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Aston Parish Church WW1 Memorial

Looking at this thread I saw on the memorial the name of Albert Edward Cunningham who lived at 169 Whitehead Rd.
In my Family tree I have a record of Arthur Edward Cunningham who, according to the 1911 census, lived at this address and who died in France on 17 August 1916.

Screenshot 2022-02-11 072800.jpg Screenshot 2022-02-11 072849.jpg

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Unfortunately I can't find enlistment or attestation records for either Arthur or Albert presumably destroyed in WW2 fire. There is a Birth record for an Albert Edward Cunningham for 1889 in Birmingham but without sending off for a copy of this cert. I can't say who his parents were.
Screenshot 2022-02-11 081353.jpg
 
jmadone said:
Looking at this thread I saw on the memorial the name of Albert Edward Cunningham who lived at 169 Whitehead Rd.
In my Family tree I have a record of Arthur Edward Cunningham who, according to the 1911 census, lived at this address and who died in France on 17 August 1916.

View attachment 167287 View attachment 167288

View attachment 167289
Unfortunately I can't find enlistment or attestation records for either Arthur or Albert presumably destroyed in WW2 fire. There is a Birth record for an Albert Edward Cunningham for 1889 in Birmingham but without sending off for a copy of this cert. I can't say who his parents were.
View attachment 167290
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Good morning. Thank you for picking this up. I have looked again at my notes, and followed back through the records I accessed, and this is my error, and it should indeed be Arthur Edward. He was living with his brother at Whitehead Road, but I have found him with both parents in the 1891 census. Sorry to have put you to any trouble.
Ann
 
AnnieH55 said:
Good morning. Thank you for picking this up. I have looked again at my notes, and followed back through the records I accessed, and this is my error, and it should indeed be Arthur Edward. He was living with his brother at Whitehead Road, but I have found him with both parents in the 1891 census. Sorry to have put you to any trouble.
Ann
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Sorry, should also have said that I will amend this in the next few days. I have a few changes that need doing, and will accumulate them before doing a single update.
 
AnnieH55 said:
Sorry, should also have said that I will amend this in the next few days. I have a few changes that need doing, and will accumulate them before doing a single update.
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Annie thanks for that, for a moment I thought I had "found" another ancestor :laughing:
 
aston lad said:
Hi Ann, I have been search through some of my old data disc's and may have found around half a dozen names that may be the ones you are looking for, Viewing your list some of the names on there don't exist, I wonder in the church archives is a written list of the names which you could check against, I do believe that some of the surnames could be mis-spelt, also do you know what the link is between the church and the men named, cos I have found one that lived in Surrey, anyhow I will list the names I have found, I did find more but could not find an address for them so I have left them off
Thomas Clarke 2799 aged 29 died 10/05/1915 wife Lavinia 4/155 Cromwell Street
Alfred Cole 3182 aged 20 died 01/07/1916 39, Francis Street
Alfred Cole 8976 aged 21 died 28/07/1916 13 Guest Street
William Corrigan 15584 aged 26 died 20/04/1916 11 bk Cromwell Street ( had a brother named James or John )
George Fulford 4787 died 27/11/1916
James Graham 9599 died 14/07/1916
John Graham A/1382 aged 27 died 18/09/1916 wife Kathleen 30 Ashted Row
Frank Homer 36341 aged 18 died 01/06/1918 68 Gravelly Hill
Dixon George 16358 died 03/05/1917
Ernest Albert Tranter 5960 aged 17 died 09/10/1916 8 Prospect Place Holborn Hill
Samuel Ignatius 15549 aged 19 died 03/09/1916 Church Lane Aston

Hope they are some help to you

John
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Hi John
I've done been through them, with some success, as follows:
Thomas Clarke 2799 aged 29 died 10/05/1915 wife Lavinia 4/155 Cromwell Street No, he is a Thomas W Clarke not T G as needed for listing.
Alfred Cole 3182 aged 20 died 01/07/1916 39, Francis Street Francis Road, not in Aston reg district
Alfred Cole 8976 aged 21 died 28/07/1916 13 Guest Street Hockley, Bham area
William Corrigan 15584 aged 26 died 20/04/1916 11 bk Cromwell Street ( had a brother named James or John ) Still looking, but searching for J Corrigan
George Fulford 4787 died 27/11/1916 DONE!
James Graham 9599 died 14/07/1916 Haven’t investigated as I found John.
John Graham A/1382 aged 27 died 18/09/1916 wife Kathleen 30 Ashted Row DONE!
Frank Homer 36341 aged 18 died 01/06/1918 68 Gravelly Hill wrong initial, looking for E and RH Homer
Dixon George RIDER 16358 died 03/05/1917 DONE! He’s been on my radar, but I hadn’t been able to find a link to Aston. Long story, but I have managed to find him in 1901 census.

Ernest Albert Tranter 5960 aged 17 died 09/10/1916 8 Prospect Place Holborn Hill Not on list with this initial
Samuel Ignatius WEBB 15549 aged 19 died 03/09/1916 Church Lane Aston Not on the memorial Not on the memorial, am looking for S B J Webb (which you think I’d find!).

With regard to your question about association with the Church, then the listing was created by people in Aston, parishioners and others, who gave the name to the Church. It's why I have used the criterion that they must have had a relationship with Aston at some time. So, a Surrey address might be fine, as at some point they could have lived here. There are a number of Australian and Canadian Infantry men who enlisted in those countires, but at some point were living in Aston. Hope that helps.

If you want to send me further names for looking at, please do.

Kind regards
Ann
 
Hi Ann
I do have a few more which I forgot to add yesterday, I have a big problem with the some of the names on the memorial, I do think that some of the initials are incorrect, some of the names on your list do not even exist on the roll call of the UK, the duplications you have I believe are correct to what you have stated, but I do think you have missed one A Gent, which I think is A Dent which you have added to you list, there was only 53 soldiers with the surname of Gent who died during the WW1, none had a Birmingham / Aston connection , again there are 19 soldiers who died with the initial S Webb and only one from Birmingham who I have listed, none with S B J, I don't know how the memorial list was compiled, if it was in a form type sheet from each family of the soldiers then whoever was transcribing had to try and read the handwriting mistakes were going to be made, no list will ever be 100% correct, the other names I have are as follow's , like the others I listed yesterday they are the only ones I could find with connections to Birmingham / Aston, there were others but no detail of address etc.

Arthur Ebenezer 7059 died 04/12/1915 19 Bracebridge Street
Walter James Barrett 14/1421 died 23/05/1916 Vauxhall Birmingham
James Thomas Bartlett 3488 aged 20 died 10/08/1915 from Aston
Leonard Blake 40948 aged 19 died 13/04/1918 18 Trevor Street
George Brookes 2376, aged 25 died 09/05/1915 ( Drummer Boy 1911 census )
George Brookes 307486 died 10/05/1918 229 New John Street

I will have to check your list with my Birmingham Roll Call, I have over 11,000 names on it, no address's like my Aston Roll Call,
Hope these names will help you Ann

John
 
aston lad said:
Hi Ann
I do have a few more which I forgot to add yesterday, I have a big problem with the some of the names on the memorial, I do think that some of the initials are incorrect, some of the names on your list do not even exist on the roll call of the UK, the duplications you have I believe are correct to what you have stated, but I do think you have missed one A Gent, which I think is A Dent which you have added to you list, there was only 53 soldiers with the surname of Gent who died during the WW1, none had a Birmingham / Aston connection , again there are 19 soldiers who died with the initial S Webb and only one from Birmingham who I have listed, none with S B J, I don't know how the memorial list was compiled, if it was in a form type sheet from each family of the soldiers then whoever was transcribing had to try and read the handwriting mistakes were going to be made, no list will ever be 100% correct, the other names I have are as follow's , like the others I listed yesterday they are the only ones I could find with connections to Birmingham / Aston, there were others but no detail of address etc.

Arthur Ebenezer 7059 died 04/12/1915 19 Bracebridge Street
Walter James Barrett 14/1421 died 23/05/1916 Vauxhall Birmingham
James Thomas Bartlett 3488 aged 20 died 10/08/1915 from Aston
Leonard Blake 40948 aged 19 died 13/04/1918 18 Trevor Street
George Brookes 2376, aged 25 died 09/05/1915 ( Drummer Boy 1911 census )
George Brookes 307486 died 10/05/1918 229 New John Street

I will have to check your list with my Birmingham Roll Call, I have over 11,000 names on it, no address's like my Aston Roll Call,
Hope these names will help you Ann

John
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Hi John
I don't disagree with you at all. I am also convinced there are transcription errors. Some are obvious. Others are less so.
An S B J Webb is possible - it might have been his full name known to his family but never used in written records. But I would definitely have looked at S Webb, or S B or S J, but not at any like S E Webb, for example, where different initial is invluded. There are a good number like this, where one initial is given in docs but the memorial has two initials. My document on the website on field definitions goes into this in more detail. You'll also see a number of records in the listing where I have given an 'alternative' surname because the evidence supports this, often a spelling difference, but sometimes something else.
I will have a look at A Dent, thank you.
Thanks for the additional names - I am happy for you to keep sending them to look at.
There are going to be names on the memorial that are not valid, I just want to be sure.
Kind regards
Ann
 
Ann
I check by the surname not the initial, I view every name on the roll call even if there are 500 plus I check every one that is what I have been doing the past day or two, the problem is making sure you have the correct person, a very hard task to do, but you will

John
 
aston lad said:
Ann, I think I have found your E Wheeldon, I am sure its Stanley Eric Wheeldon 34221 died 21/05/1918 aged 19/20 lived at 168 Park Road Aston
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Thank you, as much as anything else for giving me food for thought on precision of entries. Having looked through the records again, I have concluded, like you, that this is probably the only likely candidate, even when looking at different spellings of the surname.
As a Matter of interst, where did you find the address. It's in CWGC only on the headstone record.
Ann
 
Hi Ann
I have the Soldiers died in the Great War disc which I use to find their military detail, I then use the CWGC site for to find the soldier address etc, I try to confirm it on the 1911 census and try find their service records or any details on Ancestry but because so many of the records are missing its not always possible to match people up
I do have another George Brookes to look at, S/327637 died 04/05/1921 aged 37, lived at 5/59 Franchise Street,
I also thought I had found R Jay, but after checking I was viewing a Robert Ray 68849 died 25/08/1918, aged 19 lived 37 Shefford Road, I can only find one Jay from Birmingham and his name is Bert no other detail,
I found address for Eustace Judd, he and his family were living at 89 Lozells Street at one stage.

John
 
Pardon my ignorance on the subject, but there may be some killed who were from Aston that have not been recorded. Are you interested in adding any that may be found ?
 
Hi Pedrocut
There are hundreds from the area that do not appear on the memorial, Eric Newton Marson doesn't appear on either my own roll calls of Aston and Birmingham this is mainly due to him being an officer they are harder to search, but not impossible
 
aston lad said:
Hi Ann
I have the Soldiers died in the Great War disc which I use to find their military detail, I then use the CWGC site for to find the soldier address etc, I try to confirm it on the 1911 census and try find their service records or any details on Ancestry but because so many of the records are missing its not always possible to match people up
I do have another George Brookes to look at, S/327637 died 04/05/1921 aged 37, lived at 5/59 Franchise Street,
I also thought I had found R Jay, but after checking I was viewing a Robert Ray 68849 died 25/08/1918, aged 19 lived 37 Shefford Road, I can only find one Jay from Birmingham and his name is Bert no other detail,
I found address for Eustace Judd, he and his family were living at 89 Lozells Street at one stage.

John
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Thanks John. Much the same as me then, multiple cross referencing!! :)
I had wondered wether R Jay was R Ray - I think it's one to keep in mind.
Where did you find the address for Eustace Judd? It's just that I keep notes of all of the sources for the information recorded on the listing, just in case anyone asks in the future.
 
Eustace judd is at 89 Lozells Road on 1891 census with his parents. He married in 1906 and is in Devon (Linton) with his wife on the 1911 census. She is the legatee on the Soldiers Effects Register.
May be relevant - in 1922 one of his sisters, Nellie, and her husband were living in Aston Lane. Prior to that most of the family seem to live at addresses which come under Handsworth.
 
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pjmburns said:
Eustace judd is at 89 Lozells Road on 1891 census with his parents. He married in 1906 and is in Devon (Linton) with his wife on the 1911 census. She is the legatee on the Soldiers Effects Register.
May be relevant - in 1922 one of his sisters, Nellie, and her husband were living in Aston Lane. Prior to that most of the family seem to live at addresses which come under Handsworth.
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Spot on, thank you. Lozells Road is Aston Manor civil parish. I know it's 1891, but I am using an address in Aston that the person has lived at, proving an association with the place. Likley, a relative gave his name to the Church.
 
I think I've traced A T Barnett, (Arthur Thomas Barnett 1489 RWR) but it is a bit of an odd one. He has a pension record as having died 'other ranks' and address, marriage all in Aston, his wife on pension record. But there is no CWGC record. His attestation form says he was discharged 8/3/17, and there is even a note on the file from his wife asking about medals, talking about her 'late' husband. He married 28/7/17 and died 30/11/17. Any thoughts as to why no CWGC record?
 
Possibly depends on cause of death. If it wasn't felt his death was caused by war injuries then it might not have counted for CWGC.
 
Ann, The CWGC is missing many entries, I have checked a few dozen over the past couple of days and not found them on there, I do have a few more for you to check

James Ernest Mogg 44074 died 04/10/1917 aged 19 lived 62 Wainwright Street

A Moreboy is probably Alfred Mortiboy 8267 died 16/05/1915 aged 32 lived 15/72 Pugh Road

William Henry Parkes ( W H Parks ) 3254 died 02/04/1916 from Aston but not living there or Birmingham

Frederick George Staton I would say is the same person as Frederick George Statham

W H Vigus could be Harry Sidney Vigurs 129885 died 23/08/1918 19 lived 68 Aston Lane, I know the initials don't tally up but they may have mis-transcribed or just mis-spelt, I do think that some of the names on there have no really connection to Aston, I think they may have been soldiers from the barracks just down the road by the Villa ground and probably attend services at the church, I am going to have a break for a couple of days then I will see if I can find the other missing service men

John
 
aston lad said:
W H Vigus could be Harry Sidney Vigurs 129885 died 23/08/1918 19 lived 68 Aston Lane, I know the initials don't tally up but they may have mis-transcribed or just mis-spelt, I do think that some of the names on there have no really connection to Aston, I think they may have been soldiers from the barracks just down the road by the Villa ground and probably attend services at the church, I am going to have a break for a couple of days then I will see if I can find the other missing service men

John
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1644688100965.png
 
MWS said:
Is that his death, reg. Dec qtr 1917 Aston? There appears to be a matching burial at Witton Cemetery.
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Yes, I've just found that too. I am convinced this is our man on the Memorial, everything fits. He definitely saw active service in France, but as pjmburns notes, needed to have died for a reason that linked to his service to be on CWGC. The paper I had written on rules for CWGC, found on astonww1memorial.com, noted the possibility of names being on the Memorial that wouldn't be recognised by CWGC, it seems we've found one such person.
 
For william and florence on 1911 census eldest daughter is Lily and her baptism was in Birmingham
1644689590562.png
The address is Friston Street Ladywood.

Note: I am not sure this is the right family.
 
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Good afternoon everyone.
Just to let you know I have updated the website astonWW1memorial.com. The Memorial Listing has ten newly confirmed entries, some of which are a direct result of your feedback, so thank you.
I am unlikely to post to this thread again, but I will keep a watching eye on it! I will start a new thread posting when I have any significant new developments.
Thanks again for all your help.
Ann
 
I can't find a W A Baldwin but there is a W E Baldwin (W Baldwin on books at Hall of Memory) but he is from Aston.
CWGC entry
1644857134567.png
 
Possible for J Barrett but I can't fnd an Aston link at the moment except Kendal Rpad seems to come under Aston on 1911 census.
1644857844364.png
 
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