Tracking down Sapper Samuel Cooper RE 159849

[eairicbloodaxe]

OK, I've done it again.

Following my purchase of my first medal pair, I've just bought a single Victory Medal to Sapper Samuel Cooper RE 159849.

The reason for this is that Samuel is a recurring family name in our branch of the Coopers. And I have some romantic (and no doubt misplaced) notion that this Samuel could just possibly be from a branch of that line.

My other misplaced logic: most of the Coopers were miners, and so RE might be a relevant unit?

Now I've found the MIC card but no service records. There is no other data on it. However, I have also found another MIC card for Harold J Cooper, also in the RE, service number 159856. Just 7 along in sequence from Samuel! Again, can find no service records for Harold.

So my logic is, maybe they signed up together. Brothers? Cousins? Father and son? Who knows.

Wondered if anyone on here had any further information that might help narrow down a possible location for this Samuel & Harold. Our Coopers hailed from Yorkshire.

Regards

Ian

PS. Also, does anyone else have problem with getting Ancestry's regimental number search to work? If I use the number as exact match, I either get no results at all - or thousands of results that don't match the service number I want at all. Grrrrr...

PPS. I'm assuming most common reason for pairs to be separated was that the War Medal was sold for scrap?

[eairicbloodaxe]

OK. Answering my own questions here, but here's a potential candidate...

Name: Samuel Robert Cooper Age in 1911: 16 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1895 Relation to Head: Son Gender: Male Birth Place: Greengates, Yorkshire, England Civil parish: Rochdale County/Island: Lancashire Country: England Street Address: 50 Vavasour Street Rochdale Lancs Marital Status: Single Occupation: Cotton Spinning Weader Registration district: Rochdale Registration District Number: 470 Sub-registration district: Castleton No 1 ED, institution, or vessel: 6 Piece: 24609 Household Members: Name Age William Cooper 50 Mary Harriet Cooper 38 Edward Charles Breeze 17 Samuel Robert Cooper 16 Harold Cooper 14 Ernest Edwin Breeze 12 Annie Constance Breeze 9 Doris Cooper 9

He's not a miner though!

Anyone know if we can tie him and Harold in Rochdale 1911 to the regimental numbers a few years later?

Regards

Ian

[ss002d6252]

My other misplaced logic: most of the Coopers were miners, and so RE might be a relevant unit?

It could be but not all miners became R.E's.

Just 7 along in sequence from Samuel! Again, can find no service records for Harold.

So my logic is, maybe they signed up together. Brothers? Cousins? Father and son? Who knows.

The caveat is also that some units sorted men alphabetically before numbering them.

[ss002d6252]

PS. Also, does anyone else have problem with getting Ancestry's regimental number search to work? If I use the number as exact match, I either get no results at all - or thousands of results that don't match the service number I want at all. Grrrrr...

The search is notoriously bad.