Could my Grandfather have joined a Battalion in Caernarvonshire, if so why...........

[Shirley Frost]

Hi List

Something is puzzling me that I have only recently realised. My Grandfather William Hugh Williams, was born in 1897 in Carnarvonshire. He would have been 17 yrs old when WW1 began. He went to Gallapoli. I have assumed that he joined the Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire Inventory because he died in the drill hall there in 1926. He didn't marry my Grandmother until 1921 in Montgomeryshire so did he join the Carvarvonshire Royal Welch or were they full when he applied and came down to Llanidloes then or did he serve with the Royal Welch in Carnarvonshire and possibly came down to Montgomeryshire after the war looking for work.

Perhaps someone can help me solve this 7 year puzzle.

Kind regards
Shirley

[ap1]

I think he's joined in Caernarfon, and moved to Montgomeryshire after the Great war

[Shirley Frost]

Hi Al

Do you think so ~ is there a list of Carnarvonshire soldiers I can access? I am actually going to the Carnarvonshire Archives tomorrow for a couple of days, I could ask them to point me in the right direction.

Thank you for your thoughts.
Kind regards
Shirley

[Clive Hughes]

Shirley,
If it's any help i do have a copy of a roll of casualties suffered by the 1/6th (Carnarvon and Anglesey) Battalion at Gallipoli from August to October 1915 (includes men sick, slightly wounded etc.).

In most cases the mens' home addresses are given. If you can discover W.H.Williams' address I'll try to match it up with this roll. Have you tried the 1901 Census?
Regards,
Clive Hughes

[Shirley Frost]

Hi Clive

In 1901 Williams Hugh Williams was 3 yrs old and living at 55 Abererch Road, Pwllheli.

He would only have been 17 yrs old if he joined in 1914. His address in Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire was 9 Cemetery Square.

I don't think he suffered any injuries in Gallapoli, certainly not badly or I'm sure we would know, but you never know he may be on your list for something minor. He didn't marry my Grandmother until 1921 and I am trying to establish why he was in Llanidloes and why didn't he go back to Pwllheli after the war. He died in Llanidloes in 1926 age 29 falling from the top of an office built within the Drill Hall and used for storage.

Thank you for your help Clive ~ greatly appreciated.
Kind regards
Shirley

[Clive Hughes]

Shirley,
I have checked the August-October 1915 Gallipoli casualty list for the 1/6th RWF, and there was no W.H.Williams with a Pwllheli address, or anyone in fact with the street address you gave.

Several W.H.Williamses, but in Anglesey or Caernarfon etc., and including at least one who died, so no luck I'm afraid. Nobody with Montgomeryshire addresses either.

One option you might consider is a search of local newspapers covering the Pwllheli and Llanidloes areas for 1914-15. This involves a great deal of time patiently searching for "letters from the Front", lists/rolls of men who are serving, and other snippets of information. The same would apply after 1916 also, but they tended not to publish such lists by then, and tightened up on the news they printed generally. The papers might be in local reference libraries, County Record Offices, National Library of Wales Aberystwyth, or the British Newspaper Library at Colindale, London.

Another (applies to both areas again) is to try and find him recorded as a voter (aged 21 and more) in the annual Voters Lists. This goes by area, but you probably know his address in Llanidloes, and you have a 1901 address in Pwllheli. The sequence of lists should show whether his parents lived there after 1901, and also when he appears in the Montgomeryshire lists after the War. Lists should be at the relevant County Record Offices, though gaps in the series are common.

Hope this might help a bit.
Clive

[Shirley Frost]

Hi Clive

I'm sorry for the delay in replying to your posting ~ we have just returned from Carnarvonshire where I have spent two days in the Carnarnvonshire Archives in search of William Hugh's parents marriage to no avail. I have one more lead to follow up and then I am afraid they will go on the back burner until I can go again, perhaps for longer next time.

I actually plucked up the courage and went and knocked on the door of where Mary Williams had lived and died in 1955 hoping there may be a family member still there, but there was no one at home.

Thank you for trying to find any information of William Hugh and for the suggestions you have made ~ I had not thought of trying either of those sources. I will need to find out how I go about accessing the Electoral Roll. However, at the Archives, other people were looking at, rather large and yellow with age, newspapers bound in leather.

Many thanks once again Clive ~ if I make any interesting discoveries I will let you know.
Kind regards
Shirley