Marriage look up Merchant to Brewin.

[willsy]

Knew I had seen this address, have James Welch military notes


British Army Service Records 1760-1915
JAMES WELCH
Birth year    1887
Birth parish    CHATHAM
Birth town    CHATHAM
Birth county    KENT
Birth country    ENGLAND
Service number    49
Regiment    Royal Army Medical Corps
Document Type    Attestation
Attestation year    1905
Attestation Day    27
Attestation Month    2
Attestation age years    18
Attestation age months    11
Attestation Corps    Royal Army Medical Corps
Attestation service number    49
Discharge Corps    Royal Army Medical Corps
Series    militia service records 1806-1915
Box    1295
Box Record Number    306
Record set    British Army Service Records 1760-1915
Category    Military, armed forces & conflict
Record collection    Regimental & service records

The good news is his mother is Mrs Welch 2 Clover Alley, Clover Street (1901 Census) bad news is he deserted in record time and was struck off, there is however a wonderful drawing of the tattoo he had!

So he put Chatham too, says he is residing in Gosport

[Sal1525]

Hi Dizzifish & Willsy,

Great work from both of you. I will catch up with your searches for the Kilbride family as soon as I can. James Welch--well I never----you could knock me down with a feather.

I have tracked down and have viewed a copy of the Army record and it is the right person-son of Robert Welsh & Betsy Merchant!
So he was in Chatham in 1905, he had contact with his Mother as he nominated her as his next of kin and gave her address of Clover Alley, Chatham! Blimey you have done it again, knocked my socks off.
But he does a runner or just does not attend his military duties anymore so that may well be why she told the child care agencies that James`s whereabouts were unknown, covering up for him. Betsy may have helped him to `disappear`?
I wonder where he went, I`ll see if I can find his 1911 census entry, I suppose he may well have reenlisted when WW1 occurred-but would he have not gotten into trouble if he tried to reenlist at a later date for absconding the first time round? I feel a name change coming along here.
He joined in Portsmouth!! Wow another link there, where his sisters Ellen & Faith (Charity) went to live. Ooh, I need to look at my paperwork again and also see what else I can dig up about James.

[willsy]

Ooh missed the Portsmouth bit, the one I found later there says he has been married 10yrs and from Portsmouth, otherwise I can't pinpoint him

[Sal1525]

Hi Willsy,

The Military record that you found for James Welsh at a later date, whom had been married for 10 years and from Portsmouth---do you have more details please?
I have ordered the death cert; for Louisa Welsh to see if she died of anything similar to Sister Florence.
Thanks.

[willsy]

Sorry, found later meant 1911. There is a chap in Portsmouth, was looking at the signature just now to compare but he says born in Portsmouth, dock labourer. Maybe you could have a look, the signature isn't quite the same but he is that bit older, already slipped up with him once!

[Sal1525]

Hi Willsy,

Thank you, good work.
When James was in Chatham in 1905 and enlisted in the R.A.M.C he made himself absent for any future service with them, may have done a runner, I don`t know if he thought he would be in trouble or not as he seems to have disappeared thereafter.
I am surmising here, the 1906 Dr B report said James was 17y, whereabouts unknown and used the alias of Smith, I now think that his Mother was covering up for him for some reason or other or had washed her hands of him, probably knew where he was, but deliberately attached the name Smith to James knowing full well it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack if the authorities wanted to find him for any reason.
If he was in trouble then he may have changed some of his personal details, including his place of birth.
On his enlistment papers James stated that he had lived in Gosport, Hampshire for at least 12 months which was a large Military area. And Gosport was opposite Portsmouth City so it would not be deemed unusual if he set up home there.
James may have been involved in Military duties in those 12 months or lived there as a civilian as he was not raised by his Mother--and then ended up in Sittingbourne working for Mr Batchelor or vice-versa.
It is possible that he may have returned to Gosport or Portsmouth from Chatham, by boat perhaps from either Rochester or the Chatham Dockyard.
I am guessing but James having been in touch with his Mother might have learnt that his Sister Ellen was in Portsmouth, where she married William Gambier in 1904, and tried to find her?
The records that you have found are worth following up as it might be James, anything is possible with the twists and turns in this family.

[sezuk]

I was just doing an online search for 1 montague court bishopsgate and this thread came up. It's a slight deviation from your search, and I couldn't quite get everything you were looking at, but I thought I'd take a long shot and see if I had any connection or a query I have could be solved.

My great great grandmother was Catherine Scully (1881 living at 1A Montague Court with mother Ellen), in 1886 she had a son, Benjamin William - just got birth certificate - no father named!

She is listed as a domestic servant at 1 Montague Court - she leaves workhouse with son, but returns in July and her son dies in the workhouse.

By 1890 she is in Bethnal Green and marries Luke Mizon.

Now I'm trying to figure out who could have been Benjamin's father, I wondered as a servant, whether it was the master...so I know this is a long shot, but does anyone know anymore about Montague Court and those living there?