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Thread: Alias

  1. #1
    Keith Ward
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    My great granddad Fred Ward was killed in action at the Battle of Jutland 31/05/1916. He served under the Alias George Wood. His Alias was known to the Navy. They reported his death as WARD Fred ( served as Wood George). Does anyone now why he might have served under an alias? Why did the Navy allow this?

  2. #2
    Brick wall demolition expert!
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    Ancestry has a data set entitled “Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll, 1914-1918, where he is listed as George Wood:

    Name: George Wood
    Rank: Sto PO
    Birth Date: 7 Nov 1875
    Birth Place: Wakefield, Yorkshire
    Branch of Service: Royal Navy
    Cause of Death: Killed or died as a direct result of enemy action
    Official Number Port Division: 289773. (Po)
    Death Date: 31 May 1916
    Ship or Unit: HMS Queen Mary
    Location of Grave: Not recorded
    Name and Address of Cemetery: Body Not Recovered For Burial
    Relatives Notified and Address: Wife: Ellen, 4, Spring Garden View, Landport, Portsmouth

    I note that his wife is simply listed as Ellen and living in Portsmouth, whereas on the Commonwealth War Graves listing he is Fred Ward and she is Jane Ellen Ward.

    My first thought was perhaps that he had run away from his wife and enlisted, but as they married as Ward in Wakefield and she was living in Portsmouth, that seems unlikely.

    I can’t imagine that the Navy knew / agreed with him serving under an alias. It may be that it only came to light after he was killed and his next of kin (Ellen) was notified.

    I wonder whether there is any significance in the fact that his real name is alphabetically very close to his alias. Could there be an administrative blunder?

    Have you looked in local newspapers (say in Wakefield) to see if there is any report of his death?

  3. #3
    Keith Ward
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    Thank you for your input. One explanation for the use of an alias might be that he enlisted using another persons identity as he was too young to enlist under his own name. The dob of George Wood (alias) is 1875 two years earlier than Fred Ward's dob, 1877. I agree with you that the Navy would be unlikely to allow the use of an alias, and maybe as you write his true identity only came to light post mortem. It is difficult to pursue this as I cannot lcate any records of enlistment for either George Wood or Fred Ward.

  4. #4

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    There was one man on the WW1 memorial for my One Place Study that I was completely unable to find in any genealogical records, although his surname was "locally common". After a couple of appeals in genealogy groups, I heard from a family member who said that he had hated his forename, and joined up with another one.

    In his case, a nice simple explanation!

  5. #5
    Keith Ward
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    Thank you, for your contribution. In my great grandfathers case he changed both family name and first name. I am pursuing the hypothesis that my grand father assumed another persons name to join the navy earlier then he would otherwise have been able to. However, I have no evidence to support this at the moment. I am searching the census records local to grandfather's residence at age twelve to see if anyone with the name George Wood DOB 1975 lived locally. To enlist you had to show a birth certificate so he would need to acquire one with the right DOB.

  6. #6
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    My grandfather's cousin was the son of a German father. When he enlisted he adopted his mother's (English) surname. Both names appear in his naval records. Incidentally his brother retained his father's name for his service in the army.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Ward View Post
    My great granddad Fred Ward was killed in action at the Battle of Jutland 31/05/1916. He served under the Alias George Wood. His Alias was known to the Navy. They reported his death as WARD Fred ( served as Wood George). Does anyone now why he might have served under an alias? Why did the Navy allow this?
    The answer is very simple the Navy allowed it because it was a fact he was known at another time as George Wood

    All alias means is at another time or in other circumstances the person was known by another name, it does not necessarily mean the person was using the two names concurrently

    Cheers
    Guy
    As we have gained from the past, we owe the future a debt, which we pay by sharing today.

  8. #8
    Wilkes_ml
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    One reason aliases were used were when a person was born out of wedlock. The person may use his mother's surname or father's surname.

    Another reason that I have seen aliases used, is when the surnames are similar in sound but spelled differently or if there is a slight variation. i.e. in my family I have DENNIS becoming DEN(N)ISON, and only connected the two families due to the vicar/curate noting the alias in the parish register.

  9. #9
    bigdon
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    My dad's RAF service records show exactly this, he was born Harry McDonald Jacobs (McDonald as a forename) his service records state "Elects to be known as Harry McDonald"

  10. #10

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    Aliases were not uncommon in the Royal Navy in WW1. I have been recording them for sailors at the Battle of Jutland.https://battleofjutlandcrewlists.mir...g/wiki/Aliases

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