Katie Wilson Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Hi I'm new to the forum and have been looking into the history of my birth family ( I'm adopted ) and have found that I have a great grandfather by the name of Percy Groves - I know that he had a daughter about 1914 -16 time and that she was named Louvain after the battle which I believe was quite common to do . He lived in Berkshire so I think he would have been in a Berkshire regiment -any information would be great Thanks Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 3 May , 2019 Admin Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Welcome to the forum Katie. A good place to start is here http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/how-to-research-a-soldier/ he may not have been in the Royal Berkshire Regiment, men did initially sometimes choose other regiments, and later on in the war they were sent to where they were needed. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Katie Wilson said: Hi I'm new to the forum and have been looking into the history of my birth family ( I'm adopted ) and have found that I have a great grandfather by the name of Percy Groves - I know that he had a daughter about 1914 -16 time and that she was named Louvain after the battle which I believe was quite common to do . He lived in Berkshire so I think he would have been in a Berkshire regiment -any information would be great Thanks Katie Do you know his wife's maiden name ? Craig Edited 3 May , 2019 by ss002d6252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Wilson Posted 3 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Great thanks Michelle xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Wilson Posted 3 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Yes. I believe 3 minutes ago, ss002d6252 said: Do you know his wife's maiden name ? Craig Yes I believe it was Hodge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 The only obvious marriage I can see is Percy Grove and Agnes Hodge married 1913 in Maidenhead. The seem to have had 5 kids, 2 of whom have he middle initial 'L'. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 There was a Percy Grove born 1886 in Berkshire who enlisted in 1904 as a special reservist (effectively a part-time volunteer) with the 3rd Berkshires as #7116. Son of Caroline and Ernest. https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBM%2FWO96%2F0861%2F102%2F001&parentid=GBM%2FWO96%2F861%2F1456591 Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 47 minutes ago, Katie Wilson said: she was named Louvain after the battle which I believe was quite common to do . Hi Katie, a warm welcome to the forum. As you say naming children after battles in WW1 was common, there is a thread on the forum (which I have tried to search for but can't find) about it. However Louvain is quite unusual, it wasn't a battle as such but a notorious episode right at the start of the war. Louvain or Leuven in Flemish is just east of Brussels and was partially destroyed by the invading Germans on or around the 25th August 1914. Apart from the civilian deaths and general destruction the Germans burned down the university library which had many priceless books and artefacts; this shocked many around the world. This would suggest to me that Percy's daughter might have been born around this time. The British Army at this time was retreating south from Mons and were approaching Le Cateau, nearly 70 miles to the south west. It's a lovely name by the way, we have a member of the forum, Marilyne who lives there by coincidence. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Katie, I've found the names thread I was thinking of; it's here. There is another similar one here too. It's not entirely relevant to your search but it backs up your point about it being relatively common. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollerbeadle Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 (edited) There is a Percy Grove S/no 7657 3rd Battalion - Royal Berkshire Regiment. Enlisted 23 March 1904 and transferred to "Z" Reserve in March 1919. Father - Ernest Grove - 12 Western Road, Reading, Berks. Wife - Agnes Grove - 18 Ray Park Cottages, Maidenhead, Berks. Children - Percy William Ernest - b 12/7/1913 Agnes Louvain - b 18/11/1914 Phyliss May - b 13/12/1916 Douglas - b 17/7/1919 His pension details are available on Ancestry HERE Another son (George) was born 2/10/1920 1939 Register HERE Edited 3 May , 2019 by Rollerbeadle typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Wilson Posted 3 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Thank you all 44 minutes ago, Rollerbeadle said: There is a Percy Grove S/no 7657 3rd Battalion - Royal Berkshire Regiment. Enlisted 23 March 1904 and transferred to "Z" Reserve in March 1919. Father - Ernest Grove - 12 Western Road, Reading, Berks. Wife - Agnes Grove - 18 Ray Park Cottages, Maidenhead, Berks. Children - Percy William Ernest - b 12/7/1913 Agnes Louvain - b 18/11/1914 Phyliss May - b 13/12/1916 Douglas - b 17/7/1919 His pension details are available on Ancestry HERE Another son (George) was born 2/10/1920 1939 Register HERE Thank you all I think this is the one - I’ve got a feeling that he got into some kind of trouble how do I go about finding that out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 5 minutes ago, Katie Wilson said: Thank you all Thank you all I think this is the one - I’ve got a feeling that he got into some kind of trouble how do I go about finding that out To to clarify for you - the link I posted in #7 was his service prior to joining the regular army, the details of which are covered in the Ancestry link. It depends on what you mean by 'trouble'. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Wilson Posted 3 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2019 1 minute ago, ss002d6252 said: To to clarify for you - the link I posted in #7 was his service prior to joining the regular army, the details of which are covered in the Ancestry link. It depends on what you mean by 'trouble'. Craig Drunk and disorderly i don’t know why but. Something rings a bell about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss002d6252 Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 1 minute ago, Katie Wilson said: Drunk and disorderly i don’t know why but. Something rings a bell about that His surviving record does show he had some minor infractions caused by drink in the army - very common to see. By way of comparison I remember seeing a record for a Victorian soldier who spent his entire service in trouble over drink, he had a good half dozen pages of disciplinary entries. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollerbeadle Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 There are a few misdemeanours on his record such as breaking out of barracks and a a couple of drinking offences. On one occasion he used obscene language to an NCO... tut tut bad boy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Wilson Posted 3 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Do I have to join up ancestry to see that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollerbeadle Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Not necessarily.....most libraries have free access to Ancestry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Wilson Posted 3 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2019 1 minute ago, Rollerbeadle said: Not necessarily.....most libraries have free access to Ancestry Ok thank you x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted 3 May , 2019 Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Hi Katie, If your great grandfather were to be Percy Grove/s #7657 Berkshire Regiment, then given the details in his service file there is a strong possibility that in the 1911 Census he was serving with the 2nd Battalion in Meerut, India. Images sourced from Findmypast It may be worth plodding through the census return to see if there are any other men by the surname of Grove serving with the battalion at that time ( - I didn't see any other likely candidates doing a basic search, but I might well have missed something). If you weren't to find any others he might be in a group photo from 1910 that the Regimental Museum (known as The Wardrobe) holds (link) ... Image sourced from The Wardrobe Unfortunately, they would charge you for a decent quality image...and I guess that you couldn't be 100% certain that it is Percy. Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Wilson Posted 3 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2019 Thanks Chris maybe it's just wishful thinking but I definetly think there's a likeness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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