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My maternal grandmother Florence Wills was born in Homerton, East London and was the youngest of four children of Samuel Wills and Emma Menella Wills née Harris.  Flo's brother Tom Wills was an Observer in the newly-formed RAF, and before the youngest service was three weeks old he had been killed in action near Diksmuide, shot down by Leutnant zur See Heinrich Wessels, who apparently had the distinction of being the oldest pilot in the German Air Force. 

The story that I heard from my aunt was that Tom's head was blown off, although evidently he was eventually identified, since he has a grave at Tyne Cot Cemetery, whereas so many are commemorated only as a name on one of the many panels.  Tom left a wife and three small daughters, and although his elder brother Fred did return from the War after serving in the Army, he was severely shell-shocked, never worked again and was always rendered acutely nervous by fireworks or loud noises. 

Thanks to the efforts of others I now have many details about a great-uncle whom I never knew, including a photograph of his gravestone and the number of his aircraft.  His nephew (also Tom) born in 1921 served in the RAF in World War II, but survived.  Like so many of us, when those who remembered the actual events were still there to pass on their memories, I never thought to ask the questions that now seem to me so obvious and essential.

So many years on from the harrowing events of the so-called "War to end all wars" and with the facility to access information at the click of a mouse, I'm also grateful for being able to find about some of those who at that time were the enemy.

"No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe....any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde" — John Donne, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

 

I've encountered something of a brick wall and wondered whether anyone out there might be able to remove a little of the mortar so that I can perhaps dislodge the odd header or stretcher.

My grandmother kept house for a Mr Williams of 1 Marian Terrace, Garth, Bangor from (I think) around 1916 until he died some time in the 1930s.  He worked for the Penrhyn estate and was also a cabinet maker (possibly amateur but pretty good -- we have two splendid pieces carved in Welsh oak which he crafted).  I believe it's "our" William George Williams who is shown on the 1911 Census as Clerk of Works, Penrhyn living at Marian Terrace with his wife Ellen Mary, but haven't any other evidence to back this up.

Mr Williams' younger brother George was a dental surgeon and employed my grandfather after WW1: I understand they met in the Medical Corps and he offered Taid a job after he was demobbed.  My grandparents met through the brothers and later lived in the Marian Terrace house.

I believe the Williams brothers may have come from Llanllechid but at present I'm dependent on internet sources for my research as I'm 170 miles from the ancestral home in Bangor!   Any hints on places to hunt or scraps of local knowledge would be greatly appreciated as I won't be able to come to the Records Office for some months.

Many thanks

Meryll