Lance Corporal 1577 John William (“Jack”) Jakes, 3/2nd East Anglian Field Ambulance TF

[PRC]

While looking back through my untranscribed County Archive notes to solve another query earlier in the week I turned up this death notice in the BMD column of the edition of the Eastern Daily Press dated Tuesday, July 3^rd, 1917.

JAKES – July 2, at 8, Eade Road, Norwich, Corporal Jack Jakes, late R.A.M.C., beloved youngest son of Mrs Jakes and the late Elijah Jakes, after long suffering, patiently borne, aged 22 years.

There is no obvious match on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.

The only likely match in the 1917 death records for England & Wales is that of a 22 year old John William Jakes, which was registered in the Norwich District in the July to September quarter, (Q3), of 1917.

There is a Silver War Badge MiC for a Lance Corporal 1577 John William Jakes, 3/2nd East Anglian Field Ambulance R.A.M.C. Enlisted 21st May 1912, discharged 15th September 1916 Para 392 (xvi) Sick.

Image courtesy of a free account on Ancestry.

A search of FindMyPast at my local library brings up two sets of likely service records for a John Jakes, (no middle name) who served as 1577 R.A.M.C. – the first a few pages from the burnt records, and the second slightly more relating to his discharge. They have been indexed with year of birth estimated as 1895 and 1891 respectively, but I believe that is in error. However unit and service number as well as some of the pages are fundamentally the same. His attestation page in the burnt records is noted across the top “Duplicate – original sent to Chelsea 15.9.16”, but a different style form has been used to write out the details even though both are shown as Army Form E.501, so some of the information from the original is missing.

His address at the time of his 1912 attestation in the R.A.M.C. (T.F.) is shown as 7, Waterloo Road, Norwich and he was aged 17. He was embodied on the 5^th August 1914 and saw service on the Home Front only. He was appointed unpaid Lance Corporal from the 9^th February 1915. His burnt records shown him discharged on the 27^th September 1916 from the 3^rd Line Depot T.F. of the 2^nd East Anglian Field Ambulance.

His discharge records show him discharged at Halton Camp West, Buckinghamshire on the 27^th September 1916. He was then aged 21 years and 4 months. He was being discharged to the Kelling Sanatorium at Holt, Norfolk. This followed on from a Medical Board on the 13^th September 1916 which recommended that he be discharged medically unfit as a result of Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Aged 21, he was a single man and an Acting Lance-Corporal. His TB is stated to have originated at Halton Camp in February 1916, but there was a family history – two sisters had died and his father was suffering with the same illness. However the boards’ decision was that while it was not caused by Military Service it had been aggravated by Ordinary Military Service. It was agreed with the man that he be sent to a sanatorium.

A further medical board at Norwich on the 29^th December 1916 recorded him as suffering total incapacity, the Invalid Board confirming he had no earnings. His 100% pension of 20/- was upgraded to 27/6 following the Royal Warrant of March 1917.

While there is no reference to him dieing in either set of paperwork there is no subsequent medical board.

Deceased online has a record of a John William Jakes buried Norfolk 6th July 1917 – more information available on subscription \ payment.

Although there are lots of niggling inconsistencies I think a case can be put together that all the documents relate to the same individual.

Questions before I send for a death certificate

-        Is anyone else working on this as a missed commemoration

-        Is there a cause of death recorded on his Pension Card. (I can see one is indexed on Ancestry).

Cheers,
Peter

Edited 22 July , 2023 by PRC
Insert MiC in text

[PaulC78]

Hi Peter, pension card says he died from TB on 2/7/1917:

He's not on the IFCP list.

Edited 22 July , 2023 by PaulC78

[PRC]

25 minutes ago, PaulC78 said:

Hi Peter, pension card says he died from TB on 2/7/1917:

Thanks Paul, very much appreciated.

The 1911 Census of England & Wales has a 16 year old John Jakes recorded living at 7, Stones Building, Waterloo Road, Norwich - so another small inconsistancy!
He was living there with his parents Elijah and Rebecca.

Elijah was suffering with TB himself at the time of his sons' discharge and would pass away in the first quarter of 1917. His wife Rebecca must have had a wretched year. Unfortunately no entry for Elijah or John on the UK Probate Calendar so I can't establish the link to the Eade Road address that way. Elijah is recorded as the elector at the 7 Stones Building address on the 1914/15 edition of the electoral register, so I may have to cross my fingers and hope that the death certificate and cemetery register entries establish the link to the address in the death announcement in the local paper and on the pension card.

Cheers,
Peter

[Matlock1418]

More in hope than in expectation of it being of much further use to you Peter.

A later, Birstwith, Harrogate, address for his mother

Image thanks to WFA/Fold3

M

[PRC]

9 minutes ago, Matlock1418 said:

More in hope than in expectation of it being of much further use to you Peter.

The more the merrier as far as I'm concerned M.

I'm hoping for a break in the weather over the next few days in order to take a picture of his headstone as I now have a location.

He possibly already appears on two Norwich memorials. There is a Jack Jakes listed on the memorial in the church at the top of Eade Road and a Jack Jakes on the municipal memorial board. Neither are readily accessible and I have long had a question mark over who he was - now I think I have my answer

Cheers,
Peter

[PRC]

Death certificate came back in two days, which was amazing. I visited the plot of Norwich Cemetery last Friday where is recorded as buried.

Unfortunately the council has let the area become overgrown for the summer, and the effect of this over the years is that the many kerbstone grave markers in the area have been nearly lost as the soil level rises. There were a few upright headstones but none were for the Jakes family. There was also one that had fallen face forward some time ago and proved impossible to lift unaided. Unfortunately with so few names to work from there doesn't seem much point in heading to the country archive to see if I can work out which one is John's by a process of elimination. It will also have held up submitting a non-commemoration case.

I've just hit the send button so hopefully should it get accepted I will then get another chance to track down his last resting place.

Cheers,
Peter

[Matlock1418]

47 minutes ago, PRC said:

Death certificate came back in two days, which was amazing. I visited the plot of Norwich Cemetery last Friday where is recorded as buried.

Unfortunately the council has let the area become overgrown for the summer, and the effect of this over the years is that the many kerbstone grave markers in the area have been nearly lost as the soil level rises. There were a few upright headstones but none were for the Jakes family. There was also one that had fallen face forward some time ago and proved impossible to lift unaided. Unfortunately with so few names to work from there doesn't seem much point in heading to the country archive to see if I can work out which one is John's by a process of elimination. It will also have held up submitting a non-commemoration case.

I've just hit the send button so hopefully should it get accepted I will then get another chance to track down his last resting place.

Thanks for the update - I know you will provide further along the way 

Good response by GRO - we can only dream of such from CWGC et al 

Shame about the cemetery - sadly a common finding these days [but if nobody is visiting better for wildlife they say]

Wishing your JAKES' case good fortune, eventually.

M

[PRC]

Over the first hurdle and non-commemoration case number 12097 assigned.

Onward and upward

Cheers,
Peter