RootsChat.Com

I'm trying to find this soldier's first name and where he might have lived. He was awarded the 14-15 star for service with the KOSB. His medal record card indicates he served in the Balkans in Sept 1915. He seems to have transferred to the Essex Regiment at some point, and the award of the War and Victory Medals was from that regiment. There seems to be no other record of him in Ancestry's WW1 records and no soldier with either of these numbers is listed on the CWGC web site, which would seem to indicate he survived the war.

His 14-15 Star was amongst the possessions of an aunt who died a couple of years ago. Her surname was SCOTT and there doesn't seem to have been any relative with the surname DOUGLAS. He may have been an uncle, but none of the possible Douglas-Scott marriage records I've found fit that theory (there were no aunts on  her mother's side). Her family were from Lanarkshire, so I'm assuming he must have come from that area. Knowing his first name might help with finding him and explaining how the medal might have come into my Aunt's possession.

Sandy

A relative of my wife was killed whilst serving with the Navy in the Mediterranean during WW2. A comrade, who was wounded in the same attack, subsequently died of his wounds on shore and was buried in Algiers. There is, however, no grave listed for my wife's relative or others who died in that attack, though they are listed on the memorial at Chatham. Would those who died on board ship have been buried at sea, even though they seem to have been close to an allied-controlled port?

Sandy

The death record (1868) for my 2xgreat grandmother Helen Johnston (ms McALPINE) gives her parents as Robert McALPINE (coalminer, deceased) and Margaret McALPINE (ms COWAN, also deceased). I have not been able to find a marriage record for Robert and Margaret, however Helen's oldest daughter was named Barbara Cowan Johnston and there is a Family Search record of a marriage between a Robert McALPINE and a Barbara COWAN in St Ninians in 1821, so my first question is could Helen's death record be wrong and her mother's name was actually Barbara? I'm not aware of Helen having any siblings whose records could be checked.

Family Search also has an entry for the christening of a Barbara COWAN in St Ninians in 1794 (Parents James COWAN and Margaret CAMPBELL), which might mean Margaret COWAN was Helen's grandmother. This Barbara appears to have a sister Helen COWAN (b 1799), whom Helen McALPINE might have been named after. I'd be interested if anyone has come across any other records which might back up these possible links.

Probable census records for Helen McALPINE before her marriage have her in service with no other family members present. I've found no census records for her mother, but there are census records for a Robert McALPINE of about the right age working as a coalminer in 1841 and a labourer at Bannockburn colliery in 1851. This Robert McALPINE is married to an Ann JOHNSTON (proclamation 1835 in St Ninians, no connection to Helen's husband's family) and there are a number of children from this marriage. I'm speculating that this could be Helen's father and that he re-married after the death of Barbara (or Margaret?). This Robert appears to have died before statutory records came in, so there is nothing to support my speculation and I'd be interested if anyone had come across anything to support or disprove this.

Thanks

Sandy

I've recently used national archives electronic document ordering service for first time and after more than 3 weeks am still waiting to receive the document, in spite of their stated 'target' being 14 working days. After much searching on their web site, I found what appeared to be appropriate link to query progress, which I used, only to find the target for these responses is another 10 working days! Is it just me that thinks this is so slow or has anyone else had a similarly frustating experience?

Sandy