What does this WW1 record mean pls? Garr.Bn.Linc

[AllanUK]

The newspaper article was found when I searched the British Newspaper Archive site.

As far as I am aware, if a WW1 soldier continued to serve in the army instead of being discharged then his record would have survived, it would not have been in the warehouse in Arnside Street that was hit by bombs during the London blitz in WW2. The only way that you can find out if it did survive is to submit a request to the MOD.

[nicdigby]

Thank you, it seems I was misinformed a year ago that the records for him no longer existed. Seems like I might be in for a long wait though to get the records!

I looked in the British Newspaper Archive and found the article about his death, thank you.

But I ALSO found an article that appears to suggest he had an elder illegitimate daughter that nobody in the family knew about. She was born Jan 1921and the newspaper article states "eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Louis Coley"....but they didn't marry til Feb 1922. I need to check my facts and need another pair of eyes on this; should I post the article here, with your knowledge of his father's military career out in India, or do you think it would be better to post it in Lincolnshire forum?

[AllanUK]

Good morning,

The daughter that was born in 1921:-

I believe that she was called Jxxx Mxxx, born xxth January 1921 -- I can not find where she was born. There is no record of her birth in the UK civil birth registrations and I can not find her in overseas birth, very strange. I found a newspaper article (Spalding Guardian, 30 April 1943) about her marrying Exxxx J Gxxxxxxxx on the xxth April 1943. The article reads that she was the 'eldest daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Louis Coley, India, and grand-daughter of Mrs L Coley, 7 Francis Street, Spalding, with whom she has lived since birth'.

I highlighted the section of living with her grandmother as this points to Jxxx Mxxx being illegitimate, but as I said above, where is her birth registered?

I also found a newspaper article which mentions Jxxx Mxxx -- it was a letter published in the Spalding Guardian, 9th April 1993, titled CAN YOU HELP FIND HALF SISTER The letter was from a Jxxx A Coley on behalf of Dxxxxx Wxxxxx Coley of Shrewsbury. [born India 1927, son of Louis and Agnes Christobel Coley.

As you can see, he refers to his half sister that he has never met. If you find the newspaper article, it has a contact number and address, I doubt they are still valid but you never know.

If you are pursuing the birth etc of Jxxx Mxxx via RootsChat, be careful as she may still be alive and you can not name live people on RootsChat.

Best of luck with your research. Please send me a Private Message via RootsChat to let me know how you are getting on / need further help.

Allan

[ShaunJ]

Have you checked the 1921 census? It looks like there was a Joan Mary Keech born 1921 living with Lizzie Coley.

GRO shows a birth for Joan M C Keech in Spalding in 1Q 1921.

Joan M Coley/Greenwood is not redacted in the 1939 Register so is presumed deceased. ADDED She died in Bury St Edmunds in 2001. Husband Edgar John Greenwood died in Chester in 1984.

[AllanUK]

Have you checked the 1921 census? It looks like there was a Joan Mary Keech born 1921 living with Lizzie Coley.

GRO shows a birth for Joan M C Keech in Spalding in 1Q 1921.

Joan M Coley/Greenwood is not redacted in the 1939 Register so is presumed deceased. ADDED She died in Bury St Edmunds in 2001. Husband Edgar John Greenwood died in Chester in 1984.

Thanks ShaunJ -- I didn't think about the 1921 Census, the surname Keech seems to point to the mother.

nicdigby -- Looks as though ShaunJ has found the mother of Joan Mary. Looks like Louis Coley had a dalliance with Ms Keech some time in the spring of 1920, he must have been home on leave before going back to India.

[nicdigby]

Good morning,

The daughter that was born in 1921:-

I believe that she was called Jxxx Mxxx, born xxth January 1921 -- I can not find where she was born. There is no record of her birth in the UK civil birth registrations and I can not find her in overseas birth, very strange. I found a newspaper article (Spalding Guardian, 30 April 1943) about her marrying Exxxx J Gxxxxxxxx on the xxth April 1943. The article reads that she was the 'eldest daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Louis Coley, India, and grand-daughter of Mrs L Coley, 7 Francis Street, Spalding, with whom she has lived since birth'.

I highlighted the section of living with her grandmother as this points to Jxxx Mxxx being illegitimate, but as I said above, where is her birth registered?

I also found a newspaper article which mentions Jxxx Mxxx -- it was a letter published in the Spalding Guardian, 9th April 1993, titled CAN YOU HELP FIND HALF SISTER The letter was from a Jxxx A Coley on behalf of Dxxxxx Wxxxxx Coley of Shrewsbury. [born India 1927, son of Louis and Agnes Christobel Coley.

As you can see, he refers to his half sister that he has never met. If you find the newspaper article, it has a contact number and address, I doubt they are still valid but you never know.

If you are pursuing the birth etc of Jxxx Mxxx via RootsChat, be careful as she may still be alive and you can not name live people on RootsChat.

Best of luck with your research. Please send me a Private Message via RootsChat to let me know how you are getting on / need further help.

Allan

Thank you, I found this same info in the middle of night!

Looks like Joan has died over 20 years ago and David Coley who was looking for her died eight years ago.


There is a xxxx Coley posting on behalf of David Coley in the newspaper so I am chasing that lead but I found a record of his death too.

I think the key to this is to find any great grandchildren of Louis Coley via David Coley. 

But I can’t see how the xxxx Coley (in the newspaper) links up to David Coley. I thought ‘son’ of course, but I can’t find xxxx coley’s birth and even if I put the correct mmn for David Coley’s wife into bmd there is no xxxx Coley or anything like it.

I know David Coley had one daughter but the daughter never married and had no children. She may be alive so won’t post her name.

Have posted a couple of adverts in the Spalding / Holbeach Facebook pages which I’ve found successful before . Any other ideas to finding the living relatives very welcome.

[nicdigby]

Have you checked the 1921 census? It looks like there was a Joan Mary Keech born 1921 living with Lizzie Coley.

GRO shows a birth for Joan M C Keech in Spalding in 1Q 1921.

Joan M Coley/Greenwood is not redacted in the 1939 Register so is presumed deceased. ADDED She died in Bury St Edmunds in 2001. Husband Edgar John Greenwood died in Chester in 1984.

Morning, thanks for this. I’ve purchased the 1921 cenus and indeed it has Joan Mary KEECH COLEY age four months living with her grandmother at the correct address in Spalding. Birth record in FS only says KEECH for MMN so I’ve sent off for the GRO birth cert to see if it has first name of KEECH. (I did a search of deaths of KEECH women in 1921 to see if she died in childbirth but nothing obvious).

Also found a record of the father Louis Coley on board a ship Liverpool to New York in 1920 and he’s the correct age…so possibly he had some time in England to get Miss KEECH pregnant before sailing off to New York (and then back in India Two years later to marry his wife).

I notice the grandmother Lizzie Walden had to take in boarders. And that Joan Mary COLEY (born KEECH) became a secretary. I suspect that because Louis Coley died out in India in 1928 when His illegiatinate dau was only seven, the money (if any) dried up.

The family do not think that any of the subsequent sisters and brothers knew about their oldest illegitimate sister (which is why David only started looking for her fifty years later) and that perhaps their mother Chrissy did not know of the presence of an eldest illegitimate daughter of her husband. It’s never mentioned in any of the diaries I have from the family and the three sisters we did know (now deceased) didn’t know about Joan.

[ShaunJ]

Also found a record of the father Louis Coley on board a ship Liverpool to New York in 1920 and he’s the correct age

On the Aquitania? That's an Ancestry mistranscription of Louis Cohen.

[nicdigby]

Also found a record of the father Louis Coley on board a ship Liverpool to New York in 1920 and he’s the correct age

On the Aquitania? That's an Ancestry mistranscription of Louis Cohen.

Thank you, I did wonder about the musician reference!