RootsChat.Com

Marian,

Is the MOD citing section 41 of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 in their response to you?

I ask this because I have recently had a similar knock-back - in connection with my request to obtain my late mother's ATS record.

Willyam

Andy,

Thank you so very much for posting this wonderful link.

My late mother served with the ATS but, until now, I had no tangible information which could help me to apply for her service record. However, thanks to you, it took me no more than a couple of minutes via the TNA Discovery search facility to trace her indexed data.

As she was born in 1925, her full record will be closed until 2040 - but I have now submitted an application for it to be opened to me.

Willyam

As many of Mr Thompson's neighbours in the 1939 Register were involved in the woollen trade, might I suggest that he was possibly a Weaving and Spinning Inspector. The importance of which role is currently summarised via Google AI Overview.

Willyam

Antony,

The GRO death index for the George Deaves who died on 9 January 1870 has his age as 58; whereas the indexed age shown for the George Deaves who died on 24 May 1873 is 39.

This makes the younger George a better fit for the headstone; and thus most likely the son of Thomas & Sarah and a brother to Margaret.

However, the headstone does throw up a considerable mystery: which is that it implies that Sarah is not also interred in the grave - so why not? and where then was she buried in 1872?

With regard to the presence of the headstone, that it exists is confirmation that the burial site is what is known as a 'Purchased Grave'; and as it is located in Shrewsbury General Cemetery this means that it has its own pedigree chart.

As I found to my considerable benefit several years ago, during my quest to find my grandmother's last resting place, microfiche copies of the comprehensive historic burial records for the general cemetery are held at Shropshire Archives. The wonderful detail contained within these records includes: the name of the purchaser of the exclusive rights of burial associated with the grave; when it was purchased; how many interments were to be permitted along with the individual burial entries for those interred - revealing their contemporary personal details.

With regard to my grandmother, I was able to visit the archives, harvest the details in the fiche and then jump onto a waiting bus which took me straight to the cemetery for my first sight of a very unexpected headstone.

If a personal visit is not possible, the in-house archivists offer an excellent (and not too-expensive) search service which I have used to great effect. Additionally they would be able to help locate, and perhaps make sense of, where Sarah is buried.

Willyam