Soldiers Effects – why advertise?

[c-side]

My great uncle died in WW1 and, according to the register of Soldiers Effects, £2. 18s. 6d. went to his mother and 11s. 9d to his sister, Ann.

The register then says ‘Retd Sister Ann.  Payee refuses to accept. To be advertised’

Anyone know why they would be advertising and for what outcome?

Christine

[km1971]

Hi Christine

Often difficult to know why something happened. Discovering what happened is hard enough. Any clues as to the date this happened? Ann may be hoping that her brother was not dead.

Government as now has to advertise that money was available to be claimed. They sometimes did this using the London Gazette, and/or the army lists. Soldier's will may have stated that 20% was to go his siblings, and the Government were checking if other siblings existed. If no one came forward this 20% would have gone to his mother.

Ken

[groom]

I wonder whether his sister was cross about the fact that he'd been killed fighting and felt it was an insult to be offered the money and therefore refused to accept it? Probably something that you'll never discover.

[c-side]

Thanks for the responses.

Although I’ve never been sure why he chose to leave money to his sister, Ann, when he had two other sisters, I suspect that her reason for refusing to accept it was that she had already emigrated to America.  Rather than refusing the cash they simply couldn’t find her.

Actually, thinking about it from that angle, perhaps they were advertising to find her.  Why didn’t I think of that before?   

I couldn’t understand the need to advertise when they had contact details for his mother who would be his next of kin but to my knowledge the mother didn’t keep in touch with her daughter after she left so she wouldn’t know where she was.

Amazing how putting it on here in print can make things seem clearer! 

Christine

[Skoosh]

Maybe the sum total was so trivial that she declined!

Skoosh.

[scrimnet]

Was it his sister or a "Sister Ann"...Nurse or nun??...If a nun, she would be unable to accept due to vows of poverty, if a nursing sister...she possibly felt that the money belonged to the family...


Depends upon the actual wording ...

[c-side]

I did consider the nurse or nun situation but I think if nun then he would have mentioned order or convent as an identifier and a nurse, particularly back then, would have more likely been known by her surname.  He did have a sister called Ann/Annie/Nancy who emigrated to the USA in 1911 as a servant to a family.  Maybe he thought she could do with a few bob in the New World.

It was the why the army was going to advertise which puzzled me but now I've thought about it then perhaps they were going to try to find her.  It would be interesting to know the outcome but that, as is usual in this game, is unlikely 

Thanks all,

Christine