One pension card for 2 brothers ?

[Simon Cains]

I have not seen this before, but I suppose it made sense to have just one card for 2 unmarried brothers, their dependent's pensions both went to their father. Has anyone else seen this ?   Some researchers got confused thinking this was one man who transferred to another unit and new number, but I think these are brothers.   Pretty sad situation.

I also wondered why some men put their father as a dependent, but some chose their mother.  (  And now we only consider children as dependents, but I guess in the days before old age pensions, elderly people did depend on their children ).

[Pat Atkins]

I've seen the same, for example for my father's two uncles (both killed, confusingly, on the same day but in different theatres).

[Simon Cains]

Wow, confusing but also very sad.

[caulkheader]

I also have an example of 2 brothers whose gratuities both went to the widowed mother.

Everything is still in boxes from house move, but once found I will post.

T

[Chris_Baker]

I have come across many examples of this kind of double entry on the card (three in one case), and they are almost always a bit confusing at first!

[TullochArd]

Here is an example from the former Borough of Rawtenstall.  Two brothers, 22021 Pte. Richard Holt Taylor ELR and 22022 Pte. Fred Taylor ELR (formerly 11806 and 11808 Ptes. RAMC) were both killed on 1st July 1916.  Both were recorded on the Newchurch Bethlehem Unitarian War Memorial and on their mother's pension card as shown below. 

In this case although Richard was recorded on IWGC/CWGC registration documentation at the time. His brother Fred was not.  In this case the IWGC/CWGC omission likely occurred due to Fred being reported missing and later "Assd. dead 1-7-16". 

I reported this oversight to the splendid IFCP, and they successfully followed up, resulting in CWGC acknowledgement to add Fred's name to the the National Register and, in due course, to the Thiepval Memorial.  Well done IFCP.

His mother would likely have never known of this omission being in receipt of a pension for both sons and perhaps in some way comforted to to see both her lost sons named on her church's war memorial window.  Sadly that memorial, the Unitarian War Memorial window is now also lost*

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*  "The Window was placed at the north end of the Church in devout and grateful memory of the twenty seven brave and gallant men from this Church and School who lost their lives in the great European War of 1914-1918, namely: Fred Ashworth, John W. Hitchen, Fred Scholes, John B. Ashworth, James Heys, Harry Scholes, Ronald Bradley Jesse Lord Hubert Scholes Fred Bradley James McMurray George Taylor Ralph Bridge Edgar Plane Joseph Taylor William E. Crawshaw Fred Ridehalgh Fred Taylor, Wilfred Crowther, William R. Ridehalgh, Richard H. Taylor, Joseph Davidson, Charles W. Rayner, Albert Woodhead, Percy Horsfield, Silvester Redman, Robert Whittaker. The Memorial Window. "Lest we Forget." The Dedication and Unveiling Ceremony was performed on Saturday 19th March 1921. The Church was demolished in April 1987 and it is presumed that the Memorial was lost at that time" ..... actually it became architectural salvage and was sold on with anything else of recoverable value.  It is out there somewhere.

 

[Matlock1418]

On 30/08/2023 at 10:13, Simon Cains said:

I also wondered why some men put their father as a dependent, but some chose their mother.

Mothers do seem the most common recipient of a dependant's pension [and for Separation Allowance too] - if they were alive [in some way replicating the payment of un-married son's(s') board & lodging etc. allotments]

Fathers could/often did subsequently make a claim once the mother/their wife had died - but sometimes, regardless, they made the initial claim. 

[In one recent post elsewhere here on GWF it was suggested a father made the claim because the mother was probably very busy with their other 10 children!]

M

Edit: Father initially claiming: I have also previously wondered in some cases if it might have had something to do with possibly higher literacy of the father. ???

Edited 24 September , 2023 by Matlock1418
edit

[chaz]

brothers, Fred and Arthur both on same cards, and reference as both on same card, also shows my great grandmother had died and GGF then had to apply

I will add , brother John was married by then and his wife put the claim in, two other brothers had pension claims due to wounds. Two other brothers came back unscathed!

Edited 24 September , 2023 by chaz

[Pat Atkins]

On 24/09/2023 at 07:19, Matlock1418 said:

Mothers do seem the most common recipient of a dependant's pension [and for Separation Allowance too] - if they were alive [in some way replicating the payment of un-married son's(s') board & lodging etc. allotments]

Fathers could/often did subsequently make a claim once the mother/their wife had died - but sometimes, regardless, they made the initial claim. 

[In one recent post elsewhere here on GWF it was suggested a father made the claim because the mother was probably very busy with their other 10 children!]

M

Edit: Father initially claiming: I have also previously wondered in some cases if it might have had something to do with possibly higher literacy of the father. ???

Just because it (pension card for Atkins) was posted earlier in this thread, and every real example is valuable however minor: in the case of my father's uncles, their father was beneficiary because the mother had died several years before.

Edited 26 September , 2023 by Pat Atkins