Help needed please. James Lee

That’s correct. I have his birth certificate and that’s it unfortunately. James was one of 4 siblings enlisted during ww2. My uncles William, James and John (John KIA operation Veritable) also my dad Joseph. I have all of their service records apart from James. After leaving the army he traveled South and none of my remaining family members know where he ended up. He was known as Gypsy James Lee. When I contacted the MOD about James they were unable to provide any details and could not find him. I sent his BC as supporting information for the search. I’m unable to find his DC as I don’t know the parish upon where he spent his last days. Bit of a needle in a haystack..

 

When you say you contacted them, did you apply for his records or call them
Applying by mail they would require a date of birth,death cert and £30

do you have any idea the rough date he died

 

As you have his birth certificate please scan and upload it to try and give us a starting point

 

Hi Tricky Dicky, this is his BC. Also I’ve emailed the Devonshire regiment via their main website to enquire regarding the James Lee service number 5616172.
many thanks,

 

OK so he was born in Scotland and presumably lived there and probably died there - so as Scotland doesnt share its records you would need to search the website known as Scotlands People - ScotlandsPeople

For James Lee born 1912 - 1913 then the site states:
Births login to view 8 records
Deaths login to view 6 records
Marriages login to view 9 records

There is a start of a family tree on Ancestry but it doesnt hold very much

James Lee
1912–
BIRTH 06 NOV 1912 • 46 Glasgow Road, Barrhead, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
DEATH Unknown

Birth 6 Nov 1912 Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Father Henry Lee (1877-1946)
Mother Jane Coleman (1886-1961)

What you really need obviously is his death certificate so you can apply for his service records, so I wouls suggest checking out or subscribing to the above web site in order to see if his death certificate is one of the results

Good luck

 

Perhaps a lead. He was baptised into the Roman Catholic church:
First name(s) Jacobus
Last name Lee
Birth year 1912
Birth date 02 Nov 1912
Baptism date 16 Nov 1912
Father's first name(s) Henrici
Father's last name Lee
Mother's first name(s) Joannae
Mother's last name Lee
Denomination Roman Catholic
Parish St John the Baptist
Place Barrhead
Diocese Paisley
County Renfrewshire
Country Scotland
Archive The Scottish Catholic Archives
Archive reference MP/73/1/2/4
Record set Scotland Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms

 

There is a Roman Catholic cemetery in Barrhead:
Barrhead (St. Convals) Roman Catholic Cemetery
Glasgow Road
Barrhead Scotland G53 7TH

It does contain a number of 'Lee' graves, like this, his age is close, may be worth making enquiries:


By the way, where did you find his service number 139005 from?

 

That’s interesting and definitely my uncle. Not sure on the grave site though, might need to do some more digging (pardon the pun) as that would make him born in 1915 not 1912. The main issue is Lee is a common name and his whereabouts is a complete unknown after the war. The service number is a complete guess. I managed to find it on National Archives on Medal record. I have purchased a few DC and going through a process of elimination on possible matchups. However this is getting expensive. I do have one possible lead on a James Lee who died in Tiverton aged 54 in 1966 - this ties in with the possible link with the Devonshire Regiment - very long shot but it’s all I have to go on at the moment.

 

Hi, that is not a service number but a medal reference number. The service number is actually R361724 and belongs to a merchant seaman by the name of J Lee b.17/11/1912 in Belfast.

Regards
Hugh

 

Hi Hugh,

Thank you for help and providing the supporting information, greatly appreciated. Darn, it’s not him as he’s born in Belfast. My Uncle was born in Barrhead, Renfrewshire. What are the odds! Born the same year & similar D.O.B.
Regards,
Steve