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Charlie C.
07-02-2006, 8:52 PM
Looking for information on Henry William Craddock's parents, father of Erich William Craddock 1930- 1989 staffordshire, England. I'm getting a bit stuck with this one!

Geoffers
07-02-2006, 10:16 PM
Looking for information on Henry William Craddock's parents,
If you could let us know a little more, someone might be able to point you in the right direction. For example,

Is the chap you're trying to trace alive/dead? If he is dead, do you know when he died and do you have his death certificate, or have you found the entry in the General Register Office (GRO) index (this includes his age at death, or more recent index entries include a date of birth).

Do you have the marriage certificate for the parents? This will include their ages and hopefully records names of fathers and occupations.

If HW Craddock was the father of someone born 1930, was this chap alive at the time of the 1901 census?

Geoffers

Charlie C.
07-02-2006, 11:51 PM
The only document I have relating to him is a marriage cert. dated 1924 his age 28. The name on the cert. reads William Henry Craddock and I know he was referred to as Harry. Married to Susan Louisa Purchase age 29. Fathers name and surname on the Marriage cert. is blank.

Marriage cert is 27th Dec. 1924 in the county of Stafford. They had an only child (far as I'm aware) Erich William Craddock circa 1930 but not yet traced this birth cert. for exact date. Interest is primarily in his father's background.

Geoffers
08-02-2006, 8:46 AM
Initial impression is that William was probably illegitimate, which makes searching a little harder.

I suggest searching the 1901 census for William Craddock aged 4 +/- 2 years

There are four born in Staffordshire/Staffs. There's no certainty that he was born in the county in which he married, but you have to start somewhere.

continued.....

Geoffers
08-02-2006, 8:46 AM
part 2....
Try then searching the General Register Office (GRO) index for William Craddocks born in the same period. Use freebmd first
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl it isn't complete but it is free. The full GRO index can be found on 1837 online (pay-per-view)

See if any of the William Henry's from the GRO index match up with the 1901 census search. If they do, you might pay to view the original images and see which, if any were illegitimate.

Were there any Craddock witnesses to the marriage who might be related and would be useful in confirming if you're following the right line.

continued....

Geoffers
08-02-2006, 8:48 AM
part 3.....

William Henry Craddock would have been old enough to fight in WW1. You might try searching the medal card index http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/default.asp
for William H Craddock. There are six hits with the same reference, this means that they probably all appear on the same card so you only have to pay once to get them all. Using these, try and locate the service records at The National Archives (TNA). Although many records were destroyed/damaged in WW2, the record you want may have survived and this will give a date and place of birth and hopefully next-of-kin.

Was William Henry apprenticed? If he was illegit, he may have been brought up in a workhouse, consider checking those records too.

Geoffers

Charlie C.
08-02-2006, 10:31 AM
Thanks Geoffers. I shall follow some of those links. William Henry Craddock was indeed reputed to have served in the Royal Navy and there are two old photos of him in uniform with medals, so this could be usefull.

Charlie C.

Geoffers
08-02-2006, 11:47 AM
William Henry Craddock was indeed reputed to have served in the Royal Navy and there are two old photos of him in uniform with medals, so this could be usefull.
If he was in the RN, this is better news for you as the Registers of Seamen's Services are available online, search free, pay a small fee to view the original document:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/

Where you see 'Royal Navy Seamen' click on 'search now'

Geoffers

Geoffers
08-02-2006, 11:57 AM
I've just checked the August 1914 Navy List, there is an entry which may just possibly be connected:

William H CRADDOCK, A.E (Act), seniority of 1 Sep 1913, serving in '48'

A.E (Act) = Artificer Engineer (Acting)

'48' = HMS Audacious (Portsmouth), Battleship of the 2nd Battle Squadron. 23,000 tons, 10x13.5 in guns, 16x4 in.

Geoffers

Charlie C.
09-02-2006, 1:14 AM
Hey! Your coming up trumps here! I've only just got back and checked the thread! I shall check this out tomorrow now.

3 of Harry's photo's here http://picturegalleries.fotocraft.net on a new album I'm in the process of constructing.

Too tired now!

Charlie.

Geoffers
09-02-2006, 8:32 AM
William Henry Craddock was indeed reputed to have served in the Royal Navy and there are two old photos of him in uniform.............3 of Harry's photo's here http://picturegalleries.fotocraft.net (http://picturegalleries.fotocraft.net/) on a new album I'm in the process of constructing.
If William Henry and Harry are the same person, he isn't wearing a Naval uniform.

Geoffers

Charlie C.
09-02-2006, 7:26 PM
You obviously know your uniforms better than me! Which of the two 'uniformed' photos are you referring to? Young Harry or the other? I'm pretty sure that both photos are of Harry -at different periods obviously. The hat is the same in both pictures. William Henry Craddock was indeed referred to as Harry (I've checked this out). The photo wearing a trench coat has got written on the back (post card fashion) 'With love from Harry to Sue'.

In your opinion what is the uniform in which he is wearing, in particular 'Young Harry' with what appears to be a medal strap?

Btw, thanks for the research Geoffers!

Charlie.

Geoffers
09-02-2006, 9:35 PM
Young Harry photo - he is wearing spurs and I'm sure someone will correct me, but I believe the belt across his shoulder is for ammunition. I'm not expert on army uniforms, but it all suggests cavalry to me (or possibly a driver?)

The second photo has less to identify it - but he is wearing a very baggy overcoat, which to me would again hint at riding a horse - or the stores was running out of his size.

I'm afraid that I can't identify the cap badges from the photos as they don't magnify very well. Are you able to scan them better?

Geoffers

Charlie C.
09-02-2006, 10:45 PM
I’ve received some info from someone who thinks he was an artilleryman and not in the Navy! This would coincide with what I’ve heard about him being a ‘Horse Man’ and I know that he worked a lot with horses later in life, according to his son Erich (now deceased).

I,ve enlarged a bit the face shots of Harry over at http://picturegalleries.fotocraft.net unfortunately the photos themselves are not that good either! Hope you can see enough of the cap badges now to identify them a bit easier.

Charlie.

Geoffers
18-02-2006, 4:00 PM
I,ve enlarged a bit the face shots of Harry over at http://picturegalleries.fotocraft.net (http://picturegalleries.fotocraft.net/) unfortunately the photos themselves are not that good either! Hope you can see enough of the cap badges now to identify them a bit easierI've browsed a book on regimental badges and the enlarged photo looks very similar to me to that of the Royal Artillery. It's a bit difficult to describe, but the base is a wavy scroll with the motto 'Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt' - above that is a cannon facing left as you look at it with the gun carriage trailig to the right, above that a scroll with the word 'Ubique' and topped by a crown. All in all it looks a close match.

Geoffers

Charlie C.
20-02-2006, 10:01 AM
Thanks Geoffers,

That is usefull info. Would the Royal Artillery have held records of service men like they do in the Royal Navy? Presumably the National Archives would be the place to look?

Charlie.

Geoffers
20-02-2006, 1:28 PM
There are service records for the army, where to look depends on when someone served and in what corps. If the records have survived, TNA is the palce to look.

Have a browse of the research guides on their web-site
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/researchguidesindex.asp?j=1
scroll down to 'B' and select the relevant 'British Army' links.

Geoffers