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.
[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.
[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
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