Private John Stanley (born 1898) was killed two months from the end of the Great War. The location of the memorial and the date indicate that he was killed in the attack of the Drocourt-Queant line, and the follow up actions. The Drocourt-Queant (or DQ) line was part of the Hindenburg line. The Germans had…
All posts in Direct line
More about Mary’s brother John
The first born child of the Stanley/Ormsby marriage was John (born 1866 in Roscommon). The 1891 census has him born in 1867. At that time, he was single and lodging with his married (half) sister Catherine (or Kate) Senior. So what happened to him subsequently? In 1901 he is still working as a Mason’s Labourer.…
Yorkshire born Stanley
Having discovered a locally born Stanley family with a strong geographical connection (New St) to my Irish ancestors, it was an obvious line of enquiry to follow. The same family appears in 1891. John’s date of birth is now shown as 1855. Their address is Carlisle St. This is another address that does not seem…
Kate Senior
Kate appeared on the 1891 census. Born in 1851, she was already married to Uriah and had two daughters, aged 6 and 2. The Senior surname is quite common in West Yorkshire. The name Uriah is far less common. They are easy to find on the 1881 census. Kate and Uriah are both shown as…
Looking for one relative – finding another
Patrick and Mary Muldoon (nee Stanley) were living in Dewsbury in 1891. (See Mary Muldoon) Was she the first of the family to go to Yorkshire? It appears not. Another 1891 record for Dewsbury seems to show two more family members in the town. Address 13 Back New Street Parish Dewsbury Forename Surname Age…
Manchester Regiment – Initial Service
Having signed up for the Manchester Regiment in Pontefract on October 2nd Patrick arrived at the Regimental Depot in Ashton-under-Lyne (near Manchester) on October 4th. The writing is quite faint, but it appears to say that he was posted to the 4th Battalion on October 17th. At that time, they were based at Kinsale, south…
The Manchester Regiment (1)
After six weeks in the militia, Patrick transferred to the Manchester Regiment. As discussed in ‘From Yorkshire to Lancashire’ and ‘Yorkshire and Lancashire History’ there must have been a very good reason for this move. Before addressing that question, there are some things to pick up from the enlistment paperwork. He has put on 8…
Home based militia?
I am indebted to Karl Noble of Rotherham Council’s Museums Service for a chance comment that he made in an email. “Out of interest the 3rd Battalion were used only once as an independent unit overseas, from January to August 1902 they served in South Africa on garrison duty and protecting supply lines. They had…
Reorganising Regiments
Units in the British Army have always had some wonderful names. E.g. 65th (2nd Yorkshire North Riding) Regiment of Foot. E.g. 84th (York & Lancaster) Regiment of Foot. In 1881, Hugh Childers, the Secretary of State for War, implemented a series of reforms for the infantry regiments. Each regiment was to have two regular battalions…
More on the Militia
Patrick’s enlistment paperwork provides a range of detailed information. He was 5ft 5 1/2 in tall (166cm) and 125lb (57kg). This gives him a BMI of 20 which is considered healthy by today’s standards. The Army said that he had blue eyes. My father (Patrick’s son) disagreed. He said that they were more brown than…