Hello, I really hope someone can help me with this. I am trying to trace my grandfather's grandfather, John Gardner, born in Blantyre, Lanarkshire in 1891 to Thomas Gardner and Elizabeth Devlin (later Hannigan following her 2nd marriage some time after 1914). The family seem to have moved to Paisley in Renfrewshire after Thomas's death. Their name changes to Gardiner in certain records.
John Gardner worked as a carter and appears as that in the 1911 census. He also seems to appear as a carter in Paisley in the 1915 valuation roll. I found out that he joined the Seaforth Highlanders in 1914 but was dishonourably discharged before he got to France for misconduct - this was while stationed in Petersfield in Hampshire. In his 1914 military records he claims to be unmarried and names his mother as his relative/contact.
Unfortunately that's where all records for him end, apart from the possible match in 1915 - he practically drops off the face of the earth. I can't find any reliable matches for deaths, marriages or anything via scotlandspeople.com, ancestry.co.uk or findmypast.co.uk. I don't know if he re-enlisted after 1915 and was killed, or he emigrated or even went to prison. I checked the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for matches but there was nothing concrete. I have found a number of John Gardners in Scotland and across the UK that could possibly match but that's only due to lack of information and ambiguity rather than anything relating to his details.
Is there anyone that can help me find out what happened to him after 1915? My grandfather's father was his illegitimate son and John only appears on his birth record on scotlandspeople due to some kind of correction/addition, apparently due to the insistence of my great, great grandmother who knew who must have fathered her son.
It would mean a lot to me to finally find out what happened to John as he has been a shadowy figure in my family all of my life - with the knowledge that my name should be Gardner by blood, not what it is now; we still use Gardner or names with G as middle names by tradition. I always presumed he lived a life and had another family of his own but it may be that he didn't and my family is his only legacy after all. I have so many questions unanswered due to his disappearance but I have exhausted my genealogical abilities and resources.
My apologies in advance as I was going to post in the Renfrewshire subforum but there's every chance John went elsewhere in Scotland, or abroad.
Many thanks