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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Help to Shine a Light on a Shady Character


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I have bee helping a colleague research the history of his relative :

Charles William Pearce Lane d.o.b. 02 02 1894

We know about his upbringing and that he was convicted at Victoria Law Courts, Birmingham ( my old workplace) and had part of his sentence commuted on condition he joined the military.

His military record commences 22 -09 1911 as 10992 Lane CWP H Co 1st Royal Welch Fusiliers

There are over the years several references to his good conduct.

We know he landed at Zeebrugge on 7th October 1914

He is then recorded on 04 03 1916 (now as a Corporal) being held as a POW at Sennelager.

Then it starts to get cloudy.

We have found a marriage certificate for a marriage solemnized on 18th January 1918 at St Andrews Church, Small Heath.

Had he not been recorded as a POW I could understand that he may have been on home leave but surely if he was a POW would he not have been held for the duration?

To further confuse matters we have a record that on 4th January 1921 his medals were forfeited.

In the interwar years this individual was convicted of several crimes including some for violence. Very topically it is believed he may've been involved in a rival gang to the Peaky Blinders called the Gardners that also operated in the Small Heath area at the time. He was also convicted of Bigamy. There a family belief that he had a further bigamous marriage to a woman in Belgium whether this was during the war and the subsequent marriages were deemed bigamous or whether he left the UK and married her afterwards is not clear. It is also believed that he had up to 22 children. The post war years are sketchy as unsurprisingly both families disowned him.

Some ideas to explain how he came to be married in Birmingham in 1918 when he was a POW and why his medals were forfeited or in what circumstances they could be would be very welcome.

There are a number of living relatives who are still deeply ashamed by his conduct so some sensitivity is required.

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Had he not been recorded as a POW I could understand that he may have been on home leave but surely if he was a POW would he not have been held for the duration?

Men could sometimes be repatriated due to illness.

Craig

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His military record commences 22 -09 1911 as 10992 Lane CWP H Co 1st Royal Welch Fusiliers

In theory his time with the army would have been 12 years - 7 years service and 5 years reserve so he'd have been released to his reserve commitment as soon as possible after the war but he could have been retained for a while.

His service records are probably still with the MOD.

Craig

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We have found a marriage certificate for a marriage solemnized on 18th January 1918 at St Andrews Church, Small Heath.

What's his profession on the marriage cert?

Sam

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Men could sometimes be repatriated due to illness.

Craig

To be repatriated to Britain he would have to be at deaths door or permanently disabled. Normal practice was to exchange into a neutral country (usually Switzerland but possibly the Netherands) for 6 months treatment followed by a medical assessment after which he might be repatriated but again only if dying or permanently disabled.
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Thank you everyone for your contributions thus far.

Centurion I thought that would be the case myself.

Craig I also considered whether he was still on the reserve and whether thst may've been a factor in the forfeiture of medals some years after his active service.

Sam I have got a copy of the certificate and will check it again

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Craig I also considered whether he was still on the reserve and whether thst may've been a factor in the forfeiture of medals some years after his active service.

I wonder what the rules were for forfeiture on reserve service.

Sam I have got a copy of the certificate and will check it again

Are you 100% sure it is him ?

Craig

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A number of prisoners escaped from Sennelager and made a home run but I think that was in 1915. In 1918 some NCOs were exchanged from the camp into the Netherlands under the "barbed wire fever" arrangement whereby POWs who had been in captivity for some time (about 2 years) could be treated as if sick. It was not impossible for internees in the Netherlands to be granted leave in Britain for a few weeks although it seems to have been rare. If this was so in his case he must have been a fast talker. That's the only explanation I can think of.

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It appears that the original marriage certificate was altered and the marriage took place in 1919. Which clears up how a POW happened to get married in UK.

Altered by someone born out of wedlock?

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Altered by someone born out of wedlock?

That was my thought as well. Given that he had 22 kids or so there may well have been a number of fraudulent alterations going on.

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