser]

You may find these sites of some interest.....
https://www.morleylhs.btck.co.uk
https://www.leodis.net/GuidedTour.aspx?ORDER=1&ID=10
https://www.morleyarchives.org.uk