yjaff Posted 5 August , 2011 Share Posted 5 August , 2011 Hi I have absolutely no idea about this so I am hoping someone will be able to help. I am in the middle of a project about enlistment and if patriotism was the main reason behind it for the great war and am doing some case studies on my two g/g uncles who fought and died, L/CPL FREDERICK JOHN HARGREAVES and L/CPL WILFRED PERCY WILLMOTT. I want to see how many of the boys from Frederick's classes/ year at school ended up enlisting, so I want the numbers to say so and so men enlisted out of this amount of men from the same area and age. The schools Frederick Hargreaves went to were NEUPORT and BUCKHOLT schools he was from Leyton, Essex so they are probably from that area. So if anyone knows what to do I need the records from the schools that say which of their previous students went to fight especially if it was voluntary. I hope I have made this as clear as possible for everyone as I don't know how to write this! Any help would be much appreciated! Yana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 6 August , 2011 Share Posted 6 August , 2011 Hi I am working through some school records from a Yorkshire school at present. Firstly, the records are unlikely to be on-line. If they survive they will probably be in local archives, or, if the school(s) concerned have a continuous history to be still at the school. The "board" school that I have been looking at closed between 20 and 30 years ago and the records were thankfully passed to the local archives. They consisted in my particular case of two volumes. The first, and most helpful was the admissions register, which recorded the dates of admission, parents name and short address, and had a tick in a column for each year that a young person remained in the school. There was a final notes column , often containing the date a person left the school and their onward progress, normally only mentioned if this involved a transfer to a more prestigious place of learning, such as the local grammar school or technical college. The other document was the head teacher's log book, in which individual pupil's achievements, or lack of them were sometimes mentioned by name. It has been moving to find for example, four of those who died in the King's uniform joining the school within a few days of each other. I suspect that if the records have survived you will probably find something similar. Good luck, but don't expect it to be easy. I have to make a 500 mile round trip to examine the original documents. EDIT The schools may have some form of memorials, either a memorial to those who died, or a Roll of Honour listing those who served. The registers are unlikely to hold the information that you require as the school leaving age then applying means that leavers would in most cases be too young to go for any military service. Some of these could appear on the UK National Inventory of War Memorials if you are very lucky. Local libraries and archives are probably your best bet though. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yjaff Posted 6 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 6 August , 2011 Thanks for your help Keith, that is the kind of thing I am looking for, so is that where you got your documents from, the local archives of the area? was it only to see the original documents you had to travel to find or were there easier ways to find any copies?and one last question i promise, how did you find out where the archives were for your particular topic? I'll have to see what i can do because I live over 2 hours away from London where my soldiers were from! maybe i could include other visits that are part of my project!!! Thanks again you have been very helpful Yana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Tucker Posted 6 August , 2011 Share Posted 6 August , 2011 Try looking at a web site for Essex County Record Office for a start. Also genuki Essex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yjaff Posted 6 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 6 August , 2011 Thanks Alan, I have had a quick look and it already looks like it could help me a lot. Thanks again Yana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 6 August , 2011 Share Posted 6 August , 2011 As you will have seen on the sites that Alan recommended most archives and libraries have on-line catalogues. The bulk of their documents unfortunately won't be available other than in the original, and can require many hours of examination. The local studies part of the library service will also have microfilms of the local newspapers, which could well have reports of the death of your relatives anytime in the several weeks following the dates. A few local newspapers are on-line, but most have to be searched either in their original location, or at Colindale. Unless you are very lucky, and can go to an exact reference, the other real issue is that it is very hard to rush the examination of old records. My approach is to try and get maximum value out of any visit that involves significant travel. For the National Archives at Kew I try to pre-book a night at the local Travelodge or similar, taking full advantage of early booking offers. In Yorkshire I am more fortunate, being able to beg free lodgings, in return for taking my hosts out fo some of the best Asian restaurants in the country. That is not a hardship when I compare the quality to the seriously inferior offerings in Hampshire. Good luck with your research Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Underdown Posted 7 August , 2011 Share Posted 7 August , 2011 I think there is a digitisation project underway at the moment, groups of record offices have tenders out for digitisation and transcription, I'm not sure precisely which though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yjaff Posted 17 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 17 August , 2011 Found that the name of the school on his obituary is wrong it should be Ruckholt (elementary) school not Buckholt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Gorst Posted 17 August , 2011 Share Posted 17 August , 2011 YAna The schools are Newport and Ruckholt - might not be what you are looking for but the local library on the High Road has a roll of honour listed by school. I have pictures somewhere which I can dig out if you are interested. Found that the name of the school on his obituary is wrong it should be Ruckholt (elementary) school not Buckholt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 17 August , 2011 Share Posted 17 August , 2011 If you want to get a properly researched view on whether patriotism was a factor behind recruitment, best read "Kitchener's Army" by Peter Simpkins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yjaff Posted 17 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 17 August , 2011 Yes, would be very interested in any pictures you have if it is not too much trouble Anthony, and thanks for clearing up the names of the school only knew about Ruckholt- it is bad that they got the name of one of the schools wrong let alone two. I will PM you my email address and there is not rush except I am going away on Sunday so if i dont reply I am not trying to be rude! I would be very grateful! Also a big thanks for the advice about the book Kitchener's Army, to Chris. Regards Yana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now