Genealogy Chat

hi all

this may be a silly question but are the CWGC records complete?

my great grandmothers first husband was killed in the first world war and i would like to find out more about him.

all i know is that his name was Ernest A Mead and he died sometime in 1916. my grandma says that he either died 2 days before the birth of his daughter (Vera Mead) or that her mother got the news two days before the birth.

there is a possible mead that died in October 1916 but it doesn't give a middle initial and says nothing about a wife whereas all the others i have come across has said husband of ......

have i found the right one and how can i find more info on him? ie family i beleive he came from London.

thanks for reading sorry if it's silly.
leanne.x

Not silly at all Leanne but sorry I don't know the answer. I have seen several entries on CWGC that don't have a relative's name. Some don't even have an age.

You could try looking for his marriage to your great grandmother. That should give you his DOB and his father's name and then you could look for him on the 1901 census.

ok Thanks potty. i had seen some without ages or relatives bu this one has an age (19) and parents names just no wife which is why i thought it strange.

i know they got married dec Qtr 1915 but haven't ordered the certificate yet. will give it a go. thanks for replying. :)

My grt grt uncle is mentioned on the site.

On the details part it says son of the deceased John Robertson, and Jane Ann Robertson.

My grt grt uncle died in 1917 but his father didnt pass away till 1925, meaning that the details where taken between 1925 and 1936 (when his mother passes away).

It may be that when they took the information, his parents didnt mention that he was married and it was never recorded. Especially if it was a long time after the event and your grt grandmother had moved on.

Hope thats of some help
Mhairi

oh thanks Mhairi.

yes she re-married in 1920 and had another four children with her second husband. plus his two from his first marriage. although the children were always visiting his family. ok well thanks for your help, that might clear things up a bit.

i'm going to order both of her marriage certificates so that will hopefully help.

thanks again.

The family info on CWGC is what the family submitted IF they returned the paperwork - and not all did. Hence, lots of info isn't there.

HI
This very weekend I have just discovered that an ancestor died in France, as there is a memorial in the village he came from. BUT no details. The memorial has just got his name with his middle initail of A.
Then when I went on the CWGC site he is listed just his first name and surname, BUT I was very fortunate as my relative actually had his army number the regiment, and they named my grandparents and their address listed on the cert of where his burial or war memorial is in France.
I think it will be pot luck.
Regards Carol

The official publication Soldiers Died in the Great War (SDGW) records an Ernest Mead, born Watford. Sounds a possible? If you look at the full record on SDGW it will give you his date of death and service number etc. You can then match that up with CWGC etc

The daughters birth certificate should give his service number which should help to track him down. The marriage certificate will also have this if he was in the army at the time of the marriage.

Teresa