Widow's pension

[Nic1983]

My great grandfather was discharged from the Army due to been physically unfit, he received a pension ,but then he died in Feb 1919 ,leaving a wife with 3 young children. Would she get a widow's pension? I know she received £8 when he died, but would that be it ?  I have found the documents below ,one with the £8, and another saying she ineligible for a war pension as he didn't earn enough money before the war to qualify she for one?  dated 1926    . Is this usual ?,to be rejected for not having earned enough?

Readman, Isaac Henry .rejection of pension.pdf

[PRC]

1 hour ago, Nic1983 said:

another saying she ineligible for a war pension as he didn't earn enough money before the war to qualify she for one?  dated 1926    . Is this usual ?,to be rejected for not having earned enough?

It's actually saying she is ineligible for an A.P. (or an Alternative Pension). An Alternative Pension would have been based on his civilian wages - if they were high enough. In this case they weren't so she was turned down for a more generous pension.

The card doesn't say whether she was receving the basic Widows Pension, but as they were even considering an Alternative Pension it would seem likely.

1 hour ago, Nic1983 said:

I have found the documents below ,one with the £8,

That was her husbands War Gratuity based on the length of service during the war period and rank, and if he had survived would have been payable to him.

The entry below him shows a PrivateGeorge Ramsey getting a War Gratuity of £3 - the minimum amount for a Private with less than 12 months service.

I don't subscribe to Ancestry but from the search returns there it looks like they have transcribed at least two more Pension Ledger Cards. The actual documents will be on Fold3, (Ancestry and Fold3 are owned by the same company!)

Image courtesy Ancestry - I suspect the fourth record isn't related.

Hope that helps,
Peter

[Nic1983]

Thank you so much for that information, I did wonder how she managed to bring up 3 young children without a pension, and obviously this explains it, she did have one. She was just hoping to get some extra.  Thanks again. I'll put it in my records.