george woods

[tyrone]

Hello,

i do not know if i am in the correct area to ask this question and this is my first posting on this site so please be patient with me!

I know my gt grandfather was in the 22 cheshire regiment from his marriage cert it states that in 1891 when he married aged 21years that he was a sgt in cheshire regiment,

on his sons birth cert in 1905 it states that he was a quater master sgt.

when he died in 1926 it listed him as a acting regimental sgt major, army pensioner retired.

i am unable to get any information about him from the regimental museum in chester except for a copy of an entry in the old commrades assosiation book for 1914 as 2506 GEORGE WOODS. I assumed that i had struck gold with this number as his regimental number but when i spoke to someone in Glasgow they told me that this was not a military number as it was too short??

I would dearly love to find any information about him but seem to be hitting a brick wall, i would like to know what he would have done in the war, would he have been too old?

If any kind person can help i would be very greatful. sadly i live too far away to enable me to search in chester or at the national archives

with many thanks for your patience

regards

tyrone

[John_Hartley]

Hi, Tyrone.

Welcome to the Forum.

You did strike gold with his service number. 2506 is a number that I'm pretty would have been allocated to someone with one of the regiment's Territorial units. However, I can't find a record of this in the National Archives on-line Medal Cards. Unless there's a mistake, then it would indicate that he never served abroad with this abroad.

It look as though he was a regular soldier in his early life, but that number doesnt seem fit. So it seems possible that he left the army and took up a civilian job. 2506 is not an early number for the Cheshire's Territorials and I would guess he must have re-enlisted around the late autumn of 1914. Do you have anything that indicates if he served abroad during the war? The reason I ask is that it doesnt seem as though he was a particularly young man when war broke out. It could well be that, with his age and his past experience, he was retained in the UK training new recruits.

A phone call to the museum & archives at Chester would be a good idea - just to see if they have any record. It's a fair bet that they might have - particularly with his pre-war service.

I'm assuming he lived in the Cheshire area (as he was a Territorial). Any idea where?

John

[tyrone]

Hi john,

yes george woods did live in the chester area, on the1901 census he and his family are listed as living in militia barracks chester, it would appear from various certs that he lived in Love street chester and some other addresses that i do not have at hand but can find them later. From family talk it would appear that george woods worked in the officers mess in the castle, however when i was in contact with the cheshire regiment museum they can find no trace of george woods in their records other than the cheshire old commrades assosiation book that gave me the number 2506, it would appear that he worked his way through the ranks quite quickly he was born in 1870 and when he married in wales in 1891 he was a sgt. Perhaps i will not be able to find any more out about him as i have been stuck now for quite a while. Anyway if you can offer any more advice i would welcome it greatly.

thanks

tyrone

[John_Hartley]

Tyrone

It is possible that you are coming to the end of the road, I'm afraid. However, there's one last thing worth trying. Assuming he was still living in Chester after he left the army (and I suspect this is a good bet), then the most likely Territorial unit for him to have joined is the 1/5th Battalion.

There is a Battalion history "War record of the 1/5th (Earl of Chester's) Battaion, the Cheshire Regiment, 1914-1919" by W A V Churton. Assuming you live in the UK, then your local library will be able to get a copy via the inter-library loan service.

I would still bet reasonable money on him being retained for duties in the UK rather than serving overseas. This view is strengthened after having a look at the National Archives on-line medal entitlement records. These list 7 men called George Woods who served with the Cheshires - none have a senior NCO rank.

John

[Stebie9173]

John,

Is there an Absent Voters List still in existence for Chester for the 1918 election?

Steve.

[John_Hartley]

Steve

Dunno, mate. The County Record Office @ Chester should be able to tell you. They have a good collection of AVL's for the rural areas, at least. The City's AVL might be at the local heritage library, though.

John

[tyrone]

Tyrone

It is possible that you are coming to the end of the road, I'm afraid. However, there's one last thing worth trying. Assuming he was still living in Chester after he left the army (and I suspect this is a good bet), then the most likely Territorial unit for him to have joined is the 1/5th Battalion.

There is a Battalion history "War record of the 1/5th (Earl of Chester's) Battaion, the Cheshire Regiment, 1914-1919" by W A V Churton. Assuming you live in the UK, then your local library will be able to get a copy via the inter-library loan service.

I would still bet reasonable money on him being retained for duties in the UK rather than serving overseas. This view is strengthened after having a look at the National Archives on-line medal entitlement records. These list 7 men called George Woods who served with the Cheshires - none have a senior NCO rank.

John

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi John

just to say thankyou for the help i shall try and see if i can find out anymore information with regards to the territorial link,

regards

tyrone