Genealogy Chat

Thank you for finding that, but he did stay in England and served in the British Army. I don't think Gertrude liked her boys much as she abandoned them at such a young age!

Hannah There is a James Cotton who served in the Canadian Army listed on the CWGC site, unfortunately his age is unkown. Is it possible that Gertrude took her son to Canada too? Susan

I seem to remember that someone on records office board had some of these rolls?

If you can find a photo of James in his uniform, you could send it to me if you like. I'm in touch with a military expert on another forum. He's ace at identifying uniforms and cap badges if the photo is reasonably clear. There are service records at Kew. They are in alphabetical order. These are the ones that didn't get totally destroyed at the storage facility at Arnside Street due to bombing in WW2. Some are in the Burnt Records are Kew. I found my father's records there. These records will be coming online at Ancestry this year so you may not have to travel to Kew. The good thing about going to Kew is you can take your own copies of the records and get them as clear as you can before printing. I hired a researcher; but once I knew the records existed, I went there myself and got clearer copies of the documents. Good Luck! Cheers, Horatia

He was definately Army, his brother was Navy. I have recently got in contact with a relative in America who said she remembers seeing a photo of James in his Army uniform and Charles in his Navy uniform. I have just e mailed her to see if she has these photos. As Gertrude, their mother, went to Canada, so did all the photos as far as I am aware. Hopefully my relative will still have it and will be able to send me a copy, fingers crossed! Thanks again for all the suggestions and help

Hi I realise you would prefer not to spend money on this, but it comes with the hobby! If you take a look at www.findmypast there are, I think, three J Cottons from London on the National Roll of the Great War. These entries provide a little background on the person concerned, but must be taken with a pinch of salt. There are also entries on Soldiers Died in the Great War (SDGW). One of these was from Hoxton, as was a James listed on the CWGC site. Denis.

No photos of James in his uniform?

Looks like you have a problem with the chap - which is a shame, it would have been nice to think someone remembered him. If as you say he was born 1900 then he would have only just squeezed into serving in the WW1.

Just another thought - LOL - definitely ARMY? Couldnt have been Navy? May be another line to look at.

Yes. It is a shame that he died so young and apparently just before the end of the war but I can't find him anywhere. Oh well, thanks for your help. I'll keep looking (its better than writing a dissertation!) and hopefully I'll be able to find him somewhere!

I have tried that, and have just gone back through them to check I didn't miss anything. I can only assume he is one of the Cotton, J age unknown entries, of which there are 9, which obviously don't include any details of parents. All of the unknown ones served in different regiments, so I was thinking if I could find this out, I could find him.

Hannah, if you go to the cwgc site and enter just J Cotton, it brings up 3 pages (some useless I know) but click on each mans name and it will give you further info like his parents names, an address, etc. Did you try that?

Thanks for your help. James was born in 1899 in Isleworth. His mother is Gertrude Cotton, born 1859 in Newington, father George Rogers born in 1851 (? Changes on every census and marriage certificate, ranging over 10 years or so and I have failed to find his birth or find his father!) Gertrude had one child out of wedlock – Bertha, 1885, and then went on to name her children ‘Cotton’ despite having married George Rogers in 1889. On the 1901 census they are all living in Croydon and George is working as a packer in a china factory. Gertrude put her oldest boy, George Arthur Charles, into the Boys Navy service and went to Canada, after having sent her daughters. I do not know what happened to James between this time and the War. He died sometime just before Armistice. Also, don't know what happened to George Rogers, although there is talk in the family that he was a bigamist and that's why Gertrude left for Canada.

Well if he served in WW1 1914-1918 then its likely he will appear in the 1901 census. You must know some little bits about him - let us have all you know.

Do you have any idea who his parents might be?? and area they came from

I have looked there and found 32 results. I was wondering if there was another website which would tell me his regiment, or at least narrow it down, so I don't have to pay for too many unneccessary records! (---Poor student!)

Have you tried the national archives website for medals?

Thanks for your quick responses! His name was James Cotton, born 1899/1900. I have looked on CWGC already, but as he had a common name, I don’t know how I can match a record with this individual without knowing his regiment. Heather, I don’t know anything about this man, apart from he died in the war. His parents are causing me many problems (due to illegitimacy within the family, age ‘changes’, emigration, possible bigamy etc!) so I just wanted to find out something really! I’d like to confirm that he definitely died in the war (although, I have been told this from different sources so do believe it to be true) as well as find out where he served and died.

Hi, I was hoping that someone would be able to point me in the right direction for researching soldiers who served in WW1. I have a relative who died in service during WW1, but I do not know which regiment he was in. How can I find this out? Do I really have to go to Kew and look through all the records on microfishe? (Really hoping not!) Thanks for any information on researching WW1 soldiers, Hannah

Not sure what you mean about 'researching' him. The online facilities tell you very little, just the medals he was due. A lot of WW1 records were destroyed by fire. What do you want to know about him, in case there is another way round.