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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

help with finding soldier


Dave_59

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I am looking for a man that may have served in the great war. His name was Ernest Mepham. I have looked at the medal roll index and have found that there are 5 soldiers by this name. He would have been 33 in 1916 and was the son of james and Mary Mepham (and brother of James, William and Richard i think). do any pals have access to any sources that could help me in my research (Kellys etc). The family were from the Sussex area, possibly Kent. As far as I know...he survived the war.

Thanks

Dave

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Dave,

On the 1901 census, there's only 1 Ernest Mepham... living in Sussex, aged 18. Probably your man, but tracking someone down, without knowing which service he was in, is very hard work. Only other option is to pay a visit to the likes of the PRO. :(

Les

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Well (only a little help, I know), you can forget about SD/4975 Ernest Mepham of the 12/R.Sussex being your man, as he died. This narrows your search down to 4 men.

As Les states (more politely than me :P ), you really are p***ing into the wind if you don't know which unit or service your man was in, unless you pay a visit to the NA/PRO and look up the 4 men's details (or contact a researcher to do it for you). Even the AVL's would be useless to you unless you knew for sure where your man was living. Alternatively, are there any local regimental records for Sussex/Kent that you could access?

Dave.

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Well its difficult because they were'nt 'join your local regiment' types. His nephews were in the in the Grenadiers and Royal Fusiliers...and they were from Kent. If he was living in Bexhill during the war (as he did in 1901), i may be able to find some details (as I live in Bexhill myself).

Thanks

Dave

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. If he was living in Bexhill during the war (as he did in 1901), i may be able to find some details

In that case, it may definately be worth a search of the local AVL. As you probably know, if you find him, you should get his unit and number from this - making further research far simpler (though you'll probably still reach a "dead-end" as I always do!).

Dave.

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Just a thought. Is the 1911 census available for viewing anywhere? This might get any address details nearer to the mark.

Dave.

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Census records are closed for 100 years - hence 1901 became available in 2001 and 1911's Census will become available in 2011. Digests of the statistics are available, but not individual household's details.

Cheers

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Dave

On

http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/search/m...set=0&dwpdone=1

(one line URL) there are lots MEPHAM people emigrating to the US from Brighton. The two Ernests are too young, but this is worth investigating, don't you think?

As far as I know, American censuses are available up to 1930, but I don't know where from.

Good luck!

Viv

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