Author Topic: How fallen soldiers are identified  (Read 899 times)

Offline Lisajb

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Mullingar, Westmeath Ireland: Gilligan/Wall/Meagher/Maher/Gray/O'Hara/Corroon (various spellings)
Bristol: Woodman/James/Derrick
Bristol/Somerset: Saunders/Wilmot
Gloucestershire:Woodman/Mathews/Tandy/Stinchcombe/Marten/Thompson
Wiltshire: Mathews
Carmarthen: Thomas, Lewis
Australia: Mary Lewis, transportee, married Henry Brown - what happened to her?

Offline pollymann

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Re: How fallen soldiers are identified
« Reply #1 on: Monday 11 November 19 09:15 GMT (UK) »
Yes, it was. I watched a tv programme recently on the ITV Hub "Long Lost Family Special: The Unknown Soldiers" showing the work that is involved.
Henderson, McCormack, Smith, Dalziel, Robison, Muirhead, Riddick, Irving, Raffle, McKeig, McGhie, McCulloch, Walker, Murray, Blacklock, Beaty. McKie, Wilson, Dickson, Holliday, Robson, Bryden, Muir - Dumfriessshire /Kirkcudbrightshire.
Tough, Gordon, Allan, Henry/Hendry, Reid, Pirie, Hardie, Longmuir, Leslie, Copland, Forbes, Thompson, Rutherford, Meldrum, Leid, Ironside, Rennie, Ronald, Thom, Simpson, Wilson, Sim and Young - Aberdeenshire/Banffshire.
Noble, Gray, Bird - Durham/Northumberland

Offline LizzieW

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Re: How fallen soldiers are identified
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 12 November 19 11:51 GMT (UK) »
Quote
I watched a tv programme recently on the ITV Hub "Long Lost Family Special: The Unknown Soldiers" showing the work that is involved.

I did too, but one thing I noticed was that they looked at the soldiers attestment papers/records.  But what about soldiers' records like my g.uncle's which were destroyed in WW2.  If my g.uncle's remains were ever found - and he died at Cambria in 1917 - it would take much longer to find his descendants and as he wasn't married and had no children, that would be looking for descendants of his siblings.  I guess they'd start with DNA and then hope there was a badge somewhere near the remains.  Otherwise it would mean looking at the names on the Cambria War Memorial of the soldiers, and there are thousands, and going from there.

Offline pollymann

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Re: How fallen soldiers are identified
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 12 November 19 12:14 GMT (UK) »
Yes, the burned papers are going to make things much more difficult. It would be nice if everyone could be identified but that looks doubtful. Still a few more soldiers identified will give closure to a lot of families.
Henderson, McCormack, Smith, Dalziel, Robison, Muirhead, Riddick, Irving, Raffle, McKeig, McGhie, McCulloch, Walker, Murray, Blacklock, Beaty. McKie, Wilson, Dickson, Holliday, Robson, Bryden, Muir - Dumfriessshire /Kirkcudbrightshire.
Tough, Gordon, Allan, Henry/Hendry, Reid, Pirie, Hardie, Longmuir, Leslie, Copland, Forbes, Thompson, Rutherford, Meldrum, Leid, Ironside, Rennie, Ronald, Thom, Simpson, Wilson, Sim and Young - Aberdeenshire/Banffshire.
Noble, Gray, Bird - Durham/Northumberland


Offline Ruskie

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Re: How fallen soldiers are identified
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 12 November 19 12:38 GMT (UK) »
Very interesting - thanks for posting Lisa.  :)

Offline Maiden Stone

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Re: How fallen soldiers are identified
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 13 November 19 00:30 GMT (UK) »
Genealogists can volunteer to research a missing soldier and build his profile here:
 "Commemorating the Missing: Creating a genealogical memorial, and a genetic memorial, for the missing of World War One"
https://commemoratingthemissing.blogspot.com/p/home.html
One of them was a son of the family who had lived in the house where I was born.
Cowban