WW1 - men born or connected with the Poole/Bournemouth Area

[MortenofPoole]

Hello Wallace. If you would like to tell me their names then I will see if I can help. Regards. Morten

[wallace07]

Morten, the surname is Samways.  Harry and son William.  It is my information that Harry died in Weymouth military hospital from wounds received.  The hospital, of course, is not longer standing.

[MortenofPoole]

Hello again Wallace

Do you know any information eg. their regiments, where born/ where they were living etc? There are 8 Medal Index Cards for Harry Samways & 26 for William Samways. I also noticed that there is a service record for a Wm George Albert Samways who resided at Upton, Poole.
Also, do you know when Harry died as I couldn't find his entry on the CWGC website? A Harry Lionel Samways, however, died 28/3/18 and is buried in Belgium. 
I will have a look through my notes, in case they were mentioned in the local paper. Regards. Morten

[wallace07]

Thanks Morten.  They were both from Oakdale. William would have been around 17 at the time the war broke out, Harry, between 35 and 37, i think.  I was always told they joined 'The Dorset Regiment'.  However, some ink stamps on the back of a birth certificate for my grandmother says 'infantry office, Exeter'.  I guess the certificate was used to validate something.

[MortenofPoole]

Hello again Wallace

I had a look through my notes and found the following -

Sgt A E Samways (Dorsets), from Poole &  (possibly three brothers) Pte Victor (Dorsets), Lance Corp. Herbert (ASC) and Pte Frederick ( regiment ?) from Upper Parkstone.   

Also a Corporal W G Samways from Bournemouth who was in the Military Police.

Looking again at the Medal Index Cards for Wm or Harry in the Dorsets, I can see a Wm G J Samways (3521, Dorsets) & found a Henry (947, Dorsets).

This is a good example of how difficult it can be to track down the correct information with limited knowledge to go on. However do let me know if you can think of any other information that might help us track them down. If they served abroad then there should be at least a Medal Index Card.
By the way - I think that you assumptions about the birth certificate are correct.  Best Wishes. Morten

[wallace07]

Thanks Morten.  Are all medical index cards surviving from WW1 as i have often been told that a lot was lost to bombing in WW2.  It seems strange that there appears to be no record of either - could they have joined another regiment?  I was also told that Harry was a recruiter before he actually went himself.

[MortenofPoole]

Hello Wallace

Do you know the date when Harry died in Weymouth? The Medal Index Cards survive for (almost) every man who served overseas. Many Service Records were lost during the blitz. Some Pension Records also survive but it would not be suprising to find that both Harry's & William's records are missing.

There are MIC's for  - Wm (5 Dorsets), Wm A J (Dorsets), Wm J (Dorsets), Wm G J (Dorsets) - did he have a middle name? Also for a George H. (Dorsets). However he may have continued in the army after WW1 so his record could still be with the MOD, when did he die??


Interestingly, there is a Pte. H. Samways (Dorsets) listed on the memorial inside Longfleet St. Mary (Poole) Church so it does seem probable that he was in that regiment.



Regards Morten

[wallace07]

Hi Morten,

I think the name on the memorial (H Samways) is almost certainly his, as there is strong anecdotal evidence that he is buried there also, but i have yet to determine this for sure.  If you are up there again, i would appreciate a photo, but otherwise, i can try to send my sister up there.  But where does this leave us?  I assume this means that his MIC is missing.  Can we go anywhere else with this now?  By the way, can you tell me where to look to know more about where and what the Dorsets did in WW1?

As for William, i don't know of a middle name, but let me do some more poking around.

Thanks again for all your assistance.

[Redroger]

W.Luffman Pte 5901 of the 1st Dorset Regiment was killed in action 3.12.1914, and appears to have been killed by a sniper or unaimed bullet at night. I know little more about him other than that his name appears on the War Memorial at Poole, and that he was married to a lady from Wales. Luffman is a rare surname but less uncommon in Dorset, so he may have been associated with Poole.What first drew attention to this is that no one seems to know the poor man's first name. This is one thing I would like to establish for certain. From marriage records in Wales I believe it was either Walter or William.