Phil Wood Posted 29 January , 2018 Share Posted 29 January , 2018 Lance Corporal 29897 William John Allaway, 1st/6th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment Does anyone have any information on this man? Died 3 Oct 1918, war gratuity indicates enlistment in August 1916, medal roll shows service in 2nd, 4th. 2/5th and 1/6th battalions South Staffs. I am pretty convinced that he is the W J Allaway named on Newbury war memorial and have the following information that leads me to this conclusion. CWGC has only two candidates - the S Staffs man and a Gloucs Regt man who died in 1916. I have looked into the Gloucs man and can see his marriage etc in Cirencester so discount him. William John Allaway married Rachel Joanna Swatton in Newbury in 1910. Children: Violet Agnes b 1910, Uxbridge in 1911 census with her mother at her parents' in Newbury. William b Newbury 1912 Francis Walter b West Bromwich 1914 Albert Edward b West Bromwich 1916 Gladys b West Bromwich 1918 Violet, Francis and Gladys all married in Newbury. So I have a clear Newbury connection to a William John Allaway, and a South Staffordshire link through West Bromwich. Of course he may not be commemoriated by the CWGC - but there are no William John Allaways in the GRO death registers 1914-1922 (the memorial was erected in 1922). So I am pretty happy with the identification - but can't trace him back before his marriage. I have not found him in 1911 (he was not with Rachel). At first glance William John Allaway b 1883 in Uxbridge is a good match - six years older than Rachel, her first child born in Uxbridge - if only he hadn't married Ella Mitchell in 1908 and then survived the war (found them in the Carpenters' Arms, Uxbridge in the 1920s with his parents). I have even considered bigamy and the invention of his death to save face - but then there are the three kids born in West Brom and a S Staffs casualty. Any and all suggestions welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbrover Posted 29 January , 2018 Share Posted 29 January , 2018 Would it be worth trying to find out which church they married in (if they married in church!) and then check at your local archives to see the certificate and that will give you his age at the time he married and his father's name. I know its a bit long winded but it might help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonbem Posted 29 January , 2018 Share Posted 29 January , 2018 ForcesWarRecords has his birth town as London, for the man with service number 29897 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark1959 Posted 29 January , 2018 Share Posted 29 January , 2018 (edited) If you had not picked it up Violet Agnes Evelyn’s baptism gives the address of the parents as Chapel Lane. Baptism at St John the Baptist, Hillingdon,. She was born 23/4/1910. In 1901 census there is a William Allaway, Parents Robert and Mary K, living in Chapel Lane, Hillingdon. Place of birth Marylebone. Ancestry transcribes as 19 but return seems to say 17. So Marylebone c 1882-84. There is a birth reg for a John Wm Allaway 1Q 1884 in Marylebone. John W appears in 1891 census aged 7 in Chapel Lane. So with Soldiers Effect record giving Rachel as widow, that leading to Violet, that leading to Chapel Lane we can probably say these are the records of the chap died 3/10/18. Edit - what is left of the family. Mother widowed and now showing as Kate still in Hillingdon 1911. WJ or JW is not there. Edited 29 January , 2018 by Mark1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 29 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 29 January , 2018 4 hours ago, abbrover said: Would it be worth trying to find out which church they married in (if they married in church!) and then check at your local archives to see the certificate and that will give you his age at the time he married and his father's name. I know its a bit long winded but it might help I have already started down that line - they did not marry in the main church in Newbury - the only one where C20th PRs are available to view in Newbury. So I was contemplating a trip to Reading or the purchase of a certificate - which is still on the cards, but may not be quite so urgent if the Hillingdon idea from Mark pans out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 29 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 29 January , 2018 4 hours ago, jonbem said: ForcesWarRecords has his birth town as London, for the man with service number 29897 I don't subscribe to Forces War Records but I suspect this is from Soldiers Who Died, in which, unusually he has two entries, one for the 2nd Bn and one the 1/6th Bn S Staffs. Both give birthplace London - another reason I went off on the track of William John from Uxbridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 29 January , 2018 Author Share Posted 29 January , 2018 2 hours ago, Mark1959 said: If you had not picked it up Violet Agnes Evelyn’s baptism gives the address of the parents as Chapel Lane. Baptism at St John the Baptist, Hillingdon,. She was born 23/4/1910. In 1901 census there is a William Allaway, Parents Robert and Mary K, living in Chapel Lane, Hillingdon. Place of birth Marylebone. Ancestry transcribes as 19 but return seems to say 17. So Marylebone c 1882-84. There is a birth reg for a John Wm Allaway 1Q 1884 in Marylebone. John W appears in 1891 census aged 7 in Chapel Lane. So with Soldiers Effect record giving Rachel as widow, that leading to Violet, that leading to Chapel Lane we can probably say these are the records of the chap died 3/10/18. Edit - what is left of the family. Mother widowed and now showing as Kate still in Hillingdon 1911. WJ or JW is not there. Bingo! Great work, I had overlooked the address in Violet's christening. I shall see what I can find about this chap: ALLAWAY, JOHN WILLIAM WILSON GRO Reference: 1884 M Quarter in MARYLEBONE Volume 01A Page 630 Thanks to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Norris Posted 11 November , 2018 Share Posted 11 November , 2018 Hi there, I've been carrying out some research on W Allaway as I believe he's my ancestor according to my grandmother. Any additional information you can gather about this man would be hugely appreciated. I was lucky enough to find this story: http://westberkshirewarmemorials.org.uk/texts/stories/WBP00948S.php which I cross-referenced with other record websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 11 November , 2018 Admin Share Posted 11 November , 2018 I believe that Phil is the webmaster of West Berkshire War Memorials as per his signature. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Norris Posted 25 December , 2018 Share Posted 25 December , 2018 Ahh okay, since then I've been able to get a photograph of Allaway, his wife and daughter if anyone is interested I can send it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 26 December , 2018 Author Share Posted 26 December , 2018 I would be very interested in a picture of Allaway for use on my website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Norris Posted 7 January , 2019 Share Posted 7 January , 2019 (edited) Okay, here you go. I attempted some restoration but by no means an expert. I got this from my grandmother who was the daughter of this baby I believe. She mentioned more about what happened to Rachel but I don't remember exactly, I think she died in her 70's. Edited 7 January , 2019 by Daniel Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 9 January , 2019 Author Share Posted 9 January , 2019 Thanks for that, it makes a real difference to have a picture. Is the child Violet or a later arrival? Rachel remarried in 1921 to Douglas Fish and had four more children (all boys). As far as I can see she died in 1965 aged 76. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Norris Posted 9 January , 2019 Share Posted 9 January , 2019 2 hours ago, Phil Wood said: Thanks for that, it makes a real difference to have a picture. Is the child Violet or a later arrival? Rachel remarried in 1921 to Douglas Fish and had four more children (all boys). As far as I can see she died in 1965 aged 76. I got this from my Grandmother called Sylvia who was the daughter of the baby so I believe that is Violet yes. The name Fish rings a bell, i'll mention it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 13 January , 2019 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2019 Thanks Daniel - I'll caption the picture accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 13 January , 2019 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2019 Hi again - I have now posted the story updated with the photo - http://westberkshirewarmemorials.org.uk/texts/stories/WBP00948S.php I took the liberty of cleaning it up a bit. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now