Peter Henry Harrison
 

Name - "official" name and what they were known as

Peter Henry Harrison (Harry to workmates much to the annoyance of his wife)

Date and place of birth

22 July 1885 (22nd July is the day they celebrated his birthday and confirmed on the 1939 register) in Rotherham, Yorkshire ( from the 1911 census)- No birth cert has ever been discovered

Names of parents

Unknown – marriage cert says his father was ‘ Thomas Harrison – deceased’ – think that’s a red herring – also he is only listed as Peter not Peter Henry.

Details of each of his or her marriages - if any - and any divorces

25 December 1908 at Holy Trinity Church, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire to Lily Cox

Occupation(s) - if any

Coal Miner and soldier before and during WW1

Military service - if any

Regimental number 8003, Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. Posted for duty at Castleford 09/12/1903. Posted to Pontefract 15/12/1903,and to Aldershot 04/02/1904. Embarked aboard S S Dilwara 17/02/1905 and reached Gibralter 22/02/1905. Examined for extension of service and considered fit 10/04/1906.
Was recalled for duty in 1914 - Prisoner of War ( date not recorded) although the record states that he was in France for one month and in Germany for four years and four months. So it can be assumed that he was captured soon after arrival in France. He received the 1914 Star, The British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Discharged due to demobilization on the 11/04/1919.

Army record stated his place of birth as Ashby de la Zouch but that was filled in on his recall to the army as a reserve for WW1. It was where he was living at the time.

His army record has been 'weeded' and no details of place of birth from when he first enlisted are in his records. ( He covered his tracks well)

Addresses where they lived - and please list which censuses you have or haven't found him/her on, if applicable.

Can’t find him in 1891 or 1901
1908 – 1913 - The Green, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire
1913 – 1919 – Military service including a time as a POW
1919 – 1965 – 139 Swadlincote Road, Woodville, Derbyshire

Date, place and cause of death

21 April 1965 at 326 Uxbridge Street, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire (his son’s home) – cause - Coronary Artery Desease and Emphysema

Date and place of burial / cremation.

Cremated at Markeaton, Derby

Details of will / administration of their estate - if applicable

House and contents left to his unmarried son (although the house wasn’t in the will he asked on his deathbed for the other siblings to let him live there which they took as give to him)

Memorial inscription - if any

No


I have mentioned Peter so many times on these boards, Merry is sick of his name. He would never tell his family anything about his early life, just said he wasn’t wanted. We only discovered he was from Rotherham on the 1911 census although it was assumed he was from Yorkshire. He isn’t the Peter Harrison born in 1885 in York as that person is still in York in 1911.



As a POW

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...erofWarWW1.jpg

It was inevitable, wasn't it? I hope something comes of this for you Marg - and for Dave!

AN

I don't think I've seen his photo before!

What else can we try? There must be something???

I haven't read the old stuff in any detail, so I can't promise anything new, so, eyes down and back to basics. In fact, it might be easier to work backwards.

You know when, where and why he died and what happened afterwards (bit of a schlep from where you are to Markeaton Marg – that was more my neck of the woods)

You know where he lived between completing his military service in 1919 and his death in 1965.

You have his army record, which covers the years of his service, but does not shed any light on his antecedents.

You have his marriage in 1908 and you are not confident that either his name or the details of his father are correct. Can you confirm there is no next of kin on the early part of the record?

You can’t find his birth registration and can’t be 100% sure that either the date or the year is correct.

So basically everything before he enlists in the army is at best uncertain and at worst a complete mystery and a lot of the rest is not too clear either.

*calls for icepack*

For the sake of completeness, this is him in 1911 at 14 The Green Ashby de la Zouch, verified by the other residents:

HARRISON, PETER HEAD MARRIED M 25 COAL MINER HEWER ROTHERAM YORKSHIRE
HARRISON, LILLY WIFE MARRIED 2 F 25 LEICESTERSHIRE ASHBY - DE LA ZOUCH
HARRISON, FLORENCE DAUGHTER SINGLE F 1 LEICESTERSHIRE ASHBY - DE LA ZOUCH
COX, MARY MOTHER WIDOW F 67 LEICESTERSHIRE ASHBY - DE LA ZOUCH
WILKINS, JAMES LODGER SINGLE M 48 RAILWAY SERVANT WAGGON EMPTIER LEICESTERSHIRE APPLEBY MAGNA

Our chap would have been 15 at the time of the 1901 census, 16 later in the year, so he ought to appear on the census as some sort of worker, apprentice, whatever, but I have to say he’s not jumping out at me!

*polishes crystal ball*

How about this as a scenario?

He joined the army in 1903 at the age of 18, just before Christmas, which suggests to me that he had not got a lot to look forward to if he stayed at home, wherever that was.

Tying in with what he said about not being wanted, do you think it’s possible that he grew up in some sort of institution? They would have kicked him out at 14 or so, perhaps he couldn’t make a go of it on his own and he opted for another institution where he wouldn’t have to worry about stuff like food and where to sleep. Had he got himself into some sort of trouble as an additional spur to joining up and did it go something like this:

What’s your name lad?

Er…

Come on lad, speak up!

Er…Peter … Harrison … sir

It’s as good a name as any.

Is that the wrong answer?

AN

Phew! At least I am not completely off the wall then.

Isn't there anyone on here who might have cause to go to Rotherham Archives and might live a bit nearer, who could perhaps do some groundwork for you?

AN

Best check before you travel - there doesn't seem to be any mention of workhouse records in their 134 page explantory booklet.

However, these chaps might know more of what's about: Rotherham Family History Society www.rotherhamfhs.co.uk

Even better, they might have a member whose been trying for years to find out what happened to grandad's brother who disappeared in 1903 - can't find a death anywhere!

AN

Did Peter Harris with the Derbyshire connection get completely discounted?

Just found this - is this what they meant about his army record?

• Every soldier had a service record, although only some 30% or so now exist.
  
• A service record consists of a number of different army forms used to record information about a soldier during his military career. The numbers and types of forms in a man’s record vary greatly from soldier to soldier, as does the quality and legibility of the information they contain. Service records often also contain private correspondence: for example if a man was enquiring with regard to his medals or if a widow was enquiring about a pension.
  
• The records were thinned out before going into storage in the 1930s, by disposal of many documents.
  
• An army service record is the only source likely to give family, age, birthplace and trade information.

AN

Oh, I'm sure there are loads of people we regularly look for on ths site who have never really existed :D

Hi Marg
Spending a lot of time trawling through the thousands of posts made before I joined the site. Now and again a statement makes me curious.

By repeatedly saying that he wasn't wanted was he implying that he was either adopted or placed with other family members to raise him?

If the first is a possibility then was Harrison his adopted name or birth name? If a child is adopted is their original birth registration removed?

Just a thought - sorry to throw in even more confusion.

John

If he was adopted it would have been before the formal adoption system was brought in. And if a child is adopted under that system, their original birth registration is not removed but their birth certificate would have "Adopted" written on it.

Was wondering if the Regimental Muster lists at the National Archives might have some info ie where he joined up etc.

There's a Peter Henry Carrington born in Jul qtr 1885 at Skipton

given the accent perhaps it might be him.

*faints* :eek:

That Peter Henry Carrington died aged 3.

There are no Musters for such "recent" dates

ooooooohhh




Doh!

They just mentioned on the BBC1 programme 9.15 this morning

the Regimental Admissions Register? (well I think it was as I was just passing the tv at the time) which gave further details of a person when they joined - perhaps that's too late for Peter.

Sorry I was only passing through the room when I saw it - not even sure it was Regimental admissions now - will have to look at the programme again on rewind to find out exactly.

When I needed some military records looked up at the NA sometime ago I used a military researcher at very reasonable cost - not sure if he still does it. Kevin Asplin was his name.

Update it was the Honorable Artillery Company that had the admissions book.

It might be worth contacting the Regiment Peter first joined to see what Regimental records they know of that might shed some light. Here's a link to the Regimental Museum.

http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/sections...ry_Museum.aspx

http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous...light-infantry

I used Kevin a couple of years ago. I thought he was very good too.

There are Description books at the National Archives which is a similar sort of thing but they are for the 19th century. Worth trying the regiment, though, to see if they have anything on him.

We did try the regimental museum ages ago. Nothing, referred us to TNA.

I'll have another go.

Remember, I do have his military record, not just from Ancestry but from The Army archives themselves many years before they went online. We had to produce proof that OH's father was his son and he had to write giving us permission to receive them. Much like you have to now when you order WW2 records.

They commented that the records had been 'weeded'. Their words. It told when he joined and where. No mention of next of kin or place of birth. The place of birth of the records when he was recalled for WW1 says Ashby de la Zouch, which was where he lived at the time not his place of birth which according to the 1911 census was Rotherham. He joined the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in 1903 in Pontefract.

It was the actual Regimental records that I was referring to. There may be something at the National Archives - Muster lists, pay lists and as with HAC an admission book - you never know.

I found out the date a soldier joined, his age 17.3 and where he enlisted by looking at records for the 7lst Regiment of Foot.

As I said, Julie, there are no musters for this period at Kew.

What about pay books - I found death registered on one as his pay stopped and it said deceased even though no-one ever registered it.

None of them either for this period, Julie

There are the Red Cross WW1 POW records which have recently appeared online although they are not yet complete. Worth a look, even though they may well not help as they will relate to his WW1 service and not earlier service.

http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/File/Search

Thats a shame ansawbey.

Margaret

The POW records are not all on there yet. Unfortunately, though, I don't think they'll help.

Did he get an Army Pension for his WW1 service? There are the Pension records held by the Western Front Association, but, again, they will probably just refer to WW1 service.

Doesn't it say in his WW1 service records?

No clues at all. Read it for yourself.




http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin...ff=&ml_rpos=10