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Hello people,

I am looking into my father's military experience in Japan post WW2.

He is a Kiwi who went to Japan with the NZJF in 1947 but transferred to the Australian force a few months later. He then served with the Australians for the remainder of his time in Japan (about a year).

I have contacted the NZ Defence force for his military records, but it is possible that there may also be records of him within the AIF/BCOF.

If so or if not, can someone tell me who I should contact for full details, if they exist?

My dad's details:

* Thomas Smith Coulson
* Born July 5 1925
* Born Christchurch New Zealand
* Arrived Yamaguchi Japan July 1947 as part of the NZ Jay Force
* Transferred to the AIF approx Dec 1947 / Jan 1948
* returned to NZ approx Aug 1948.

I'd be interested too in learning why it was that he transferred.
My best guess to date is that it was a matter of manpower.
There wasn't much for the troops to do in Japan.
It's possible that the Australian force in Kure simply needed extra staff for drudge work
and it was easier to absorb some of the Kiwi soldiers than recruit from home.

Any assistance welcome.

-David C










 

All my data for this fellow has come via the internet. I don't have actual birth certs for him.

The GRO lists births in 1854 and 1863 (ie, civil regn).

Interestingly, there appears to be a parish record of a birth in 1854 but not one for 1863.
The record can be found online via FamilySearch.
(see preceding post for details).


Is it possible that HJS's mother needed a birth cert for him for some process when he was 9 years old, and that the document's production date got picked up accidentally as his actual birth date?


-DC

Hi team,

very tentatively this time, I return to the Smith clan in London.
We have discussed this family about three times before and collected a mountain of data,
so please don't get carried away chasing people through the censuses. We already have the data.

This new question is very specific:

How does Henry James Smith happen to have two separate birth records at GRO?


Details as follows:

1854 - Born Henry James Smith in Shoreditch, parents William Smith and Martha May.
1861 - Westminster: "Jas" born Dalston, 1855, with mother Martha born Brimpton 1823.
1863 - Born Henry James Smith in Newington, MMN = May.
1871 - Newington: Henry Smith born Dalston, 1855, with mother Martha born Brimpton 1824.
1881 - Newington: Henry J Smith born London, 1855, with mother Martha born "Brompton" 1824
1891 - Newington: Henry Smith born "Darlston" 1863, with mother Martha born Brimpton 1823.

After that the trail becomes ambiguous.
Several possible deaths for Henry but no obvious census appearances in 1901 or 1911.

Interestingly, the 1854-Henry appears in censuses for 1871 and 1881 but not in 1891,
and for the 1863-Henry the opposite is true. There are no censuses in which both appear.
In all cases, the description for the mother is identical.

Either we are looking at two families with extraordinary similarities or we are looking at one family for which the son's birth year switches from 1854 to 1863, leaving everything else the same. I could easily accept that the stated age for HJS in 1891 was written incorrectly, either by accident or by deception, but then we are faced with a civil birth record matching the erroneous age written in the 1891 census. What does this mean?

In summary:
* Are we looking at two Henry James Smiths or one?
* Are there circumstances whereby a 9-year-old boy could get a brand new birth certificate?
* If the second birth registration is fiction, what would drive a person to do such a thing, and how easily could this be done in the nineteenth century?


-DC

Thanks for the advice Annette.
I independently arrived at the same person, William of Theydon Mount.

There is a family of people surnamed Day in this area, derived from parents John Day and Mary Savill.
The first kids start in Chipping Ongar and later are born in Theydon Mount.

Nestled among them is this unique record, ie, William Day (1793) son of William Day, yet there are no other children in the region attached to the same father. I am not inclined to disbelieve facts that don't fit but in this case I wonder if it is possible that the record is wrong; ie, that William's dad is actually John Day and that he is a member of that same family?



-DC

Whoops... and before we get too carried away with this... here is a previous discussion we had, a year ago, in which the 1923 tenants of High House were named.

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=800159.18



I would still like to have an idea of when the Mcintosh family moved into High House.