Quote:
Originally Posted by Merry
One thing is for sure, the facts he gives us himself, name, date of birth and place of birth cannot all be accurate. The question is, are any of these 'facts' correct and if any of them are, which ones?!
I feel there much be some definite connection to Rotherham, even if he wasn't actually born there. His date of birth may not be correct, but it may be the date he believed he was born. His name would appear to be the least reliable information.
The forename Peter was fairly uncommon for the time, whist Harrison is much more common. Presumably this is the name he used when he joined the army in Dec 1903, but it seems it was not the name he was using in 1901 or before that.
Why did he change his name? He was 18 when he joined up so it wasn't because he needed to remain hidden if someone came looking for him. It could have been "because he wasn't wanted", but going by a completely new name seems quite drastic (many others must have had bad childhoods, but didn't change their names) Another reason could be that he was on the run from the police or some other authority.
Did he change both surname and forename or just one? Was the name he changed to significant in any way? I think we've probably looked at all the Peter's who were born in Rotherham around 1885!
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And that’s the summary of the mystery Merry
I also think I’ve checked out all of the male Harrison’s born in the Rotherham area around 1885