Bouchier Claude Arthur

[BrendanLee]

Looking for more information on

BOUCHIER, CLAUDE ARTHUR

Second Lieutenant

Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)

1st/2nd Bn. attd. 9th Bn.

Age 36

Son of James and Lucy Annie Bouchier, of 35, Lynthorne Rd., Frizinghall, Bradford, Yorks.

KIA 04/11/1918

ROMERIES COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION

Listed on SDGW as Charles Arthur

I researching the names of ex Dublin boy scouts commemorated in St. Patrick's Cathedral and I am having difficulty with C Bouchier, the above is the only C Bouchier listed on CWGC and SDGW, nothing on the Irish 1901 and 1911 census. I am trying to find if this is the right man and what is the Dublin Boy Scout connection.

[janecavell]

The birth of Claude Arthur Bouchier was registered in the Wakefield district in the last quarter of 1882 according to FreeBMD.

18 year old Claude A. Bouchier (born Wakefield) was a Navigation Company's clerk in the Bradford district in 1901. The rest of the family were all Yorkshire-born too: no obvious Irish connection here.

Having looked at a photo of the Dublin Scouts memorial I wonder if the initial might be G not C?

[BrendanLee]

Hi poppy3,

Thank you for the information. I think it is definitely a C, I have put a clearer image below.

Regards,

Brendan.

[corisande]

This is you man in 1891 census in Bradford. If he was in Dublin Scouts, the family must have lived in Dublin after 1891 and before 1909 (when he would have been too old for scouts)

Name: Claude Bouchier

Age: 8

Estimated birth year: abt 1883

Relation: Son

Father's Name: James

Mother's Name: Lucy A

Gender: Male

Where born: Sandal, Yorkshire, England

Civil parish: Horton

Ecclesiastical parish: St James

County/Island: Yorkshire

Country: England

Street Address: 5 St James Sq, Horton

Registration district: Bradford

Sub-registration district: Horton

Household Members:

Name Age

James Bouchier 43

Lucy A Bouchier 43

Henrietta Bouchier 21

Charles W Bouchier 17

Thomas L Bouchier 14

Bertie Bouchier 10

Claude Bouchier 8

Florence M Bouchier 5

Edith G Bouchier 1

[corisande]

And 1901 census

Name: Claude A Bouchier

Age: 18

Estimated birth year: abt 1883

Relation: Son

Father's Name: James

Mother's Name: Lucy Annie

Gender: Male

Where born: Wakefield, Yorkshire, England

Civil parish: Bradford

Ecclesiastical parish: Bradford St Augustine

County/Island: Yorkshire

Country: England

Employment status: Navigation Company Clerk

Registration district: Bradford

Sub-registration district: Bradford East

Household Members:

Name Age

James Bouchier 53

Lucy Annie Bouchier 52

Thos L Bouchier 24

Bertie Bouchier 20

Claude A Bouchier 18

Florence M Bouchier 15

Edith G Bouchier 11

[corisande]

And 1911 census - lad did well to become 2nd Lt

Person: BOUCHER, Claude Arthur

Address: 17 S Augustine's Terrace Bradford

BOUCHER, James Head Married M 63 1848 Accountants Clerk Leeds Yorkshire V

BOUCHER, Lucy Annie Wife Married 43 years F 62 1849 Leeds Yorkshire VIEW

BOUCHER, Claude Arthur Son Single M 28 1883 Worsted Spinners Clerk Sandal Nr Wakefield Yorkshire

BOUCHER, Florence Mary Daughter Single F 25 1886 Sandal Nr Wakefield Yorkshire

[corisande]

His MIC shows

1. Joined E Yorks Regt - Private 19391

2. Landed Balkans 4 Oct 1915

3. Commissioned W Yorks Regt 26 June 1918

4. His father's address is given in Bradford for medal purposes.

http://www.1914-1918.net/eastyorks.htm for E Yorks movements

[BrendanLee]

Hi corisande,

Thank you for all the information. I though he might have been ex Hibernian Military School but he is not on their Roll of Honour. I think I have the right man, just have to make that Dublin connection.

Regards,

Brendan.

[corisande]

Brendan

I was surprised in Irish censuses how many Bouchiers there were in Ireland (Huguenot?)

Anyway to get an Irish connection you could tr chasing both parents back to childhood via earlier English censuses to see if any of the grandparents came from Ireland.

[janecavell]

I would be wary of assuming that Claude Arthur Bouchier is the one in Dublin when so far there's no sign that his family moved away from Yorkshire, especially as the Irish censuses and civil registration records show other families with this surname. Some possible alternative scenarios to consider:

- The census transcripts are far from perfect and there might have been a C. Bouchier on the census whose name has got garbled in the transcription.

- Perhaps he was known by a name beginning with C., but this was not his first name? So he might appear with a different first name on censuses etc.

- There might be some complication in the family (mother's remarriage, so he acquires step-father's name, for example) which means that his surname on the census is not the same as one he used earlier/later.

To tackle it from the other end, are there any records of the Dublin Scouts?

[BrendanLee]

I did get some information from the Scouts but unfortunately none on Bouchier. As the Scouts were founded around 1908 when Bouchier would have been about 26 I suspect his involvement was either as a Scout master or adult administrator of some type, although from looking on Google there does not appear to have been an upper age limit for Scouts in the early 1900s.

I do not think there is any family connection with Ireland, maybe he was in Ireland in connection with his employment as a Navigation Company Clerk. The change in employment between 1901 and 1911 may indicate he was in Ireland and on returning to England got a new job. I did try alternate spelling, the surname Boucher (I think pronounced the same but spelled without the i) was also popular in Dublin around the 1901 and 1911 census time, but this only brought more confusion. I think you are right poppy3, I will do a bit more digging in the Scouts archive, you never know I might get lucky second time round.

Regards,

Brendan.

[johnny_doyle]

is there anything recording Bouchier as a Scout in a memorial in Bradford?

One book seems to cover Boy Scouts in the Great War

http://www.naval-military-press.com/scouts...-great-war.html

The write up of the book mentions Boy Cornwall at Jutland and it was interesting to see that one of the Dublin Boy Scouts, Kildare Henry Borrowes, was also 16 when killed at Jutland.

A Dublin based writer with an interest in history and politics is Frank Bouchier-Hayes and it might be worth contacting him (Google for references to him) to see if he has come across any reference in his family to C Bouchier. There are 2 Bouchier-Hayes families based in Limerick, one a Dr and the other a Vet. Part of this family appear to have moved to Dublin at some point (possibly during WW1) and living in Rathgar by the time of the 1939 electoral register. They appear to have been interested in medicine so may have been at UCD to study - there is a reference to them as a UCD family

http://www.ucdconnections.ie/ucdfamilies.html

Not sure if this is an indication of any link with Claude Borchier but the two Kingham lads from the Dublin Boy Scouts memorial joined the East Yorkshire Regt as had Claude Borchier before he was promoted and transferred to the West Riding Regt.