Who is that lady?

This morning, in genealogy, I am three people away from my direct-line. That is, grandparents, great-grandparents etc. Of course, they may spawn more people, but my goal for today is to finish at least the first two of these.

The first died in WWI, so I have a service record to transcribe and probably a CWGC entry. The second, whilst he served in the army, has no service record available and seems to have aquired a wife out of thin air in the 1939 Register! We shall see what comes to light.

Saint Clement Peck, known as Clement, was born in 1886 at Elsworth, Cambridgeshire.[i] He was living with his parents in the 1891-1911 censuses; in the latter two, he was working as an errand boy, then a labourer at a soap factory. On 2 September 1914, Clement enlisted into the 2nd Battalion South Lancashire Regiment. He immediately underwent training at Great Crosby, Lancashire and, after three months, joined the British Expeditionary Force fighting in France on the Western Front. On 16 June 1915, Clement received gunshot wounds to the shoulder and spine. He was taken to the Bailleul No 2 Casualty Clearing Station behind the lines but died of his wounds. His back pay of £9 15s 6d and a gratuity of £4 0s 0d were passed to his father. His name is commemorated on the Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul, Nord, France.[ii] Clement was twenty-nine when he was killed. He never married.

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[i] GRO Birth Saint Clement Peck, volume 03B, page 454, Dec quarter 1885, Caxton district; mother's maiden name Nunn

[ii] Commonwealth War Graves Commission (cwgc.org.uk), cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/201091/PECK,%20C. PECK, Cpl. C., 11950. 2nd Bn. South Lancashire Regt. 17th June 1915. Age 29. Brother of Priscilla Pauline Peck, of 148, Liverpool Rd., Warrington. I.E.100 ... "British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920," database, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 12 September 2020), Pension record for Clement Peck; PECK Saint Clement, 11950, S Lanc 2nd, A/Cpl, death 17-6-15 died of wounds. Dependant Mr Charles Peck, 148 Liverpool Road, Warrington, father. Gratuity awarded 12-6-16PECK Clement 2nd Bttn South L'cashire regt A/Cpl 11950. Died 17-6-15 Bailleul No 2 Cas Clear St Dd of wounds. Total pay due £9 15s 6d to Fa Charles. Gratutity £4 0s 0d to Fa Charles ... "British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920," Service record for Clement Peck; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk : accessed 12 September 2020); Clement Peck, 11950, born Elsworth, Cambridgeshire. Age 28yrs, Rigger. Attested 2.9.14 at Warrington. South LAncashire regiment. Post to Great Crosby 5.9.14. Posted to Expeditionary Force 5.12.14. A/Cp 17.6.15 N2 Cas C Station Died of wounds. NOK Priscilla Peck, 148 Liverpool Road, Warrington. height 5' 7", weight ??, chest 36" expansion 2". Grandparents of soldier -. nephews & nieces Doris cross 63 Liverpool Rd G Sankey, Warrington. Uncle & aunts by blood -. Sister Priscilla, 148 Liverpool Road. 16/6/15 admitted GSW shdlr & spine 2 casualty clearing sta. Died.

Clement was straight forward in the end, the only hard bit was extracting the service record as it was in fairly poor condition

For William James Nunn Humphery Peck we had a birth record and the census records for 1891-1911. In 1911 he was a private in the 2nd Cheshire regiment stationed in India. The 1939 Register showed him married to a woman called Christina, but we had no match on a marriage record for him. Christinas date of birth was simply given as 1880.

I widened the search and found a good marriage for William to Gertrude Rowe Glendinning in 1958 at Leeds. Gertrude was easy enough to document, but I was no closer to the mysterious Christina. A trawl through electoral registers showed them living together in 1934, so that narrowed the search for a marriage down to 1911-1934! I went back to the 1939 Register and looked a little closer. There was a third person in the household, Robert J Appleby, a relative? His date of birth was clear and I found him in the GRO birth indices; 1887Q4 Hartlepool 10A 102 APPLEBY, Robert James, mother's maiden name: HENDERSON. I then searched for a Christina with the same mother. Bingo! 1879Q2 Hartlepool 10A 129 APPLEBY, Christina, mother's maiden name: HENDERSON which led directly to the following marriage entries: GRO Marriage William H Peck, volume 08B, page 573, Dec quarter 1918, West Derby district; Spouse: Appleby and GRO Marriage Christina Appleby, volume 08B, page 573, Dec quarter 1918, West Derby district; Spouse: Peck. I can't pinpoint the place of marriage definitively, but I suspect that it was at Great Crosby where the 2nd Cheshire was in barracks after WW1. So the finished entry looks like this: 

 William James Nunn Humphery Peck was born on 15 April 1889 at Ickleton, Cambridgeshire.[i] He was living with his parents in the 1891 and 1901 censuses. William joined the 2nd Cheshire regiment, and in 1911, he was a private stationed at Jubbulpore, India.[ii] On 24 December 1914, his regiment returned to England and went into camp near Winchester. They joined 84th Brigade and travelled by road to Southampton on 16 January 1915 and embarked on SS City of Chester, landing at Le Havre 17 January 1915. William fought at The Second Battle of Ypres and The Battle of Loos. In October 1915 they were ordered to Egypt and sailed from Marseilles for Alexandria, then on to Salonika in January 1916. They took part in the occupation of Mazirko and the capture of Baraldi Junta in October 1916. In 1917 they were involved in the capture of Barakli and Kumli and in 1918 were in action in the Baffle of Doiran and the pursuit to the Strumica valley. When hostilities with Bulgaria ended on the 30 September 1918 they were in the area of Tmovo and in early November they moved to Gallipoli to occupy the Dardanelles forts. In 1918, William married Christina Appleby in Lancashire, probably Great Crosby where the regiment was in barracks.[iii] Christina was born in 1879 at Hartlepool,[iv] the daughter of John Appleby and Elizabeth Henderson. In the 1939 Register, they were living at 29 Heath Grove, Harrogate, North Yorkshire where William was a watchman and also making feather mounts for ladies hats. Christina was helping him with the hat business.[v] Christina died in 1958 in North Yorkshire aged seventy-nine.[vi] Later that same year, William married Gertrude Rowe Glendinning at Leeds.[vii] Gertrude was born on 11 February 1914 at Benfieldside, Durham,[viii] the daughter of Matthew Henry Glendinning and Florence Ann Rowe. William died in 1870 at Leeds aged eighty.[ix] Gertrude died on 13 November 1993 at York aged seventy-nine. Her estate was granted probate on 14 January 1994 at Leeds with effects valued at not exceeding £125,000. At the time of her death, she was living at 32 Marshall Avenue, Crossgates, Leeds.[x] William had no children.

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[i] GRO Birth William James Nunn Humphrey Peck, volume 03B, page 525, Jun quarter 1889, Linton district; mother's maiden name Nunn

[ii] 1911 census of England, William James Nunn Humphrey Peck; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry (ancestry.co.co.uk : accessed 21 June 2017); citing  RG 78, RG 14 PN 34980, registration district (RD) 641, enumeration district (ED) India;

Name                       Rel           Con          Age          Birthplace                                Occupation

...

William Peck            Private     Un           21            Ickleton, CAM         2nd Cheshire regt

[iii] GRO Marriage William H Peck, volume 08B, page 573, Dec quarter 1918, West Derby district; Spouse: Appleby … GRO Marriage Christina Appleby, volume 08B, page 573, Dec quarter 1918, West Derby district; Spouse: Peck

[iv] GRO Birth Christina Appleby, volume 10A, page 129, Jun quarter 1979, Hartlepool district; mother's maiden name: Henderson

[v] 1939 Register, England, RG 101, piece 3648H, image Schedule 102/1, Enumeration District: KNAH, Registration District: 489/2, line 32, 29 Heath Grove, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, William J W H Peck. Cit. Date: 12 September 2020;

Name                       Sex          Born                        Status       Occupation

William J W H Peck            Male        13 Apr 1889            Married    Watchman to Estate also Feather Mount Manufacturer

Christina Peck          Female     1880                        Married    Helping husband re above

Robert J Appleby     Male        1 Sep 1887              Single       Civil Servant Retired Bas??

[vi] GRO Death Christina Peck, volume 01B, page 544, Jun quarter 1958, Bulmer district; aged 79

[vii] GRO Marriage William J N H Peck, volume 02C, page 832, Sep quarter 1958, Leeds district; spouse: Glendinning … GRO Marriage Gertrude R Glendinning, volume 02C, page 832, Sep quarter 1958, Leeds district; spouse: Peck

[viii] GRO Birth Gertrude Rowe Glendinning, volume 10A, page 774, Mar quarter 1914, Lancaster district; mother's maiden name: Rowe

[ix] GRO Death William James N H Peck, volume 02C, page 639, Mar quarter 1970, Leeds district; Aged 80, born 15 Apr 1889

[x] GRO Death Gertrude Rowe Peck, volume B24B/6611B, page 110, Nov quarter 1993, York district; aged 79, born 11 Feb 1914 ... Probate for Gertrude Rowe Peck; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk : accessed 12 September 2020); PECK, Gertrude Rowe of 32 Marshall Avenue Crossgates Leeds died 13 November 1993 Probate Leeds 14 January Effects Not exceeding £125000 9451635434T

Being a Big Softy

 

In genealogy, the best we can usually hope for is a provable set of birth and death records and, if applicable, marriage and as many children as possible. Anything else is a bonus and provides a welcome insight into our ancestor's lives.

Today I was researching the family group for my 3rd great-grandaunt, Pamela Watts. She was born about 1801 at Bottisham, Cambridgeshire and baptised on 16 September 1804 at Holy Trinity, Bottisham. On 21 December 1819, she married George Pettit at Holy Trinity. George was born about 1797 at Bottisham Lode, a nearby hamlet. They were both Baptists. So far, so dull, but I have a good set of parish and census records to back all this up, so I'm a happy chappy.

I was down in Cambridgeshire in 2003 and dragged my daughters around the graveyards of Holy Trinity, St James, and the Baptist Chapel, taking notes and photographs. Our time was limited so we did the best we could but it was nowhere near enough as practically everyone in these yards is related to us in some way. In 2018 a chap called Thomas Hunter Brown took more pictures and recorded more information from the Baptist Chapel, he posted this information on findagrave.com. Thank you. Some of the stones relate to Pamela's family.

Pamela and George had eight children as far as I can make out, and five of these died before Pamela died herself. The grief of a mother seeing her children die before she does is something I can't imagine or even want to contemplate.

Although George died before Pamela, his stone was erected by his eldest son, Jeremiah, a police constable with the Metropolitian Police Force. I feel I need to point out that Baptists are fond of appending words of endearment to the usual gravestone information. Using a / to denote a new line, his inscription reads:

Sacred to the memory of / GEORGE PETTIT / Who died May 3 1866 / In his 69th year. / Vain are the titles of an hour, / Vain are all riches, fame, and power; / All, all is vain-this lesson learn, / Man to his dust, must soon return. / Erected by his Son Jeremiah.
View it here

For her son John, Pamela erected the stone and so the words are hers. The stone is unreadable in parts but as far as I can make out it goes something like:

Sacred to the memory of / JOHN PETTIT / Who died January 8 1861 / Aged 20 years / These four stones record the parental / Affection of PAMELA PETTIT / A short but sweet companionship on earth / And in token of .... / ... sweeter companionship in Heaven
View it here

I'm afraid the next two had me welling up. Daughter Ann married a John Kefford and she died aged 33. It reads:

Sacred to the memory of / ANN KEFFORD / The beloved daughter of / PAMELA PETTIT / Who died March 31 1865 / Aged 33 years / Farewell ye friends and children dear / I am not dead but sleeping here / I parted with you all in love / And hope to meet in heaven above
View it here

Frances married Robert Cornwell and she died shortly after their marriage and giving birth to a child. She is buried with the 5 week old infant.

Sacred to the memory of / FRANCES CORNWELL / The Beloved Daughter of / PAMELA PETTIT / Who died November 1 1862 / Aged 20 Years / Also her infant aged 5 weeks / Wipe off your tears and weep no more / I am not lost but gone before / Remember this and bear in mind / You have not long to stay behind
View it here

I really should used to seeing deaths, but the loss of half your children is indescribably harsh.

Pamela herself lived until she was 67.

Badger's Burblings

In genealogy I am currently re-writing my book and working my way through the Watts family. Specifically I am researching an Australian branch and a family of ten children. Many of the sons ended up in the Second Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War. As a Brit I am obviously aware of the allied efforts in Europe, in a general sense as my father was in the Royal Navy at the time. However, I had very little knowledge of the Australian, and New Zealand, battles against the Japanese in the Pacific arena. Two of the boys ended up fighting in Timor and New Guinea and ended up as Prisoners of War. On their release and return to their home, neither of them married and they lived with their widowed mother until she died leaving them just each other. In the book I can't comment on how they might have felt, but I'm just glad not to be them.

One of my daughters bought some books and posted her purchases on FB. Looking at the post I suffered book envy as Peter Robinson has a new book out and, somehow, I completely missed it. Anyway, It's ordered now and I shall soon be devouring another Inspector Banks mystery. Unfortunately, I got carried away with my shopping and also ordered Simon Collins' new album Becoming Human and a collection of Bob Seger's hits. Seger is an artist I've not listened to much before, but I sometimes listen to the Sonos station Rock Road Trip and they play quite a bit of him, so he's got under my skin. I guess it's a form of marketing, but I'll take any opportunity to uncover a new (to me) artist.

I've also taken a punt on pre-ordering the forthcoming D&D Adventure Begins game. I was massively into D&D back in the day and had the original Basic through Immortals sets. This is back when Games Workshop was a single store on Tottenhamcourt Road and I travelled to London especially to buy the AD&D Dungeon Master Guide from the first shipment that came into the country. So sad. Anyway, I'm trying to gently ease my grandsons into the idea of RPGs. My daughter and I had a discussion, at cross-purposes, about this. She was thinking board games and I was thinking pen 'n' pencil. I tried one of my grandsons on Warhammer (WFRP) and he walked away after the character generation as it wasn't what he expected. After clearing up the confusion, I realised that my daughter was recalling us playing Heroquest. I still have it, in the original (battered) packaging, although I did paint all the figures inside. Such a geek. They don't make it anymore. It was replaced by Advanced Heroquest, and they don't make that anymore either. Both are available as collectors items for about £180! I should have kept the box in better condition. I did some research on what D&D type board games are now available, which is how I stumbled across the Adventure Begins. When that arrives, and our bubble next comes together, we'll give that a bash. Meanwhile, I've dispatched my copy of Heroquest for them to try out.

Tea last night was a smoked haddock risotto out of my Masterchef cookbook. It used cider but the bottle I bought was too much so Mrs Badger and I split the remains into two small glasses and it was really delicious. Neither of us has drunk cider in its normal form for years so this was a nice surprise. For anyone interested, it was a Morrison's own. Ah, the risotto. It was flipping amazing. Restaurant quality I would say, very impressive. Of course the recipe served four and we ate it between the two of us, so we were a bit full afterwards, but happy tummies!