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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Pte B Falkner - 2nd and 7th Btn. Norfolk Regiment


tashhh

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On 27/06/2018 at 23:33, PRC said:

 

First - the "local" newspapers. Are you sure you knew where the family were living at this time - it might be worth while trying to track down the official casualty lists from the period to see what "town" was shown against his name. These towns were actually the location of the next of kin. You may also have to widen the time period of your search - he might not get a mention until he comes home on convalescent leave or even when he returns to the front.

 

Another good check is the Absent Voter Lists from 1918 & 1919. The Representation of the People Act of 1918 not only extended the vote to some women but also removed the property conditions for men aged 21 and over, and lowered the age of voting to 18 for men in the armed forces. As a consequence a massive overhaul of the electoral registers was required, with many of the new voters being absent from their home address - hence the need for a formalised Absent Voters List.

http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/how-to-research-a-soldier/finding-soldiers-through-the-1918-absent-voters-lists/

May be worthwhile contacting the Northamptonshire Archives to see if they hold a copy - it may also help give an insight into the rest of the family if he had any siblings who were serving.

 

I suspect his records are in those spreadsheets somewhere - although there is the possibility that with the pressure on storage space they may have been weeded over and over again until there was nothing left. I've got no experience in that field and was hoping someone might join the thread who did.

 

 

I second Jef's comments - without a source like his service records or something personal such as letters, notes on photographs, etc, then you are probably out of luck. The Army had no inclination to keep the mimutiae of everyday military life like rolls calls. Added to which with the casualties over the remaining months of the war Companys were reorganised, so even if you could track down his Company at one point there is no guarantee he was with it all the way through.

 

However, on a slight tangent, the Norfolk County Archive has an online picture gallery. This includes at least 68 pictures from the photo album of an Officer who served with the 2nd Norfolks in the meediate post-war years. He seems to be mainly B Company, but there are pictures of other ranks from all over the battalion as part of various sporting teams, as well as locations where the battalion was located. You might want to check through in case you can spot your great-grandad.

 

The 68 pictures come up with a search " Burton, Henry Merceron " -  he's the officer concerned.

https://norfolk.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/PICNOR/HOME

 

Have fun :-)

 

Peter

 

The centre photo. Could this be him?

 

 

maybe.jpg

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Tasha

I can see how you picked out the middle picture. There are similarities - the jaw line the nose - but I tend to think it's not Bertie.

As you say it's difficult to judge because the resolution's not good, but I think the ears have it.  In 3 of the 4 b/w photos it's clear he doesn't really have ear lobes and a line between the bottom of the ears runs through his nostrils or slightly above.  In the sepia photo the line is probably below the nostrils even allowing for the tilt of the head.

 

B.t.w.- Did you check for similarities in the ten service records I identified?

 

Jef

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On 03/07/2018 at 11:27, JefR said:

Tasha

I can see how you picked out the middle picture. There are similarities - the jaw line the nose - but I tend to think it's not Bertie.

As you say it's difficult to judge because the resolution's not good, but I think the ears have it.  In 3 of the 4 b/w photos it's clear he doesn't really have ear lobes and a line between the bottom of the ears runs through his nostrils or slightly above.  In the sepia photo the line is probably below the nostrils even allowing for the tilt of the head.

 

B.t.w.- Did you check for similarities in the ten service records I identified?

 

Jef

 

Hi Jef,

 

I did look, and found as you did, that there is a similarity in that they all seem to have come from one of several reserve or training battalions. 41116 was from A corps. I don't know if that means Bertie would have been? I don't know how to use their records to further my research more than that.

I suppose we can assume Bertie came from one of those battalions?

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

 

Edited by tashhh
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  • 4 months later...

Hello all,

 

apologies for reopening of this thread by my late reply. I too am researching a chap who served with the 7th Norfolk and was W.I.A on 9th April 1917 with a gunshot wound to the face and shoulder. I have worked out form online sources that this was the 1st Battle of the Scarpe but I can find not much more for the actual details leading up to it. There has been mention of the war diaries for the 7th but I am unable to find them. I do have ancestry but can only seem to find details for the 8th and 9th Norfolk. Any pointers to the location of these, assuming they are available, would be ace.

 

Many thanks

 

Dan.

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2 hours ago, Jethro Tull said:

Hello all,

 

apologies for reopening of this thread by my late reply. I too am researching a chap who served with the 7th Norfolk and was W.I.A on 9th April 1917 with a gunshot wound to the face and shoulder. I have worked out form online sources that this was the 1st Battle of the Scarpe but I can find not much more for the actual details leading up to it. There has been mention of the war diaries for the 7th but I am unable to find them. I do have ancestry but can only seem to find details for the 8th and 9th Norfolk. Any pointers to the location of these, assuming they are available, would be ace.

 

Many thanks

 

Dan.

Dan,

 

As this is unrelated can you open a new thread with your request and I'll respond with the diary entry for that day. If you included a name then it may be possible to provide more.

 

Thanks,

Peter

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