James (JIM) Martin from WW1 - Blackheath

[Elkay54]

Good Morning All.

I am very new to this and hoping someone may be able to point me in the right direction. I am trying to trace one of my dads uncles. I have very little starting information about him other than the following:
He lived in Greenwich and apparently joined up for WW1 at the nearest army base (which I believe may have been Blackheath/Woolwich). He was only 14 years old and lied about his age to get in. He was posted abroad and the only further news the family had was that he died.

Sadly, there are no living family members I know who have any knowledge of him. Despite my efforts to trace him I am going around in circles.

His name was James ('JIM') Martin.

So to recap... I don't know for sure his regiment, the date he joined, where he went and how/where he died. Do I stand ANY chance of ever finding him? Comments welcome please!

[Sandyhall]

Do you know when (dates) and where (place) your dads Uncles where born and their mother and fathers names. That would give you maybe a start.

[Sandyhall]

CWGC - Commonwealth War Graves Commission Site gives you 441 records for the name James Martin.

Having a look at the names do you know if he had a second Christian name, if not you can disregard all the pages from 5 onward.

Its another one of these sites that give you anything with the Martin J not what you actually want (if you know what I mean) ie. John Martin or J. Martin.

[Peter Goodey]

Make sure you have his basic facts right. Full name, exact date of birth, parents' names, address.

If he died during the war, he should be listed on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site.

Go to the CWGC site and call up all the people called James Martin (if that was his full name) who died during WW1. There will be a lot of them. Work through the list looking for a reference to his parents and/or home address.

By the way, have you found him in the 1911 census?

[Elkay54]

I have their mum and dad's names, they were living in Greenwich (think I have the road's name as well). My granddad always referred to Jim as his 'younger' brother and my granddad was born in 1902. Jims birthdates though are unclear but I would guess 1903 (there were lots of siblings!). If he was only 14 as I am led to believe then he couldn't really have joined up until about 1917 - were there people joining up all through the war or just at the beginning?

[Peter Goodey]

he couldn't really have joined up until about 1917

After the introduction of conscription? Unlikely, I think.

Unless you share the information you have with us, there is very little we can do to help. Tell us the parents' names for a start.

[Elkay54]

Went down a completely different research route this morning and learned a bit more... Parents names were James Martin and Jane Martin. 1911 census puts their ages at 65 and 39 and living in Fingal street, Greenwich. 'Jim's d.o.b though is listed as 1895 - and far from being the youngest son appears to be the oldest! This goes against everything we have been told and he certainly wouldn't have been 14 when he joined up. I do know that he had a number of siblings: Philip, Thomas, Daisy, Liddy, Sarah, Ruby (I think?). Maybe generations of our family have been going down the wrong street. Having this different info I will now look at deaths... There are a few references to a James Ernest dying in 1917 (but aged 22), although it refers to an 'airship' and we believed that he had just joined an army regiment.

[carolchipp]

Went down a completely different research route this morning and learned a bit more... Parents names were James Martin and Jane Martin. 1911 census puts their ages at 65 and 39 and living in Fingal street, Greenwich. 'Jim's d.o.b though is listed as 1895 - and far from being the youngest son appears to be the oldest! This goes against everything we have been told and he certainly wouldn't have been 14 when he joined up. I do know that he had a number of siblings: Philip, Thomas, Daisy, Liddy, Sarah, Ruby (I think?). Maybe generations of our family have been going down the wrong street. Having this different info I will now look at deaths... There are a few references to a James Ernest dying in 1917 (but aged 22), although it refers to an 'airship' and we believed that he had just joined an army regiment.

The family appear in the 1901 (with Sarah and Ruby -both born before James). Presumably Jane was Elizabeth Jane/Jane Elizabeth because she is listed as Eliz. in 1901 (aged 30, born Millwall, so looks like the correct family)

[peter nicholl]

Do you know that he did die during WW1? There is a Service Record for a James Martin who enlisted on 13th December 1915 at Blackheath. He gave his address as Orlop Street, just a few turnings from Fingal Street. He gave his age as 24 on enlistment, but on his Protection Certificate on his demob, he gives his year of birth as 1895.

[peter nicholl]

Sorry, should have added that he was alive in 1919. There is no match of a CWGC death between 1919 and 1921.