Need Some Help

[Miss Poohs]

OK I think I may have a rellie.

He was Alexander Graham born 1885, and the poor soul lead quite a traumatic life.

After being a bit of a naughty boy (I suspect) he was put into the Kibble Reformatory for Boys in Paisley.

I've been intouch with their archive section and they were really helpful.

They were able to tell me some of what happened to him.

He was discharged from there 8.2.1902, and there are a few follow ups in 1903, 1904 and 1906, where his occupation was stated as Soldier, ‘E’ Coy. Royal Marines Chatham.

The last update on 25/01/1906 states "Showman, Wilmonts Shows", which suggests he was no longer a soldier.

However thats where the trail ends and I have been unable to find anything else out about him or Wilmonts Shows.

I did only yesterday check the death records again, and found an Alexander Graham who was killed in action 15 June 1915.

It states on the official warrant, that he was part of the 1/6th Battalion of the Scottish Rifles, his number (I believe in the far left hand column), rank, name, age (which fits, he would have been 29), nationality, date of death (15.6.1915), place of death (France), and the fact he was killed in action.

Is there anywhere that could possibly give me any more info, just so I can get a better idea if he's my Alex Graham or not?

I'd be very grateful of any help or info.

Ta muchly.

Janice

[AndrewP]

Hi Janice,

Here is the same fellow on the Scottish National War Memorial site.

http://www.snwm.org

Surname GRAHAM
Firstname A
Service Number 1808
Date Death 15/06/1915
Decoration
Place of birth Motherwell
Other 1/6th Bn.
SNWM roll THE CAMERONIANS (SCOTTISH RIFLES)
Rank Pte
Theatre of death France.

If so, does the place of birth help you to prove or disprove this one?

All the best,

AndrewP

[Miss Poohs]

Not exact but very very close.

He was born in Blantyre, Lanark - all the family seem have very strong ties with that part of Lanark, he was raised in Hamilton by his aunt and uncle.

Makes it look more likely to me, what do you think?

[AndrewP]

Hi Janice,

On searching on SP for Alexander Graham born 1885 to 1886 in Lanarkshire you get 12 results. Discounting the 7 within Glasgow, you are left with 1 each in Blantyre, Culter, Shotts, Cambusnethan and Carluke.

I presume your one is the one that shows up in Blantyre. Of the others, the one that is closest to Motherwell is the 1886 one in Cambusnethan (Wishaw). So there is nothing conclusive there. If you want to seek more information regarding the 1915 war death fellow, then you may need to seek information on his army records, presumably at the National Archives at Kew.

All the best,

AndrewP

[LesleyB]

Hi
Could the Alex Graham here be him?
EveningTimesRollofHonour.xls

If so there may be some more info about him to be found at the Mitchell Library on the Evening Times Roll of honour
eveningtimesrollofhonour.htm

Best wishes
Lesley

[Miss Poohs]

Thank you everyone, more diggin' needed I think.

Would Kew do the searching for me (for a fee I presume), or would I have to do that myself?

[LesleyB]

Hi Miss Poohs

Would Kew do the searching for me (for a fee I presume), or would I have to do that myself?

Not sure how the land lies if you have a service number - perhaps it would be possible to request an estimate for a copy of any documents that have survived... see
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/gett ... _research2

The National Archives paid search service: for specific documents held by The National Archives
Searches for specific documents will be done in a prompt and professional manner. Our charge is based on £15 per 15 minutes. Please contact us for the full cost of your particular search before sending any money.


Independent researchers: for specific documents or wider-ranging research
There are many independent specialist researchers who know the holdings of The National Archives and other archives. You can hire them to carry out research for you. They may charge significantly less than our own 'full cost recovery' paid search service.

Information about the records is here:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cata ... tID=18&j=1

For general info on him and perhaps to confirm parentage, I'd check local newspapers first.

Best wishes
Lesley

[Miss Poohs]

Thanks Lesley - I'm guessing this a trip to the Mitchell?

[Currie]

Hello Janice,

A few more items of interest:

Motherwell War Memorial 1914-1918
Piper Alexander Graham, Scottish Rifles
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com ... lWW1D.html

If you search this page http://users.nwon.com/pauline/Clippings.html for WILMOT you’ll find references under Miscellaneous 1912 and Merry-go-round 1903 and 1911 (two) including "John Wilmot, one of Scotland's greatest showmen, and a pioneer of the Guild, died in August, 1911."

More info here and probably others and the family may still be in the business.
http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/ ... ttish.html
http://users.nwon.com/pauline/Fairs1911-15.html
http://users.nwon.com/pauline/Fairs1900.html

Hope this helps,
Alan

[heymarky]

Find-a-grave has a picture of the memorial in France which lists his name, but no new information.

It is a long URL, so I'm hiding it inside this link.