Military Chat

Can anyone tell me how i can tell who a person in the war is.

when they come up on the death records, apart from their name there is no other information about them and there can be a lot that died in the wars with the same name.

Any help or tips would be great please

Debbie

Who are you looking for? Please give us as much information as possible.

Which war?

On which site are you finding the death records?

Have you searched service records?

1st world war
Frederick Chamberlain
Born 1878 in Wales
Married 1910 in Kensington

I am unsure how to search the service records

On the Commonwealth War Graves site you can search for people, then click MORE DETAILS to see if there is more information to help you decide.

https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/

FREDERICK CHAMBERLAIN
Corporal
Service Number: 200540
4th Bn.
Gloucestershire Regiment
United Kingdom
Died 28 July 1919
22 years old
ABBOTS LEIGH (HOLY TRINITY) CHURCHYARD
North-East of Church.
United Kingdom


FREDERICK CHAMBERLAIN
Gunner
Service Number: 17512
"A" Bty. 116th Bde.
Royal Field Artillery
United Kingdom
Died 15 November 1918
33 years old
FULHAM PALACE ROAD CEMETERY
7. I. 35.
United Kingdom


FREDERICK CHAMBERLAIN
Private
Service Number: 2596A
60th Bn.
Australian Infantry, A.I.F.
Australian
Died 19 July 1916
V.C. CORNER AUSTRALIAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL, FROMELLES
20.
France


FREDERICK CHAMBERLAIN
Private
Service Number: 59156
1st Garrison Bn.
Devonshire Regiment
United Kingdom
Died 15 April 1917
39 years old
MIKRA MEMORIAL
Greece

None of these men seem to be a good match :-S

Vast numbers of WW1 service records were destroyed.
It's very possible you'll never find his record.

How do you know he died during WW1?

According to his marriage cert (viewable on Ancestry) , he was a Yeoman of Signals, which means he was in the Royal Navy.
His father was also named Frederick, a labourer:

Frederick Chamberlain
in the London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938
Name Frederick Chamberlain
Gender Male
Marriage Age 31
Record Type Marriage
Birth Date abt 1879
Marriage Date 1 Jan 1910
Marriage Place Saint Clement, Notting Hill: Treadgold Street, Kensington and Chelsea, England
Father Frederick Chamberlain
Spouse Sophie Sarah Down
Register Type Parish Register

Do you know his exact date of birth, and where in Wales he was born?
Could this be him??

Frederick Chamberlain
in the UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939
Name Frederick Chamberlain
Gender Male
Birth Date 5 Sep 1878
Birth Place Ferndale, Glamorgan
First Service Date 4 Mar 1894
First Ship Served On Impregnable
Last Service Date 29 Jul 1915
Last Ship Served On Lancaster
Service Number 178802

Rank: Yeoman of Signals

This is the same man, dying in 1921:

Frederick Chamberlain
in the UK, World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923
Name Frederick Chamberlain
Gender Male
Rank Chief Yeoman of Signals
Record Type Death
Military Service Region Eastern/London/South East, Eastern/London/South East
Military Country England
Death Date 13 Nov 1921
Service Number Ch/178802
Corps, Regiment or Unit Royal Navy
Title WWI Pension Record Cards and Ledgers
Description Prc Ledgers
Reference Number 11/W/1362
Next of Kin (Name) Relation to Soldier
Frederick Chamberlain
Mary Chamberlain - Guardian [ I don't understand what that means ]


Frederick Chamberlain
in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
Name Frederick Chamberlain
Death Age 43
Birth Date abt 1878
Registration Date Oct 1921 [Nov 1921] [Dec 1921]
Registration Quarter Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration district Brentford
Inferred County Middlesex
Volume 3a
Page 153

Your Frederick is not with Sophia in 1911 - presumably at sea:

Sophia Sarah Chamberlain
in the 1911 England Census
Name Sophia Sarah Chamberlain
Age in 1911 30
Estimated Birth Year abt 1881
Relation to Head Wife
Gender Female
Birth Place Hill
Civil parish Hammersmith
County/Island London
Country England
Street Address 33 Bramley Road, Notting Hill, W
Marital Status Married
Years Married 15
Estimated Marriage Year 1896
Occupation None
Registration District Number 3
Sub-registration district North Hammersmith
ED, institution, or vessel 25
Piece 221
Household Members (Name) Age Relationship
Sophia Sarah Chamberlain 30 Wife
Freda Chamberlain 0 Daughter

For our reference - presumably you know this - Sophia died 1919:

Sophia S Chamberlain
in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
Name Sophia S Chamberlain
Death Age 38
Birth Date abt 1881
Registration Date Jan 1919 [Feb 1919] [Mar 1919]
Registration Quarter Jan-Feb-Mar
Registration district Brentford
Inferred County Middlesex
Volume 3a
Page 210

Their daughter Freda's birth:

CHAMBERLAIN, FREDA AGNES SOPHIA mmn DOWN
GRO Reference: 1910 D Quarter in FULHAM Volume 01A Page 170


In 1921 Freda is in London:

Freda A S
Chamberlain
1910
London, London, England
Kensington
Kensington
London, Middlesex

She's with her father Frederick, Mary somebody (I don't have a sub to FMP to see her surname) and 2 other people.

Perhaps Mary is the "guardian" referred to on the death record ??
Guardian to Freda , who was then an orphan??

Fold3 results

UK, WWI, Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923

Full Name Chamberlain, Fredk
Alias [Blank]
Discharge Date 19 Feb 1919
Service Number Ch/178802
Address-Add 30 Cherington Road Hanwell Middlesex
Died 30/11/1921
Cause Asthma and Bronchitis
Widow Mary Johnson 30 Cherington Road
** ReMarried (illegible 4? letter word) 10/12/28

Widows card shows another address of 46 Bramley Road, North Kensington

Go to The National Archives website

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SIGN IN to your account
Go to SEARCH THE CATALOGUE
This will take you to the DISCOVERY records archive
Enter the following reference into the search box ADM 188/296/178802
This is the specific reference for Frederick's service record

If you aren't signed in you will see a window which reads

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Download format PDF
Approximate size 1 MB

If you have registered with them YOU WON'T PAY £3.50, IT WILL BE FREE TO DOWNLOAD but you MUST be signed into your account.

You can preview the record, but it will be watermarked if you aren't signed in.
Name Chamberlain, Frederick
Official Number: 178802
Place of Birth: Ferndale, Glamorgan
Date of Birth: 05 September 1878

1921 Census Of England & Wales
46, Bramley Road, Kensington, London & Middlesex, England

Frederick Chamberlain Head Male 1878 42 Glamorganshire, Wales Invalided Chief Yeoman Of Signals Royal Navy -
Mary Chamberlain Wife Female 1892 28 London, London, England Home Duties -
Freda A S Chamberlain Daughter Female 1910 10 London, London, England - -
Sophia F L Chamberlain Daughter Female 1912 8 London, London, England - -
Mary Agnes Chamberlain Daughter Female 1921 0 London, London, England

CHAMBERLAIN, MARY AGNES (MMN) DOWN
GRO Reference: 1921 J Quarter in KENSINGTON Volume 01A Page 203


CHAMBERLAIN, SOPHIA FLORENCE LILIAN DOWN
GRO Reference: 1912 D Quarter in FULHAM Volume 01A Page 304

CHAMBERLAIN, FREDA AGNES SOPHIA DOWN
GRO Reference: 1910 D Quarter in FULHAM Volume 01A Page 170

Marriages Dec 1919 (>99%)
Chamberlain Frederick Down Brentford 3a 595
Down Mary Chamberlain Brentford 3a 595

Presumably, he married his late wife's sister

Marriages Dec 1919 (>99%)
Chamberlain Frederick Down Brentford 3a 595
Down Mary Chamberlain Brentford 3a 595


Mary was a younger sister of Sophia.
They don't appear on censuses together, but their parents were George and Eliza Down.
Mary is on the 1901 census, and Sophia is on the 1891.

Mary's remarriage:

Marriages Sep 1922 (>99%)
CHAMBERLAIN Mary Johnson Kensington 1a 454
JOHNSON Edward T Chamberlain Kensington 1a 454

1939 Register
36 Birchfield Road, Redditch, Redditch U.D., Worcestershire, England

Alfred E G Hall 25 Feb 1907 Male Spring Maker Married 220 1
Freda A S Hall 17 Oct 1910 Female Spring Inspector Married 220 2
Malcolm L Hall 26 Sep 1931 Male At School Single 220 3
Ernest D Hall 20 Jul 1936 Male Under School Age Single 220 4


1939 Register
The Orchard, Dagtail, Redditch, Redditch U.D., Worcestershire, England
Henry G Day 29 Jan 1910 Male Sheet Metal Worker Married 204 1
Sophia F L Day 28 Aug 1912 Female Warehouse Worker (Springs) Married 204 2
The record for this person is officially closed.
Geoffrey Comelio 06 Feb 1930 Male At School Single 204 4
The record for this person is officially closed.

Thank you so much
I am going to print this off and look into further :-)

???????

1939 Register
Cott Cross View, Redditch, Redditch U.D., Worcestershire, England

Thomas (Edward) Johnson 21 Sep 1885 Male General Labourer Navvy Heavy Worker Married 100 1
Mary Johnson 31 Sep 1893 Female Unpaid Domestic Duties Married 100 2
Leslie J E Johnson 15 Jan 1915 Unknown Assembler (Mine Lamps) - 100 3
Mary A Parsons 30 Mar 1921 Female Press Hand Springs Single 100 4

Parsons is 'added' Original surname is scored through, but looks like Chamberlain

Marriages Mar 1941 (>99%)
Chamberlain Mary A Parsens Bromsgrove 6c 649
Parsons George G Chamberlain Bromsgrove 6c 649

Deaths 1993 (>99%)
PARSONS MARY AGNES 30MR1921 BROMSGROVE 5121A 217