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Remembered Today:

Pte James Falconer, [S/]10433, 2 Gordon Highlanders: Lots of mis-information


rolt968

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Bearing in mind the thread on errors in documents. I thought colleagues might be interested in my adventures in researching this man.

 

James Falconer was killed on 5 September 1916.

After about a week's searching the main sources I had found were the Medal Rolls and MICR, newspaper articles and the Registers of Soldier Effects. This is part of the MICR:
MICRFalconer.jpg.f0eb564161b796fa1eb5a26b28e9948b.jpg

 

There are number of nearly identical articles in local newspapers. This from the Dundee Courier of 21 September 1916:

Courier21Sep1916.jpg.79e160d731edc3c0fc0d9f07e5458598.jpg

According to the MICR (1915 Star Medal Roll agrees) and the newspapers:

 

1. He enlisted in May 1914.

2. Went to France on 10 May 1915.

These don't match the serial number and the gratuity (RofSE) which suggests enlistment about June 1915 - which would mean he went to France before he enlisted.

(I won't bore you all with the various combinations of errors in the two documents above which I tried to correct/adapt to fit.)

 

Then I found a soldier's record in FindmyPast. (There may be one in ancestry - badly indexed but I haven't found it.)  The facts are interesting.

 

1. He enlisted on 30 May 1915 in Glasgow

2. He went to France on 11 October 1915.

3. When he enlisted he was living in Glasgow and working as a motorman (tramcars, I think).

 

A good thing the soldier's record turned up!

RM

 

 

 

 

 

 

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22 hours ago, rolt968 said:

A good thing the soldier's record turned up!

Another reminder that FindmyPast's transcriptions are so much better than Ancestry's. I tried searching Ancestry but could not find it, although as you say, it may be there.

 

But did you notice that FindmyPast have tacked on the service record for a James Foster? I have reported the image error to FMP. Presubably another search that would have come up blank. (although James Foster has another set of papers) . A reminder to recheck searches a few years later ?

 

Also a reminder that one has to cross check everything- where possible! But all too often not possible. Newspaper articles are often unreliable on dates but do throw up stories not available elsewhere, even in service records. Then there is National Roll of the Great War ........

 

Charlie

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1 hour ago, charlie962 said:

Another reminder that FindmyPast's transcriptions are so much better than Ancestry's. I tried searching Ancestry but could not find it, although as you say, it may be there.

 

But did you notice that FindmyPast have tacked on the service record for a James Foster? I have reported the image error to FMP. Presubably another search that would have come up blank. (although James Foster has another set of papers) . A reminder to recheck searches a few years later ?

 

Also a reminder that one has to cross check everything- where possible! But all too often not possible. Newspaper articles are often unreliable on dates but do throw up stories not available elsewhere, even in service records. Then there is National Roll of the Great War ........

 

Charlie

Thanks Charlie.

I had noticed the bits of James Foster's record tacked on. I absent mindedly read the first page of it and was briefly extremely confused until I noticed.

 

Since I think the information in the newspapers came from the family I wonder why they got the bit about his employment wrong. They lived in Marykirk so they should have known if he was still somewhere nearby. (I haven't found him on the 1911 Census yet.)

 

I wonder if MICR errors occasionally went unnoticed if they did not effect which medal was awarded. I found one some years ago which gave the date of going to France in 1915. Infact he had first gone to France in December 1914 and the 1915 date was when he returned after being wounded.

 

RM

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