Help: Court Martialled & Missing in UK, Capt: Albert Edward Harrison AIF

[Craven-Harrison]

G'day Roger,

Ok on the Imperial War Museum? and the NAM, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try

I recently had the need to see a British marriage certificate to compare a signature. After buying the certificate, I subsequenly realised that the certificate wasn't actually signed by the husband and wife but rather the Registrar had written the entire certificate.

When I made contact with the British archives (I can't actually remember the Office's name) they said that is all they had. Everything else had been destroyed.

Two weeks of further research revealed that the original registry book did in fact exist in the in the basement.
of local Civic Buildings, in this case Southend on Sea.

This took about 10 letters to arive at this destination. A very nice lady photocopied the actual book entry and there was the signatures that I required.

Everybody involved learn't something from this issue, The experts can be wrong.....!

Cheers

Ian

[Craven-Harrison]

Roger,

Sorry, this is a bit off topic!

regarding the steam train ride, Im looking forward to some grandchildren, so I can take them on a similar ride. Its a hot topic with me today as last night I watched Top Gear and the boys were racing a steam train against my second most favourite car a Jaguar XK120, I have an Austin Healey and I was pondering how I could race a steam train with my Healey with the grandchild in either the train or the Healey

I'm trapped in a time-warp, old cars, WW1, FH and steam trains, Oh, and painting the house....!

Ian

[jds1949]

Dear Ian,

just a quick query - how do you know the birth year of the AEH on the WO338 document? On my copy there is no birth year given - not for him or any of the others on the same page.

jds1949

[regross]

Hi

what an interesting and intriguing problem. This is probably way off centre but are you aware of the Albert George Harrison  in the migration records to Tasmania in September 1923?

http://search.archives.tas.gov.au/default.aspx?detail=1&type=I&id=SWD4/1/366

Unfortunatley you will need to request copies for a fee to see what it contains unless of course you can get to the Hobart Archives.

Nothing to say it is him but the dates corelate. Perhaps he did return but as as an English migrant to another state?

Would be interesting to knw what his birth date was.

regards

RObyn

[Craven-Harrison]

Hi Jds1949.

on the far right hand column his DOB is identified as are some others

Ian

[Craven-Harrison]

Hi Robyn,

thanks for the tip, I haven't discounted the possibility that he returned to Australia or Tassie under his own name or another and is one of the alternate trails that I will follow after i've exhausted all the Military options if it comes to that

I have done some initial research on similar A Harrison's who ended up in Western Austraila which was a absolute backwater in the 20 and 30's so was the Northeren Territory and probably also Queensland in that order. You could be anybody and never be questioned, I betting even the Coppers were hiding their true identity in the NT and the WA coast.

I have a J A Harrison who applied for repatriation to Australia in (c) 1925 his request was denied by the Australian Government under unusual circumstances, there is 3 documents that I have aquired from the Aus national Archives and they don't shine any light on the circumstances, one reason is the bad quality of the copies it's quite hard to descipher. This matter has got my attention, why have a special issue in the National Archives for just an ordinary bloke, he must have been an ex-serviceman to request repatriation

I have previously tracked two other Albert Harrison's of similar ages from London to Australia and then the trail goes cold and importantly I haven't been able to align any death certificates with these men (or have I)? I've certainly done all AEHarrison's in Australia, maybe I haven't done the A's yet and certainly haven't done the AE and A's in Tassie. I should say at this point that Tassie in the 20 and 30's would also have been an ideal pleace to disappear.

Robyn, I will certainly add this fellow to the list of possibles

Thanks very much

Ian

[Redroger]

Ian, The train ride was unfortunately diesel not steam, that is weekend and bank holidays only, so we'll be back. To get a real train race you need an open stretch of road by the side of a preserved railway that runs steam, you will know better than I where to go in Australia.A bit limited and cautious at present with the computers as I am having strange problems which seem to be caused by Virgin Security suite. The English migrant to Tasmania does look a possibility, certainly needs to be eliminated. I believe that archival problems largely originate from the fact that many items were deposited pre computer era, and as a result they have not yet been properly catalogued; however I will take a look at the NAM next time I go, well done with Southend.

[Craven-Harrison]

Hi Again Robyn,

when I follow the link it comes up with an Albert Edward Harrison, I'm pretty happy with this fellow, but where is Albert George hiding?

As I said, AE Harrison is quite Ok with me!! am I not doing this correctly? and is this AEHarrison just the beginning of a list of A * Harrison's?

Ian

[regross]

Will have a trawl looking for albert George later when I have time as I have to be out all day today.

It might also do to remember that the dpression hit in the 1930's and many men particularly the unfortunate returned servicemen who had found it difficult to adjust to life after their experiences often hit the road looking for work or subsistence hadouts right across Australia.

Many will have died un remarked and often even unidentified or knpown purely by a nickname.  I am not sure of wht things were like in England at that time but I am sure many were living rough and again may have perished  without their true identities being known.

You are right is saying how easy it was to just vanish in the more undeveloped parts of Australia even more so if you were a swaggie!!!!

regards

Robyn