Tracing survivors

[Barnsey]

I'm trying to trace a couple of survivors of the East Kent Regt. (Buffs). I've found their medal cards & as far as I know they survived the war.

Any suggestions as to how to find out more about them?

[Jerrymurland]

Life never gets any easier does it? you have now got to resort to the family historian tactics of using Births, Marriages and Death records, visit your local records office and look up their names, trawl through archived copies of local newspapers, consult death and burial records, check the register of wills......the list goes on.

Jerry

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

I'm trying to trace a couple of survivors of the East Kent Regt. (Buffs). I've found their medal cards & as far as I know they survived the war.

Any suggestions as to how to find out more about them?

Have you checked @ the NA to see if their Service Papers survive{only 30% or so do but its always worth checking}

[Sparky53]

If you give their names we can see if we can find them in the 1901 census for you.

Jane

[Stebie9173]

You may not have checked the Medal Cards details to the Medal Rolls at the National Archives. If not, then they will probably give you some more details on which battalion of the Regiment they were with, in which case you can follow their war by tracing the Divisions they were attached to.

Steve.

[Barnsey]

Life never gets any easier does it? you have now got to resort to the family historian tactics of using Births, Marriages and Death records, visit your local records office and look up their names, trawl through archived copies of local newspapers, consult death and burial records, check the register of wills......the list goes on.

Jerry

Very good Jerry. Perhaps I should have spelled it out. If you check my info bar at the side, you'll see that I'm about 10,000 miles from my nearest records office! Thank you for the reply anyway.

[CarylW]

Barnsey

Not to detract from the great help you will have here but you could also try posting to a Rootsweb list for Kent if no-one here is able to help (assuming the soldiers were from Kent?)

People on Rootsweb lists will go out of their way to check things out for you and those who live in the locality you are interested in would maybe check the records for you, or even know the families of those concerned, or be related in some way

Rootsweb Kent

If the soldiers were from other parts of Britain or Ireland Rootsweb www.rootsweb.com has lists for all of the counties (you may already know this, sorry if you do, don't want to teach granny to suck eggs)

I speak from personal experience.

A few years ago an elderly neighbour of mine who was from Anglesey, remembered as a boy wounded Anzac soldiers from WW1 staying in a nearby convalescent home (Menai Bridge I 'think') and visiting his home and making friends with his family. He had a photo postcard of one of the Australian soldiers with his name on and a message that he was going back to 'Western Australia' (he'd been wounded twice) asked me to track this soldiers family down on the net.

I posted to a Rootsweb Australian list and also Rootsweb Lancsgen, and so many people in Australia helped me, and eventually a newspaper in Western Australia ran the story, the soldiers family contacted me, and we were able to pass on the photo, my neighbour was able to share his memories of the soldier with the family. I had asked the Australian archives for help too and they sent me the soldiers WW1 whole service record (what a GREAT service, hats off to them) , so we sent all of this back to the family in Western Australia where the soldiers very elderly brother was still alive and was thrilled with all of the information and to hear from someone here who had met his brother during wartime. So it can be done - the power of the internet!

If you get local newspapers in Kent or the soldiers home town interested, they may run it - I don't live in Kent and don't know it but a Google search will give you Kent newspapers, or a Kent resident here might help you

Try Rootschat too, lot of helpful people there too

Hope this helps. Just realised you are in Australia, well I hope you have the same luck I had with your situation in reverse!

Caryl

[Barnsey]

For those of you that have shown an interest, the gentlemen in question are:

Harry G Stead (24th Div Cyclists Coy) Lt. then temp Capt.

Guy Warden (8th Buffs) Major OC "A" Coy

G1564 Price, Harry (8th Buffs) "A" Coy, then of the Labour Corps until demob in June 1919

From over here, I'm not sure where to head next.

Jane,

Is the 1901 Census the only one available? Are there later ones that can be used?

[Barnsey]

Caryl

Thanks for the info. I didn't know about rootsweb. I'll give it a go as I've no idea where the 3 men were from.

Don't worry about the egg-thing! Most people I know would prefer that the "obvious" was stated - what is blindingly obvious to you, isn't to me (ie rootsweb)! I may have missed out on your good advice & help as a result.

Thanks

[Ludovica]

Deaths Index from 1984-2002 are available through Ancestry.com if your chaps lived into old age

[CarylW]

Barnsey

If you want to go down the route of finding deaths in GRO indexes and ordering certificates

Free BMD also has many England & Wales GRO Births Marriages and Deaths indexes online

Free BMD That database isn't complete but they update all the time

Ancestry also has the same database online free (again not complete)

Ancestry Civil Registration England & Wales 1837-1983

If the references you are interested can't be found there 1837 online has the complete Births Marriages and deaths index online

1837 online and for a small fee you can search and obtain the references needed (district page & Vol number) to send off for the certs from the General Register Office at Southport - you can order these from overseas payable by credit card

General Register Office

I know you asked Jane the question about census but the latest one we are allowed to see is 1901, 1911 & later haven't been released yet under the hundred year rule (pain in the b!)

Area specific Directories listing residents (like phone books) are another route to try. Someone from Kent here who has one, or someone on a Kent Rootsweb list or Rootschat www.rootschat.com might look in one for you. Many people have them on CD now from a company over here Archive CD books (don't know if I'm allowed to advertise that here)

There are some online free at Historical Directories online I don't know what is there for Kent (isn't my area of research)

Historical Directories

Electoral rolls are another route, these are available at Record Offices or libraries in each area, again maybe someome from Kent could check those for you, or the Record offices or libraries might check for you - some offer a free look up in resources for one name as long as the search does not take too long, after that they prefer people to use their research services

Now all of the above I only know because I'm a genealogist, so that info is from a family history research point of view, hopefully some of the military experts (I'm not one!) here can guide you more about finding surviving soldiers from other sources

Good luck

Caryl