Your help advice please

Soups123

Hi All

I am a novice at this and am looking for some help.

My grandfather is 85 and I've tried helping him find out about his father, we have learnt a lot about his history. He was a volunteer in the army reservists during 1916, traveled back and forth to the UK for work. We think he spent time or registered in the British Army under some sort of Irish section. We know when and how he died and more about his family we even found the governments letter to his wife when he died with the state payment his rations card, so we learned a lot.


My grandads biggest sorrow is he was too young to remember him, he has no idea what he looks like and would love to see a photo of him before his own time comes.

His own brothers and sisters have all passed on and none of there families have any photos we got lots of information but nothing photographic.


I would hope that somewhere out there between the Irish and British army or in some archive somewhere one might exist but I don't know where to start.

Are the people or companies that would specialise in this? My grandad is in good health but I worry I'll not be able do this for him before his own time comes.


Appreciate if anyone could steer me in the right direction

Thanks

Fighting Tao

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-soldiers-after-1913/

Have a look at that link. You might find something on his Britiish military records. I got my great grandfathers merchant marine details and it had a photo of him attached.



Irish military archive is: http://www.militaryarchives.ie/en/home/

pinkypinky

Ok, there's a lot in this. Do you know your great-grandfather's correct name? You can find it on your grandfather's birth record. A 1933 birth won't be freely available online but you can order a copy of it for €4. If you want to share his name and place of birth/death with us, we can help you get the index references. I'm guessing your great-grandfather is dead a long time. If he died before 1967, then his death record will be freely available on www.irishgenealogy.ie. Getting the birth records of your grandfather's siblings might show different occupations at times. Sometimes military men give a regiment or some detail on these records.

For the army stuff:
I would look first at www.militaryarchives.ie - they have a lot of free material on the 1913-1922 period. This covers the Rising, the war of independence and the civil war.

Re: British army - first thing to check is Ancestry for their British army collections. You can do a free trial for 2 weeks if you give your credit card details but make sure to cancel within that timeframe or you'll be charged.

If you haven't read our sticky yet, it's a good place to start.

Soups123

pinkypinky wrote: »

Ok, there's a lot in this. Do you know your great-grandfather's correct name? You can find it on your grandfather's birth record. A 1933 birth won't be freely available online but you can order a copy of it for €4. If you want to share his name and place of birth/death with us, we can help you get the index references. I'm guessing your great-grandfather is dead a long time. If he died before 1967, then his death record will be freely available on www.irishgenealogy.ie. Getting the birth records of your grandfather's siblings might show different occupations at times. Sometimes military men give a regiment or some detail on these records.

For the army stuff:
I would look first at www.militaryarchives.ie - they have a lot of free material on the 1913-1922 period. This covers the Rising, the war of independence and the civil war.

Re: British army - first thing to check is Ancestry for their British army collections. You can do a free trial for 2 weeks if you give your credit card details but make sure to cancel within that timeframe or you'll be charged.

If you haven't read our sticky yet, it's a good place to start.

Thank you PP

I have a lot of the paperwork piece, birth certificate, marriage certificate, death certificate I know all the brothers and sisters and his parents.

I got nowhere with the army piece I have some form of enrolment document that gives some details like tattoos etc he had. I need to pull it out it's some form of volunteering or something.

What I was hoping to find was a person or company who specialise in this who may be able to find a photo of him somewhere in the various archives! Maybe I am looking for something that is near on impossible I don't know

Thank you very much for your post

pinkypinky

Army records of this era either British or Irish do not generally have photos. My great-grandfather was in the Irish Army in the 1920s and we have a photo of him with others in uniform, obviously taken officially but it was his personal possession.

mickmackey1

pinkypinky wrote: »

I would look first at www.militaryarchives.ie

Tried to access the Individual Pensions but getting a page not found... http://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/military-service-pensions-collection-1916-1988/search-the-collection/pensions-series

pinkypinky

Looks like there's something wrong with the site right now.

pedroeibar1

Soups123 wrote: »

What I was hoping to find was a person or company who specialise in this who may be able to find a photo of him somewhere in the various archives! Maybe I am looking for something that is near on impossible I don't know

To be honest Soups, you will not find success that route. No professionally accredited genealogist (I hope!) would take your cash because the chances of finding a photo are non-existent. The reason the enlistment cards have ‘distinguishing marks’ on them is because there were no photos.

Photography really only became popular with ‘ordinary’ people following the launch of Kodak’s ‘Box Brownie’ c1900 which was brought to WWI in thousands, until it was banned for security (and adverse propaganda) reasons. Some families have photos, but as Pinky says they were private, not official photos. Most don’t have names on them, or, if lucky it’s ‘Uncle Bill with mates at Ypres’ or suchlike. I have a family record of group photo of 4 men including my great uncle, but there are no names on it – I recognise my man due to an uncanny family likeness.

Re an official Army photo, think of the thousands of men being called up or enlisting in the various stages of the War – there was no time, little/no need, equipment or system in place to collate photos with records. Even the paperwork was way behind, so tthere was no need for a photo.

The only hope is that the Regimental collection might have a series of photos that showed groups of men that were identified – there would be some (very minor) hope for a commissioned officer but very little for an enlisted man. Try writing to the Regimental archivist but realistically I would not hold out hope.

cobham

I know the following is not of much use to the original poster but I thought to write about it anyway.

In the time of WW1 photography was a luxury not available to many. But many enlisted soldiers being sent off to war were motivated to get a studio photo done as a memento for their loved ones. Sadly so many died in WW1 and the names of the fatalities were printed in the daily newspapers of the time. In some cases, a journalist would seek out any photographs that his family might have and this would be printed in the paper with his details. I once noticed a researcher combing the Dublin papers for such images I think to add to the data for the Dublin Fusiliers. Over time the original photos kept by the families may have been lost especially as many young men did not leave direct descendants.