Family History, Genealogy

12/09/2024

I don’t post much these days, but I am still working on history projects and I still answer questions on here, if asked. My latest topic the Dudley Volunteer Training Corps is going into its final draft and I hope to have a version on the shelf at Dudley Archives in November, ideally before the Friends of Dudley Archives talk on the subject 😉

07/03/2024

I was handed the scan of this newspaper photograph some 7 years ago, or more, when I first joined the Lost and the Living Project at Dudley Archives.

During the this time I was transferring my family history studies knowledge over to World War One studies having been approached to join this new project. I looked at this photo as an exercise to see if it was possible to get a list of probable names and regimental numbers for those in the photograph and to expand my knowledge and improve my researching experience. I created a post on the Great War Forum to help me with this exercise.

The exercise was never fully concluded and I never did a write up for it, but roll on 7 years and recently someone contacted me, because of that forum post, they had acquired the original photograph used it the newspaper. I thought I'd share this here, because if you ask for help with research you never know where it may lead.

I am still a member of the Lost and the Living Project and still research World War One.

07/03/2024

09/02/2024

This poster can be found on various local history websites, but is it a genuine poster, or a historic fake?

1.) Let us look at the subject, Cholera and its date 1st September 1832... Was there Cholera in Dudley during this timeframe? The simple answer is yes, despite quarantine of ships to the UK, Cholera reached our shore in 1831.

2.) Did the Dudley Board of Health exist in 1832? The answer is no. The General Health Act was established in 1848, a good 16 years after the date record on this poster and the Dudley Board of Health was formed within 5 years of that date with the likelihood being 1851/52. prior to this the Town Commissionaires were responsible for health acts.

3.) Subject of Cemeteries. William Lee Esq. did a general report of the condition of location cemeteries to the Dudley Board of Health for St Thomas's and St Edmunds in late 1851 and his report covered all the cemeteries in the area including Cholera burials in St Andrew's, Netherton. His report concluded the cemeteries in the poster was near capacity in 1852 and cholera victims was buried like normal burials at St Andrew's in the North East Section. (So 20 years prior those cemeteries were fine?)

4.) I feel we have already concluded this poster to be a fake, it is likely a historic fake done by a local printer. This would explain why there information for the printer is included on the poster, but we could check when they printer was operating out that address. My guess it would be after 1852, but I will leave that for whoever is interested.

19/01/2024

Working on another project, Dudley Volunteer Training Corps, which would become apart of 1st Bn, Worcestershire Volunteer Regiment. This will be research into the Dudley V.T.C personnel from a social background and the progression of the Corps into a volunteer regiment under official army orders. The Dudley V.T.C is a very interesting subject, Dad's Army of World War 1 with connections to the Freemasons of the Dudley Lodge. Some members are direct relations of highly established Dudley Brewing Families and even related by marriage and that is not all one of the members was even a former Mayor of Dudley...

09/10/2023

We now have 'The Lost and the Living: War Widows' [LD 940.46] and digital archive [C10301] by our volunteer, James Hadley. It traces soldiers linked to a war widow, from a list of names & addresses, compiled up to 8 years after WWI & includes lots of info & photos, plus and index.

See items in our Dudley Archives Online Catalogue. These can be requested when you visit our service.

http://archives.dudley.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=C10301&pos=1

http://archives.dudley.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BK+14485&pos=1

13/07/2023

04/11/2022

Netherton Hero’s, the Westwood brothers.

James Henry Westwood, born 1887 and his brother Harry Westwood, born 1889 Dudley were the sons of Harry and Louisa Westwood née Sidaway. Their parents were married at St Luke’s Cradley in 1887.

In the 1891 census you can find the family living at 69 Griffin Street, Netherton, before being recorded at Yew Tree Hills, Netherton in 1901 and by 1911 at 2 Church Road, Netherton. During this time frame the Westwood family expanded, James and Harry’s siblings include Ethel born in 1893, Louisa 1897, Elsie 1900 and Norah 1909.

Harry Westwood was the first of the brothers to fall and because of no surviving military draft we can only conclude that he entered the theatre of war with 3rd Bn Worcestershire Regiment sometime after 1916, due to no entry date being recorded on his medal index card. The next bit of information we have on Harry is the newspaper article in the Dudley Herald of 25th August 1917, which states, Harry died of wounds received in action on the Somme on the 25th August 1916. 3rd Bn Worcestershire Regiment being attached to 25th Division was heavily involved with actions on the Somme in 1916 and further research shows Harry was admitted to casualty clearing station No.3 on the 24th August 1916 with multiple gunshot wounds. He succumbs to these injuries on the 25th August 1916. Harry is remembered on Dudley War Memorial, Dudley. St Andrew’s Church Memorial, Netherton and is mentioned on the St Andrews Church Roll of Honour.

James Henry Westwood would also share the same fate as his brother Harry, dying of wound received, but his military attestation papers are somewhat incomplete and a little hard to read. James volunteered to join the colours on 11th December 1915 listed as a skilled cooper and is sent to Army reserve, he is not mobilised until 11th September 1916 and is recorded posted to 3/1st London Div on the 1st November 1916 and transfer to Royal Engineers on the 2nd November 1916. It then states his transferred from Fenny, Stratford signal depot to base signal depot on the 12th April 1917 and he arrived in France on the 22nd April 1917. He then proceeded to 20th Divisional Signal Company on the 30th April 1917, which was attached to the 20th (Light) Division.

James would have been in close proximity to some major battles with the 20th Light Division, Ypres, Langemarck, and Cambrai 1917 to the Somme sector of 1918. It is here on the Somme that James met his fate. He is admitted to Casualty Clearing Station No’ 53 based at Roye, France. These records seem to be missing, so we do not know what type of wound he received, but they proved to be fatal and he died of wounds on the 24th March 1918. James is remembered on the Dudley War Memorial, Dudley and the St Andrew’s Church Memorial, Netherton.

03/10/2022

Pat Daniel’s latest book, Crab Apples, is out now. Available on Amazon and Austin Macauley Publishers website as well as other selective outlets. I haven’t read it, however I am told her first two books, Blood and Water and Cherries are very good reads.

16/08/2022

William Cecil Abrahams, born Aston Birmingham in 1891. Parents Joseph C and Marian Liliametta Mercy Abrahams née Teall were married in Aston in 1887.

You can find the Abrahams' family living in Thimble Mill Lane, Aston in 1891, before they moved to Highland Road, Sedgley in 1901 and they moved again in 1911 to 47 Salop Street, Dudley.

William's siblings are Charles, born 1887. Albert, 1889. Frank, 1895. Marian, 1899. Wilfred, 1901. Frederick,1904 and Elsie, 1906.

William married Sarah Ellen Robinson in Jan-Feb-Mar of 1913 at Dudley Register Office and his daughter Gwendoline was born on the 29th December 1913 according to the pension file included. This supports some of the information provided in the newspaper article, due to no military draft surviving the newspaper article is the information we would need to expand on for his military service.

So the news paper article says William was a pre war territorial of 5 years and he rejoined his old regiment (7th Bn, Worcestershire Regiment) in September 1914. His early number of 2358 and medal rolls and card suggest this to be true. He entered theatre of war France on the 31st March 1915, which is consistent with 7th (1st Line, 7th Battalion, or 1/7th) Bn, Worcestershire Regiment. On the 15th May 1915 the formation became 144th Brigade, 48th South Midlands Division and remained concentrated in the area of Cassel, France.

William would have likely been involved in the following key battles with his battalion from 1916 to 1917, given he was not at home on leave at any point., we can assume he wasn't...

1916
The Battle of Albert* The Division held the line between the 56th (London) and the 31st Divisions, both of which were heavily engaged at Gommecourt and Serre respectively on 1 July 1916. Two of the Warwickshire battalions of the Division attacked on that day and suffered heavy casualties in assaulting the Quadrilateral (Heidenkopf)).
The Battle of Bazentin Ridge* in which the Division captured Ovillers
The Battle of Pozieres Ridge*
The Battle of the Ancre Heights*
The Battle of the Ancre*
* the battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916

1917

The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line, in which the Division occupied Peronne
The Battle of Langemarck**
** the battles marked ** are phases of the Third Battles of the Ypres

Information on 48th South Midland Division can be found courtesy of https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/48th-south-midland-division/

William was likely killed in action during the Battle of Langemarck on, or around, the 17th August 1917, almost 105 years ago and he is remembered on the Dudley War Memorial, St James' Church War Memorial and the Dudley High Elementary School Memorial, now the Gilbert Claughton Centre. His widow Sarah Ellen Abrahams is mentioned on the War Widows list.

Captain Geoffrey Wallace MM+Bar & Mentioned in Dispatches, is listed killed 10 days later on the 27th August 1917, while his brother Albert J Abrahams (Bert) died of wounds on the 10th September 1917.

(Additional information can be found in the images)