2/8 Manchester battalion

[eda]

I've asked this question so many times,, would it be possible to find a soldier who we think deserted from the army wwl. Then we think he changed his identity,, lve recently discovered that he was possibly at the ardwick barracks,, then went to guard the railways at Balcombe sussex area.. Thanks eda

[MaxD]

Do you have the name/number of the soldier?

MaxD

PS  Presumably the answer has always been negative, is there something new that prompts you to ask again.

[eda]

We only have the name Sydney John milligan, this is the name we knew him as  but when we tried to find him u der this name we fou nd nothing, just one with this name in Norfolk but this is not him, we were told he said he had been to ardwick barracks, but we didn't have any evidence to prove this, recently l was read g some newspaper records from where he was about 1914/15 ,,it said the 2/8 Manchester regiment were guarding the railways in balcombe,, it was known that he was guarding the balcome viaduct.. He met Elsie yarnold she became pregnant and they went to Birkenhead he the joined the merchant shipping..

[MaxD]

I fear the answer is going to be the same this time.

There is no way to look for a man whose name is unknown.  2/8 Manchesters (an Ardwick battalion) were indeed in UK until Feb 1917 and were in the Balcombe area May 1915 to Mar 1916 so the "whereabouts" rings true.  If he joined the Merchant Navy then he used whatever name he had changed to earlier, he didn't use the Milligan name.

MaxD

[eda]

Thankyou,, was it easy to change from army to merchant seaman, we think he possibly was under another name in the military in balcombe, he then went to Birkenhead and changed it to Sydney John milligan that's who we know him as, recently we found him on a police gazette, November 27th  1917 it stated it was his last address, gave his age as 40yrs said he was a ships greaser?  ,, this address is the same as where my husbands father was born so we know its Sydney, it gives numbers on the police gazette in columns does that lead us to anything.. Thankyou eda

[MaxD]

it gives numbers on the police gazette in columns does that lead us to anything.. Thankyou eda

I don't think so, they refer to his entry in another register.
MaxD

[eda]

Thanks for your help  eda