Shot in the dark

[valerie1]

This is a last resort in the hunt for my grandfather Frank (Francis) Taylor.
A soldier who was alive and kicking in November 1919 and waiting to go home (where home is I have no idea) he was at an army transit camp.
The name of the camp was Kinmel camp, the camp was in Wales and is well known for housing thousands of Canadian soldiers, there was also a riot among the Canadian soldiers who wanted to go home after suffering the turmoil of War in far flung countries only to see there American buddies going home before them but I digress the Canadians to the best of my knowledge had gone home by Nov 1919.

So if there is any one with a family member named Frank Taylor and you know he was in Wales in 1919 could you contact me, I have no other info on him except that my grandmother Jane who came from Wales had a child by him

Well someone has to win the lottery maybe I can with this search which I have posted everywhere and have appealed to the fantastic site The great war forum and have had lots of help but no joy

Thanks Valerie

Please note corresponding posts:
SCOTLAND: http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=75848.msg313690#msg313690
WALES: http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,75843.0.html

Moderator

[valan]

Hi,
Sorry if I haven't read your posting correct - but did your grandfather get back home.  I live near the church in Bodelwyddan where there are dozens of Canadian graves of men who had been "waiting" to go home after the war - many died in the influenza epidemic that hit that year. Could look at the gravestones for you, if that helps.
Valan

[valerie1]

Hi Valan,

What a fantastic offer, there is a possibility that my grandfather was not Canadian my gradmother was not married when she had my mother she died a few months after giving birth she died of that terrible influenza, she would only say that she met my grandfather Frank Taylor at a public house where she was working called the Hesketh arms in Abergele, Frank was stationed at Kinmel camp where there was lots of Canadian solders, Frank could have died I suppose of the same thing she may have caught it from him. but he would have had to be alive Nov 1919 so if he died needs to be later than that or my mother who was born in Aug 1929 would have been the immaculate birth, but your offer would be very much appreciated.
Regards Valerie

[valerie1]

Hi Valan

It should have read my mother was born 1920 the two numbers are close thats my excuse anyway
Regards
Valerie

[valan]

Apologies Valerie for the delay. Time and the weather conspired to keep me from visiting the graves. Sadly when I finally did there was no gravestone with the name of Frank (Francis) Taylor or any other Taylor. I was very disappointed indeed.
Good luck in your search any way.
Regards,
Valan

[valerie1]

Hi Valan

Thank you so much for the time you have taken and given me in my search for Frank, well guess he was alive and kicking some where in the winter of 1919 and summer 1920.

Will keep in touch if any thing turns up.
If ever I can help you in any way contact me I would love to return the favour
Regards Valerie

[MJP]

Hi Valerie,

I could not find your post on the Great War Forum, so I don't know if someone there already told you about this, but you can view the attestation (enlistment) papers of all soldiers who served in the Canadian Forces in WWI at the Library and Archives of Canada:

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/02010602_e.html

There were more than two dozen Frank or Francis Taylors.  Some of them died in the war, so you can rule them out - you can find the list of men who died at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/virtualmem

This will give you their service number, so you can match it up with their attestation papers at the Archives site.  I would think you could also rule out the ones who were married when they enlisted, but I guess you never know.... 

I sometimes go to the Archives for my own research.  I would be willing to look through the service records of the Frank/Francis Taylors for clues.  If he went through the Kinmel camp it should be recorded in the file, and would give the specific dates he was there.  (The enlistment papers posted on-line are only one part of what's contained in the soldier's file).

It will take me several months to get through them all, because I don't go all that often and I would be doing other things at the same time, but I'm willing to give it a go!

If you would like me to give it a try, could you do a bit of the ground work and send me a list, with name, service number and box reference number of the most likely "candidates" to search first? (ie: lived through the war, unmarried, check all Franks before searching Francis, any other criteria you wish to use...)  That will make my research a bit more efficient.  A specific date range when you would expect him to be at Kinmel would also be useful.

Send me a PM if you're interested and I'll send you my e-mail address. 

Martha

[MJP]

I thought of something else Valerie.  There are many war diaries of Canadian regiments on-line at the Archives site as well.

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/020152_e.html

If the attestation papers give a regiment number, you could check the war diaries to see if that regiment was at Kinmel at the right time.  Not all diaries are there though, and they don't necessarily cover the whole time that the regiment was overseas.  Also, some soldiers did change regiments during the war, so you would not know that from the attestation papers. 

There is a forum similar to the Great War Forum for the Canadian Forces.  Someone there might be able to help you figure out if there were any Canadian left at Kinmel by 1919....

http://www.cefresearch.com/phpBB2/index.php

Martha

[valerie1]

Hi Martha

Thanks for the infomation, going straight on to the Canadian site now to see if the Canadains had all gone by Nov 1919, if they have then I hope I can find other regiments that were based at Kinmel in November 1919, I thought it would be so easy to find out who was based at this camp, I thought that the war records would be so easy to access how naive was I.

Will let you know how it goes

Thanks again
Valerie