Tank #9394 - name these two men!

[Mark-bryan]

Hi David her maiden name was gladys fisher then she married and became gladys smith her father was albert oliver fisher but we still don't know who Ernest is in the pic sorry if this as caused any confusion but we thought it may have been ee topliss and they live in bilston in the west midlands

Edited 14 October , 2018 by Mark-bryan
None

[dgibson150]

Hi Mark

 

Initial thought is that it's a shame that Gladys married a Smith. It makes it even more difficult with such a common name. I will try and see what I can do. Have you by any chance worked out your wife's family tree already?

 

Regards

David

Edited 14 October , 2018 by dgibson150

[johntaylor]

Great photo Mark, thanks for sharing this with us.  David, well done for spotting the IWM photo showing this tank (I see it had a male sponson on the right side and female on the left, so presumably a so-called hermaphrodite?)

 

Regarding Ernest, there isn't a lot to go on as it was such a common first name. I see from the 1911 Census that Gladys Muriel Fisher had five sisters and a brother, so there were lots of potential friends/associates, not to mention neighbours and relatives.  I see she married a Frederick W. Smith in Q2 1929, and in the 1939 Register they were still living in Bilston, so we can probably assume Ernest was also from that area.  But it's a bit of a needle in a haystack.

 

Very frustrating, as it would be great to identify him fully.

 

All the best, John

[laughton]

What is the significance or meaning of the "L12"? Is that a reference to 12th Battalion or just coincidental?

[Mark-bryan]

Thanks john has you say very frustrating,like you say and my original thoughts to was that Ernest would have been quite a common name I know its to late now has we legally had to hand the 1914 Webley pistol in to the police but would we have been able to have identified who Ernest was from the serial number of the gun or the holster as we still have that

[johntaylor]

Hi, in answer to these questions - every tank carried two numbers, the manufacturer's number (in this case 9339) which remained throughout its life, and the crew number which was added when it was issued to a battalion.  All the tanks in 12th Tank Battalion had crew numbers (and names) beginning with L because it was the 12th letter of the alphabet, so the letter isn't a coincidence.  However the number 12 in L12 is a coincidence - the tanks would have started with L1 and gone up into the 50s.

 

Mark, I don't think there's any way of linking the serial number on a firearm to an individual since the records disappeared long ago.  However I'm not an expert on this and it may be worth posting a question (with photos) on the Arms section of this forum.

 

It does seem interesting that your wife's grandmother had things like his revolver and papers, which suggests he was more than just a casual acquaintance. It indicates to me that he was probably a relative, and this should help to narrow down the search if you or anyone else has ever worked on a family tree.

 

John

[dgibson150]

Hi Mark

 

There are a couple of trees on Ancestry, which could make life a bit easier. 

 

These are

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/477778/person/7015297959/facts?_phsrc=bCf6613&_phstart=successSource

 

and 

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/55917774/person/38002477035/facts?_phsrc=bCf6614&_phstart=successSource

 

The second reference is quite interesting and possibly includes you, anonymously, as living people (or people who could be living) are shown as "Private"..

 

If you have not got an Ancestry.co.uk  subscription, I think you may be able to access it at your local library. Otherwise, Ancestry do have occasional  free access promotions. Maybe Armistice Day will be one of them.

 

No sign of an Ernest though.

 

David

Edited 17 October , 2018 by dgibson150

[Shagpile]

 I asked the Tank Museum if they could provide a copy of the only surviving battle history sheet for the battle on 23/7/18 by Captain John Dalton of B Company, (male tank No. 9064) but apparently they couldn't find it. Does anyone have a copy of it ?