L/11472 Driver R. Johnson 134857 Gunner R. Johnson 1159 Bombardier R. Johnson First one is Richard Second one is Robert Third one is Robert Will come back with the two Roberts MICs.
Dont worry mate, The third one is the correct man. If you post his MIC i will send over the LG page, Donnie
Looks like it is indeed the man, but the date of birth is different and he wasn't born in Sunderland, although he did live there. The documents also show he was at one also a Bombardier. Well done Donnie!
Well Done Donnie Spot on! Look at his previous employer on the pension file that Paul has posted and compare it with the quoted news report. For anyone interested his attestation was Silksworth (Sunderland) and the address of Chester Road is about half a mile away from the one in Pallion. Verrieres
Wow; I spent a lot of this afternoon on that gazette and didn't find a thing... thanks for your help. I honestly cannot thank you enough. I'm really confused however, we definitely have Pallion in sunderland as a place of birth from the parish records.... its definitely not newcastle. He is also slightly too young. However 1159 is definitely the guy from the news article I posted earlier. It all fits. I've read all the documents and thought about this a lot before posting, I think that the problem is that a previous family member went to the Sunderland newspaper and searched for R.Johnson in the Royal artillery who won the military medal, from sunderland. Everything we have on him has been based around this... when in fact there could have been more then one of them. For years for instance I've been saying he was a bombadier for instance, when the only evidence I have was a news article, which was given to me by my aunt (and I don't know where she got it). It could be Johnson 134857 instead.... I'll have a bit more of a think about it though! Arrrgh!
Its the next morning and I've been phoning some relatives in regards to this. We all agree. This is quite frankly amazing. You just smashed a belief that had been held in this family for two generations. Who would have thought there would have been more then one military medal winner living in sunderland.... with exactly the same name... in the royal artillery. Right now the only facts I have about him, are: Robert Johnson, born 17 August 1893, 41 Exeter St, Pallion, Sunderland. Died 1 Apr 1942. And that he was a military medal winner. Probably, although not definitely, in the royal artillery (thats where all his brothers went).
HHHmmmm...Although you have him down at this address in Pallion he did`nt live here all his life.....did he? Did he actually die in Bath? Parents Joseph Johnson and Mary McCully ? Verrieres
HHHmmmm...Although you have him down at this address in Pallion he did`nt live here all his life.....did he? Did he actually die in Bath? Parents Joseph Johnson and Mary McCully ? Verrieres Yes, that's him! I thought he died in sunderland but no, according to a relative he died in Bath (He drowned in the river in an accident apparently... or so i'm told). Those are definitely his parents.
So are we saying that the man in the News Paper article is not your relative? then that excludes Bombardier R. Johnson. There is then only one possiblity, 134857 Gunner R.Johnson who was from Sunderland. His number would suggest he was younger than the Bombardier as it was a later enlistment date. Have you been through the newspaper archives at Bath? im sure it would hold some record of a man drowning. Perhaps even a small column on him that would im sure say about his MM. You could check the Medal Rolls at Kew for 134857 Johnson, and the Silver War Badge roll for the 1159 Johnson, the SWB roll will give an age. Donnie
Also, can you give his brothers names? we can check their service records because in the Family section of the records it ussualy lists brothers and addresses. You could confirm Roberts address and it may even give some more info i.e. Service Number. Donnie
On the 1901 Census these are the only Robert Johnsons that have parents Joseph and Mary: Robert Johnson Joseph,Mary Lacy abt 1896 Thornaby, Yorkshire, England Son Thornaby, Yorkshire Robert Johnson Joseph,Mary Jane abt 1900 Liverpool, Lancashire, England Son Toxteth Park, Lancashire Robert Johnson Joseph,Mary abt 1882 Newcastle, Northumberland, England Son Chirton, Northumberland
I've been on the bath records today online and not found anything. I've also had my family in the states onto it and they've not found anything. I think I can now categorically state that the man in the newspaper was definitely ot my Great uncle. We have detailed dates and places of birth, and its definitely not newcastle, its a colossal mix up with a newspaper article. The good news is that my mother did some research and came up with his three brothers: Gunner Fenwick F Johnson (Royal field artillery) 27956 Born 16/6/1897 Bombadier Joseph F Johnson 27955 Born 12/7/1894 John Johnson RFA 27957 Born 8/10/1901 However theres a bit of confusion with the last one, john johnson. There were four brothers, and the youngest was John, but i've been categorically told he wasn't in the war by my aunt as he was too young to serve... yet we have a consecutive serial number with the name John Johnson in the records. Unless that's another coincidence too.
HHHmmmm...Although you have him down at this address in Pallion he did`nt live here all his life.....did he? Did he actually die in Bath? Parents Joseph Johnson and Mary McCully ? Verrieres I dont know how you worked that one out, I didn't even know that until today. How any of you get hold of this stuff is beyond me! On the 1901 Census these are the only Robert Johnsons that have parents Joseph and Mary: Robert Johnson Joseph,Mary Lacy abt 1896 Thornaby, Yorkshire, England Son Thornaby, Yorkshire Robert Johnson Joseph,Mary Jane abt 1900 Liverpool, Lancashire, England Son Toxteth Park, Lancashire Robert Johnson Joseph,Mary abt 1882 Newcastle, Northumberland, England Son Chirton, Northumberland None of them are his parents, his parents in 1901 should have been at Brady Street In Pallion, as John was listed as being Born here at this time. John was born after the census however.
Hi mate, Thanks for the PM, if Mr Reed doesnt get the Ancestry records for the brothers then leave it with me, there is always a solution to the hardest problems....trust me...i have been doing it long enough ... Donnie
Now we have the name Fenwick, makes it a little easier to trace in the 1901 census. Family's extract below.
