William Briggs. Born 1906. Is reported to have emigrated to Australia sometime after1911
I have been searching for some trace of my fathers' brother William Briggs born 1906 in Wolstanton Staffordshire
Son of Frederick and Florence Briggs and brother of Frederick and my father Albert
After the death of their father in 1911 my grandmother could not afford to keep her three sons and my father was sent to live with an aunt in Ireland. I do not know who William was sent to but understand that he later emigrated to Australia
I have been trying to find some trace of William in order to fulfill my promise to my father I have been doing this for the past 20 years toon avail
My time is running out now PLEASE PLEASE CAN YOU HELP ME?
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Re: William Briggs. Born 1906. Is reported to have emigrated to Australia sometime after1911
Hi Amelia - we will try...
Can you clarify a couple of points please? Do you have William's birth/Baptism records? Do you have the family on the 1911 census? If so where are they?
Have you any facts about the family in Ireland? Names and places ?
Do you know anything of his life in Australia?
Thanks
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Re: William Briggs. Born 1906. Is reported to have emigrated to Australia sometime after1911
Hi Fiona
I was surprised to receive a reply so soon. Thank you!
William Briggs was born 4 March 1906. I have a copy of his birth certificate
In the 1911 census the family were living in Wolstanton Staffordshire
In September 1911 my grandfather Frederick died and then it was sometime after this that the family moved to Manchester
Unfortunately my father knew very little about his brothers as he was sent to Ireland After many years I have located my Irish relatives and my cousin remembers her aunts talking about Albert, my father who had stowed away on board a ship to England He was about 15 years old then and of course was of working age.
In those days children were not told anything about the family and as my grandmother had to work then so did my father
I was 3 years old when were bombed out of our home in Manchester and my father was called up for military service Shortly after my sister then 6 years old died of Diptheria. My mother was taken into hospital the day after the funeral as she was suspected to be a carrier and you may know that it was a very serious illness
Then my paternal grandmother Florence died
I tell you all this in order for you to understand that in those days they just had to live for the day
It must have been so hard to carry on living in some cases All I can remember was my Dad saying that William had emigrated and went to Australia to work on a ranch
I have a photo of a soldier who I thought was my fathers' youngest brother Frederick but his daughters have confirmed that not to be so
I sent the photo to Kew and they identified the cap badge as that of the Royal Army Medical Corps
There is a faint date pencilled on the back of the photo 1936 I am not sure if that is the date it was taken but somehow I think it is
I tried the M.O.D to ask about his service records but at first they said that as I had no date of death and I had no proof that I was next of kin they were unable to help
I may or may not be the next of kin. I really hope in some way that I am not and that I have some cousins who may be glad to know me
I have tried the Red Cross without any luck
After putting a message in the Manchester Evening New and posting the photo I was contacted by a gentleman who told me that his father was in the R.A.M.C in Manchester and that he had some photos. He thought one of the soldiers looked very like my uncle William
He very kindly gave me copies of these which I will post
That is about all I can think of except to say thank you again for your interest and that should I finally find some info I will be eternally grateful
I feel I owe it to my lovely Dad and as I am in my late seventies I am afraid it will be one labour of love that I cannot fulfil
Thanks once again
Florence
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Re: William Briggs. Born 1906. Is reported to have emigrated to Australia sometime after1911
Thank you for your reply to my post
I am not sure if I replied to you
Please forgive me if I did not
Yes I do have Williams Birth certificate. He was born in Wolstanton Staffordshire in 1906
On the 1911 census my grandmother Florence nee Norris was still in Wolstanton with her three sons My father Albert Born 1908 and Frederick born in 1910
It was after that when my grandmother moved to Manchester. My father was sent to live with an aunt in Ireland where he stayed until he was about 15 years old. Frederick stayed with his mother but where William went to remains a mystery
There is a photo of a soldier which my father said was his brother and my mother and I presumed it was Frederick. However Fredericks' daughters have said it is not.
It must then be William.
The photograph was sent to the National Archives for identification of the uniform and badge
They said it was the Royal Army Medical Corps but on enquiring further there seems to be no trace of his records with the M.O.D
I sent the photo to the Manchester Evening News and had a reply from a chap who said that he was sure the photograph was the same person who was on his photos of his father and comrades who were all members of the R.A.M/C TA and that their HQ was in Manchester
I have sent several letters to that address only to receive no reply
We are still not sure if it is one of the same man but if that is so it means that William did not emigrate until after 1930 which is a faint pencilled date on the back of the photograph
My father said to try to contact William just before he died in 1965 and I have been doing just that
All avenues now seem closed to me but I MUST go on trying for my father
Thank you for your interest and if you have any fresh ideas please let me know
I would be very, very grateful for any help you may be able to offer
Kind regards
Florence
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Re: William Briggs. Born 1906. Is reported to have emigrated to Australia sometime after1911
Florence
Have you had any success with this?
I've done a lot of research relating to Australia recently and might be able to help you.
Best wishes
Jane
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Re: William Briggs. Born 1906. Is reported to have emigrated to Australia sometime after1911
Hi Jane
Thank you for your reply to my post re William Briggs
Unfortunately I in spite of the fact that I have been searching for years I have had no success
Any Help you may be able to offer would be greatly received
My father Albert Briggs and his brother William were separated after their father died in 1911
My father was sent to Ireland to live with an aunt where he stayed until he was about 15 years old
I am not sure what happened to William as my father knew very little about him except to say he had emigrated
Just when that was is unclear. I presumed that it was when he was young but there was a photograph among my fathers belongings of a soldier The uniform is that of the Royal Army Medical Corps
After posting this photo in the Manchester Evening News I was contacted by a gentleman who thought that the photo was very like some photos he had of his father and comrades who were in the R.A.M.C Voluntary corps which was in Manchester
I know my grandmother moved to Manchester after 1911 but any enquiries regarding his army service have not been substantiated
Just before my father died he asked me to try and find William and that was in 1964
I am now in my late 70s and have almost given up hope but there is something that keeps me trying as I would dearly love to fulfill my father wishes
I would be happy to give you any info re the family if you wish and am only too grateful for your offer
Kind regards
Florence
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Re: William Briggs. Born 1906. Is reported to have emigrated to Australia sometime after1911
Hi
I do not know if you received my reply to your very kind offer As I no longer subscribe to Ancestry even though I do have my tree on there
I would appreciate any help you may be able to offer as after searching for so long I have almost given up You can e mail me if you wish.@ florence.swinton@btinternet com
Many thanks Florence
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