'Memorial Plaque'

[Dannemois]

I wonder if members can offer tips on how I can research a  'Memorial Plaque' .  Apart from the name John Gibbs I have no other information, other than the plaque was dug up in a garden in Bargoed, Glamorgan, South Wales.  Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Regards, Roy

[keithmroberts]

You face quite a challenge. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt of Honour Website lists 70 men of that name who gave their lives in the Great War.   http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx?cpage=1

You can download the list into a spreadsheet. The additional information against some men's details MIGHT have some link to families from your area, in which case you are on the way.  After that, maybe you need to check local memorials and rolls of honour to see if you can locate your man.

Because there are no serial numbers on the plaques, you can never be 100% sure that you have found your man, unless you can link a man of that name or a member of his family to the specific location where it was found.

if the garden relates to an older property that was in existence at the time that might be easier, as you can look at local records such as electoral registers from 1918 onwards to seek possible  relatives.

 

Good luck.

 

 

[Tony N]

That's a tough one.

 

I just had a quick look at Soldiers Died and although there were two men who enlisted in Wales (Pontypridd and Newport) they both came from England.

 

It's possible after cross referencing the men on Soldiers Died with the 1911 census you might get a result or even better if their service records survived the fire, but then it's also possible that whoever buried or lost the plaque may have brought it along from anywhere in the Commonwealth.

 

I'm sure someone here can help.

 

Tony

 

[chaz]

Quote

 

ancestry or FMP and check 1911 1901 census returns, put the surname in and locality.

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/334377/GIBBS, J

probably a hunch as

[Dannemois]

Thanks to all who replied;