Howard Avenel Bligh St. George

[liverpool annie]

You can buy a picture of him on line here !! 

http://www.lulu.com/content/535311

Annie 

[Viktoria]

Thank you very much, the problem is now that I don`t buy over the internet ,and I have tried emailing but without success. Is There an address I could write to and send a cheque?Did you know there was a book written about this young man? It is very difficult tracing him because of his many names and which are his Christian names and which his?title / surname  .what is your interest in him, I would find it interesting to know. Viktoria.

[liverpool annie]

Hi Viktoria and welcome to RootsChat 

I have no interest in the St George family ... other than it looked like interesting research ... ( which all on RootsChat seem to get a "big kick " out of !!  )

As for the Lulu site ... I'm not sure what to tell you ... except they are a very good resource for me and I have bought many photographs obituaries and newsclippings through the years from them !! 

Annie 

[RhodieBKK]

If there is still interest in this thread then I can help as 'Ave', or, 'Avenal' was my great uncle.
I will be able to give you the link to the St George Baronetcy as well.
I do not recall my other uncle "fleeing" to America he went on to be a Colonel in the Life Guards and Silverstick with a good war record - so no white feather required!
My grandmother did however go over to the US in late 1914 until 1915.
I have recently come across pictures of both Cornet St George 1/LG and the houses you mention.

[gallipolianzac]

An interesting reply but I doubt we have the same individual. Howard Avenel Bligh St George's brother was called George. George St George went to the USA in June 1913 to work with JP Morgan ( His address is given as Leamington Spa which is where the family were living at the time) and did not return until 1926.(passenger lists confirm both instances of travel) He was then described as a USA national. There is absolutely no record of him having served in the Life Guards, or for that matter in any of HM Armed forces during the Great War. So quite how he was promoted to colonel and 'had a good war record' remains a mystery! I stand by my earlier statement that he remained in the USA for the duration of the war at the request of his mother who could not bear the thought of another of her boys being killed.

[gallipolianzac]

I might add that my book on the men buried at the Zillebeke Churchyard Cemetery near Ypres is called 'Aristocrats Go To War' and can be bought online at Amazon and other booksellers. A very good photograph of Howard St George and the exact circumstances of his death are chronicled therein. Zillebeke Churchyard Cemetery is a military cemetery and the young man in question lies with a number of other officers and men who were killed during the first battle of Ypres.

[Viktoria]

It is very difficult to sort out who is who(m)in this family-- there are so many of the same name and the American newspaper excerpts reporting his death were not  accurate it seems. They got mixed up too!
Some of his family were resident in the U.S by the time he was killed(Winter 1914)

When we visited Zillebeke Church we saw his grave among some more military burials but mainly it is a graveyard for the local population and not a dedicated military cemetery.I don`t imgine that anyone would have anticipated the vast size most military cemeteries  would ultimately  be ,so early in the war.(Winter 1914)
We were disappointed to miss seeing the stained glass window in the church, in his memory placed by his mother. The Church was closed, and there was no reply at the priest`s house.

I still kick myself fr not buying the book which first roused my interest in this young man when it was on sale in the souvenir shop in Ypres Cloth Hall museun shop. I was allowed to see( but not touch) a slim pamphlet held in Ypres Town archives, about him..

I have a photograph, in his splendid uniform, looking very haughty, and so young.My family got it for me as a little present some years ago when this topic first came up and RootsChatters helped me a lot. Again thanks for that. Cheerio Viktoria.

I`m a dinosaur---- I want the old RootsChat back!!!

[gallipolianzac]

Zillebeke Churchyard Cemetery IS a dedicated Military Cemetery. the CWGC section is on the left and contains the 36 Burials. Many CWGC cemeteries are part of communal cemeteries. Check on the CWGC website. George was definitely the Brother of Avenel Bligh St George.

[Viktoria]

I think we are at cross purposes , I meant that the whole graveyard is not of military burials only, there are graves of local people too. Dedicated to me  meant no other burials  but military ones.
Perhaps you meant the military burials are under the auspices of the C.W.G.C.,which is correct of course.
I was not disputing your knowledge which I know to be extensive. It`s just a question of phraseology  and our different perceptions of what we each mean.

His mum was an unusual person wasn`t she? Very tall and having an affair with someone other than his father. Cheerio and A Happy New Year to you. Viktoria.