A Challenge?!

[Merry]

Yesterday mum's ashes were buried with those of her sister in our local cemetery.

On one side she has my parents-in-law and on the other there is an unmarked grave. In front of mum's grave is a tree, but behind is a War grave for W H Pope who died in 1947. I thought it might be nice to know who he was.

So far I've not progressed very far:

CWGC

RIFLEMAN
WILLIAM HENRY POPE
Service Number: 6918990
Regiment & Unit/Ship
Rifle Brigade
30th Bn.
Date of Death
Died 15 March 1947
Buried or commemorated at
BOURNEMOUTH EAST CEMETERY

and GRO:

Deaths Mar 1947
Pope William H 48 Bournemouth 6b 203

No will.

I know there were two military hospitals here in WW1, but I don't know about WW2 and after. From his date of death I wonder if he was a long-stay patient somewhere? In any case, he may not have been from this area originally.

So, any ideas?

[Phoenix]

A solution?

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=TNA%2FR39%2F0746%2F0746D%2F004&parentid=TNA%2FR39%2F0746%2F0746D%2F004%2F22

[Phoenix]

I think this must be your man:

Births Jun 1900 (>99%)
POPE William Harry C Caxton 3b 454

[Phoenix]

Note that the family seem to be firmly Enfield based, but Kate went to Caxton to give birth.

[Merry]

Ha, I'll have a proper look later (just going our now). I tried the 1939 Register but that one didn't come up, so goodness knows what typed in!

Thanks Phoenix.

[Merry]

I think this must be your man:

Births Jun 1900 (>99%)
POPE William Harry C Caxton 3b 454

Oh but....Death:

William H C Pope
abt 1900 Jul 1952 Jul-Aug-Sep Edmonton

[Phoenix]

Haha! JUST SAW THE 68 of the number. I'll try again when I get back home.

[kiterunner]

What is "the 68 of the number"? :confused:

[crawfie]

On Ancestry discharge record it gives dob as 13 Sep 1898.

Name: Wh Pope
Birth Date: 13 Sep 1898
Service Number: 6918990
Rank: Army Other Ranks, Discharges for 1939-1971
Additional Regiment: RBDE
Reference Number: ADH001148794

This gives one entry on GRO

POPE, WILLIAM HENRY mmn FLOWER
GRO Reference: 1898 D Quarter in WEST HAM Volume 04A Page 380

[crawfie]

Dob matches for this baptism

https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=61699&h=3604885&tid=&pid=&queryId=7fa5d894e7a5e2074142549dbb08bf00&usePUB=true&_phsrc=odl35&_phstart=successSource


Name: William Henry Pope
Age: 0
Birth Date: 13 Sep 1898
Baptism Date: 2 Oct 1898
Baptism Place: Essex, England
Father: Charles Pope
Mother: Ellen Pope

He is in 8 public trees on Ancestry, but none of them has his death.

[Merry]

Thanks Crawfie

In 1911 he's an assistant in his father's fish frying business.

He's on the 1939 Register, an excavators timberman. Of course where it should say S for single or M for married etc, his is one of the records that isn't clear!

[Merry]

Interesting that the children of Charles and Ellen Pope all seem to have mmn Flower, but Ellen seems to fit the profile of Ellen Clark dau of Caleb Clark. Ellen Clark was b about 1971 in Bromley and married Charles Pope, fishmonger, in 1892 in Poplar (St Gabriel, Tower Hamlets).

[crawfie]

On GRO only William has the mmn of Flower - all the others are mmn Clark. Flower is possibly a mistranscription?

[Merry]

That's strange. I didn't bother with the GRO and just looked at FMP where I thought I'd found about four or five of the others with mmn Flower! Maybe there is a parallel family!!

[Merry]

Another mystery, as I've just done that again and I didn't get any of them.

EDIT - I can only assume I was searching using Clark not Flower, which means I am seriously losing the plot!!

Flower seems a huge mistranscription for Clark :eek: