ss002d6252 Posted 21 January , 2018 Share Posted 21 January , 2018 I have #2491 Joseph Heels of the 6th DLI - wounded at Ypres on 26 April 1915 . Pretty sure this is him in the report. He wrote a letter home to his sister; I can't find who his father is - no obvious sign that he's dead so I presume he was just badly injured but I can't figure out who he was. Any ideas appreciated. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 21 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2018 (edited) Joseph was later transferred to the RGLI from the DLI . He has two entries in the 1918 AVL, corrected to 1 entry in 1919. It appears his contact address changed as mail sent to 'Mrs M A Heels' at Low Thompson Street was returned 'not known'. Bishop Auckland district Craig Edited 21 January , 2018 by ss002d6252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTracer44 Posted 21 January , 2018 Share Posted 21 January , 2018 Craig try writing the surname as Heal, I tried your spelling on FreeBMD and found nothing in your area but put in Heal and found lots of Joseph Heal in your neck of the woods. Den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolymoleyRE Posted 21 January , 2018 Share Posted 21 January , 2018 Hi Craig, his service records are on FMP under his RGLI number. M A Heels his his wife, it also lists Children. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 21 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2018 4 minutes ago, HolymoleyRE said: Hi Craig, his service records are on FMP under his RGLI number. M A Heels his his wife, it also lists Children. Andy Thanks Andy - spending so much time looking around various DLI and Newspaper records my eyes have glazed over. So, that means he must be the marriage in Dec q. of 1913 to Mary A Heels at Auckland. Who's his daddy though ? I can't find anything for a death or wounding of a likely father at the moment. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alf mcm Posted 21 January , 2018 Share Posted 21 January , 2018 Craig, This may just confuse matters. There is a private family tree on Ancestry for Joseph Heels, born 1886, County Durham. There is also a public family tree on Ancestry for Joseph Eales {or Heels}, born either in Auckland, Durham, or Crook, Durham in 1886. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/67860625/person/40184776747/facts?ssrc=&ml_rpos=1 It says he married Mary Ann Pickering in 1913 {Which ties in with his service record}. However, his father is given as Edward Eales, born in 1836!. Regards, Alf McM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 21 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2018 (edited) 13 minutes ago, alf mcm said: Craig, This may just confuse matters. There is a private family tree on Ancestry for Joseph Heels, born 1886, County Durham. There is also a public family tree on Ancestry for Joseph Eales {or Heels}, born either in Auckland, Durham, or Crook, Durham in 1886. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/67860625/person/40184776747/facts?ssrc=&ml_rpos=1 It says he married Mary Ann Pickering in 1913 {Which ties in with his service record}. However, his father is given as Edward Eales, born in 1836!. Regards, Alf McM! Thanks Alf - It certainly does confuse slightly. If that's his father then we have a possible record for active service based on the letter he sent ! The date of birth for Joseph sounds in the right ball park though. I had wondered about the surname as it's not the most common - I wonder if they had changed it from Eales, just to confuse things further. Eales is far more common around Bishop Auckland/Crook, just to be awkward. I'm working with an arm behind my back as I've not got Ancestry at the moment - HMRC thought they were more deserving of money this month !d Craig Edited 21 January , 2018 by ss002d6252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 21 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2018 (edited) Just double checked my list of 6th DLI men and it's about 90% complete for the contingent who went to France in April 1915 and about 3000 men in total - only got one Eales and none of the other Heels I have appear to be his father. I wonder of his father was actually 7th DLI... They were in the same area on 26 April 1915, the two battalions supporting each other for part of the day. Craig 40 minutes ago, TTracer44 said: Craig try writing the surname as Heal, I tried your spelling on FreeBMD and found nothing in your area but put in Heal and found lots of Joseph Heal in your neck of the woods. Den I'll try down that route as well. Thanks Craig Edited 21 January , 2018 by ss002d6252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 21 January , 2018 Share Posted 21 January , 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, ss002d6252 said: I can't find who his father is - no obvious sign that he's dead so I presume he was just badly injured but I can't figure out who he was. Do you think it might have been a metaphorical kiss? Or meeting his metaphorical Father? Apart from the fact that Edward Eales (b1836) would have been a little old for the infantry, or any branch of the army-he would have been 79 in 1915! That and the fact that there's no MIC for anyone of that name in the DLI. And these are the only Edward Eales with a MIC. Edward Eales 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) 5981, 2DG/5981 Edward Eales Northumberland Fusiliers 19/339 Edited 21 January , 2018 by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 21 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2018 1 minute ago, Dai Bach y Sowldiwr said: Do you think it might have been a metaphorical kiss? Or meeting his metaphorical Father? Apart from the fact that Edward Eales (b1836) would have been a little old for the infantry, or any branch of the army-he would have been 79 in 1915! That and the fact that there's no MIC for anyone of that name in the DLI. Hmmm, possible. Perhaps that is what he is alluding to. It's a strange one. The reason I was wanting to get all the details is that little snippets like his are useful for a piece I'm working on at the moment and I want to make sure I don't miss any of the 6th DLI men along the way. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolymoleyRE Posted 21 January , 2018 Share Posted 21 January , 2018 (edited) Craig, I think you may have the wrong Heels, You may may want to look at these two men, note the middle initial. Edward's service records are online under his post 1920 service number 4440101, to be honest they perhaps shouldn't be in the public domain yet as he served until 1930.....his first service number aged 17 was 2133, Father John Heels, Edward was wounded left arm, he was wounded (shell shock) again in 1916. Regards Andy Edited 21 January , 2018 by HolymoleyRE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 21 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2018 33 minutes ago, HolymoleyRE said: Craig, I think you may have the wrong Heels, You may may want to look at these two men, note the middle initial. Edward's service records are online under his post 1920 service number 4440101, to be honest they perhaps shouldn't be in the public domain yet as he served until 1930.....his first service number aged 17 was 2133, Father John Heels, Edward was wounded left arm, he was wounded (shell shock) again in 1916. Regards Andy Thanks Andy. #2401 is John Shuttleworth, #2491 is J Heels in my records. I suspect #2401 should read as #2491 in the hospital record. I do have EJ Heels already in my list so it's just the case of having the linkage along the way. I'll look at my records tomorrow but it looks like you've sorted the problem I had and I can look at updating my end. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 21 January , 2018 Share Posted 21 January , 2018 39 minutes ago, HolymoleyRE said: Craig, I think you may have the wrong Heels, You may may want to look at these two men, note the middle initial. Edward's service records are online under his post 1920 service number 4440101 Father -John Heels. Edward was wounded left arm, he was wounded (shell shock) again in 1916. That looks like them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolymoleyRE Posted 21 January , 2018 Share Posted 21 January , 2018 1 hour ago, ss002d6252 said: 2401 is John Shuttleworth, #2491 is J Heels in my 2491 J Heels wounded again, reported in August 1916. 2401, must be a transcription error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 22 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2018 (edited) Thanks guys but I think it's still a sticking point. #2133 is Edward J Heels son of John Heels #2491 is Joseph Heels by his service record Although all the addresses line up I can't reconcile the connection between those two names but it can't be the father and son connection - they are some relation though. When Joseph was reported injured the notification was sent to Mrs M A Heels - again at 5 Low Thomson Street. It doesn't help that I can't find them on the census. EDIT: I have found a #2479 John Heels with 6th DLI in my records so that's another possible avenue to look down but as I didn't note where the info came from it's another pain. I also have Christopher Harrison Heels who seems to be hiding on the census forms as well -they all appear to be related and missing... That's my day busy. Craig Edited 22 January , 2018 by ss002d6252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 22 January , 2018 Share Posted 22 January , 2018 Craig Cannot help on who is father was, but my feeling is as with post #9, that is is allegorical. In other words, he shot a German, and when he looked at the body, it reminded him of his father Difficult to prove or disprove, but it is highly unlikely that his father would have been serving and the probability that he shot him remote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 22 January , 2018 Share Posted 22 January , 2018 If you take the date of the GSW to the shoulder of 26 Apr 1915 in post #11 above, Geoffs Search engine shows 174 DLI died that day, none of them appear to have names that might fir his "father" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 22 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2018 5 minutes ago, corisande said: Craig Cannot help on who is father was, but my feeling is as with post #9, that is is allegorical. In other words, he shot a German, and when he looked at the body, it reminded him of his father Difficult to prove or disprove, but it is highly unlikely that his father would have been serving and the probability that he shot him remote It would be easier if the whole letter had been published rather than a key part being missed out but in the absence of anything else it's starting to look that way. I just wish I could find the family in the census. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 22 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2018 (edited) 8 minutes ago, corisande said: If you take the date of the GSW to the shoulder of 26 Apr 1915 in post #11 above, Geoffs Search engine shows 174 DLI died that day, none of them appear to have names that might fir his "father" Thanks - I have all the DLI killed that day and the (I believe) all of the wounded form the casualty reports - of the top of my head 6th DLI lost roughly 50 dead and 250 wounded. I have some gaps in my overall records of those who went overseas in April 1915 - I have 958 of the men - but he was one I couldn't find anywhere which is why I couldn't just write him off. Craig Edited 22 January , 2018 by ss002d6252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolymoleyRE Posted 22 January , 2018 Share Posted 22 January , 2018 (edited) Hi Craig, apologies for the redherring of 2491....but I may have a theory (need to do some digging perhaps). 6/2479 John Heels could well be Joseph's brother....same street in Witton Park, and the address in Edward's service records. So he sees Joseph wounded, with a striking resemblance to his father John (clearly cannot be an identical twin), but in a trench, heat of battle, blood, mud, tears and adrenalin! He sees his Father? Andy Edited 22 January , 2018 by HolymoleyRE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 22 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2018 (edited) 59 minutes ago, HolymoleyRE said: Hi Craig, apologies for the redherring of 2491....but I may have a theory (need to do some digging perhaps). 6/2479 John Heels could well be Joseph's brother....same street in Witton Park, and the address in Edward's service records. So he sees Joseph wounded, with a striking resemblance to his father John (clearly cannot be an identical twin), but in a trench, heat of battle, blood, mud, tears and adrenalin! He sees his Father? Andy No problem Andy, any help is appreciated. I was wondering if they were brothers but couldn't track them down. That part of the service record looks promising. It's certainly a good theory Andy, it's looking less likely that his father was physically there. Age wise it could have been possible, some of the men were a good age, but as John was about 35 I think it's asking too much on that side. I've seen far stranger theories turn out to be true and as a wounded man, alone in the heat of battle and who has probably just killed his first German I can see how it may really screw with someone's perceptions. Overall it's a pity that the action of 26 April isn't as well documented as it could be. The war diaries and action reports don't give as in-depth a report as the descriptions gleaned from the men who were there. You'd think a lot of the earlier action was just advancing under shell-fire but once you dig there were a lot more Germans about than perhaps it's given credit for - I'm certainly coming around to the view that German penetration in to the gap the battalion were sent to plug was more than just a small handful. Craig Edited 22 January , 2018 by ss002d6252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 22 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2018 (edited) John and Joseph are still around the same streets after the war so why so difficult pre-war ! 1920 1931 Even using DurhamRecords Online, which is a very good north east orientated site of over 8 million recrds, has no entry for them. Craig Edited 22 January , 2018 by ss002d6252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 22 January , 2018 Share Posted 22 January , 2018 Craig If you don't use Geoffs Sech engine - click for Geoffs Search Engine - it is very good for this sort of search. You put in date or date range and regiment, and you get a complete list of deaths that day by batallion and place. So in this case you see who died 26 Apr 1915 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 22 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2018 I thought this may be the family in 1891 at Pelton. Ages are slightly out for John and Joseph but later census records for 1911 show them having the right named wives. They are resident at Pelton, Chester le street in 1911 which would suggest that was why they can't be found at Witton but it's not a huge distance to have moved. The father, John, is alive at least as late as 1911 which looks good as we need him to still be alive in 1914 to match Edwards record. The spanner again would be where is Edward ? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolymoleyRE Posted 22 January , 2018 Share Posted 22 January , 2018 (edited) I think I have found them....doesn't that I not convinced they knew how old the were.....the key location word is Crook & Katherine being from Kildare 1881 Edited 22 January , 2018 by HolymoleyRE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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