Genealogy Chat

I am looking for my grandmothers 2 brothers. William Homer Wilkes 1892 and Frederick George Wilkes !899. Looking for marriage and death. See below:

Have looked on ancestry. On Family Relatives On Rootsweb On GR name match Has anyone any other thoughts. There are too many William Wilkes to plow through on 1837. What is the site to see if they died during either of the wars? There are a few Frederick Georges on Ancestry but not in the right place. They were born in Bilston, Wolverhampton.

CWGC (Commonwealth war graves commission) Janice

Thanks Janice, will Google add.

On the CWGC there is a WH Wilkes. This is a very commom name. Any idea how to find out what the initials stand for?

It gives the date of death as Oct 1918 so you could try looking on 1837 in the Dec quarter. Not all war deaths made the indexes though. Think there's a separate index for the forces so you might need to look there as well. Janice

Good idea, but not on there either. At least not on the 1837 army list.

That WH Wilkes is William H Try this site to search the medal cards: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline (I found him by searching for Wilkes and putting 1508 into keywords) Some of the other William H Wilkes look more probable.

Many thanks, will give it a go. Of course I don't know that he died in the war. One of the wars!! What a dreadful world we live in.

If there is any chance that they left a will, or at least an estate worth enough that it would go to probate / administration, you could try looking through the National Probate Calendars at a record office or probate office (different ones have different date ranges). Kate.

Any marriage would have been after 1910, so it wouldn't be on Freebmd. If they died between 1910 and 1984 they won't be on ancestry either. This is the only possible, bearing in mind that birthyears can be wrong on death certs, my own grandfather was given a wrong year when my uncle registered his death: Frederick George I Wilkes Death Year: [1991] Age: 93 Birth Date: 1 Apr 1898 Death Registration Month/Year: Nov 1991 Registration District: Blackpool and Fylde I think unless you get other clues, it could be a long trawl through the GRO indexes. Have you no family you can ask? nell

Thanks for all replies. My father was put into a childrens home when 9 and never knew his mothers family. I am hoping to find relatives of his mother who might know what happened to her. A very long shot, I know, The trouble with William H Wilkes is that there are so many of them whilst if I found William Homer, it would almost certainly be him. I went on national archives and came across the medical card of my grandfather.(Not W H Wilkes) Paid £3.50 and then the screen froze!!! Have sent them an e-mail, so fingers crossed

Thanks Nell, Frederick George was born in the Dec. qtr 1899. So probably not him.

If you find them on the National Probate Calendar, the full name will be given on there, not just middle initial. So it would be worth looking. Kate.

Hi Kate, I have never heard on the National Probate before. Is it England wise or just specfic to an area. ie if he had moved out of Staffs would I be able to find him? Thanks for the suggestion, its one I had not thought of.

It is for all of England and Wales, but not (yet) available online, so you have to search at a records office or probate office. Kate.

The WH Wilkes on CWGC is as follows:- Regiment, Corps etc: Guards Machine Gun Regiment Battalion/etc: 4th Battalion. Surname: Wilkes Christian Name: William Henry Initials: W H Born: Plaistow, Essex Enlisted: Stratford, Essex Residence: Rank: L/CPL Number: 1508 Died Date: 12/10/1918 Died How: Died of wounds Theatre of War: France & Flanders Supplementary Notes: FORMERLY 12351, COLDSTREAM GUARDS.

Many thanks Kate. Hope to get to Stafford RO next year and will have a look. Hi Lunar, so not mine which is good to hear. May I ask how you got the info?