Genealogy Chat

Possibly the Medal Card for the soldier in the 1911:


British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920
about William Hitchins




Name:
William Hitchins

Regiment or Corps:
Kings Royal Rifle Corps, Middlesex Regiment

Regimental Number:
2116, G/58529

There is a tree on Ancestry which I think has been created by Winfred's son. There isn't much on it to be honest but the death for Ekaterina is given as 25th December 1967 in Dagenham Essex which is where i believe the death for Kathleen Hitching came from which was posted earlier.
He hasn't listed her spouse which I find very strange.

Thanks you all very much, especially you Potty, and spending time on this, seem to be getting very near to finding out her correct family line... I will ask her the info you posted, about Birth C and Death C etc... when I see her very soon... :-D

I've had a further chat with her and gave her the info so far... Very pleased! She is not sure when her father died :-( However, she knew about 14 Lockner Road, told me her father: William Charles Hitching was in the Royal Engineers as a Regimental Sergeant Major at some stage. Don't know how this fits in with the other army info you have already found and posted on here... ? She told me her father got married in another country, may have remarried and done so over here... I told her that her grandparents could be: William Henry Hitching, and Mary Ann Ringshall, but need to confirm it, because of the other William Charles Hitching born abt the same time, in the nearby areas.

I am not sure that the grandparents were William Henry & Mary Ann - that William Charles seems to have married Sophia Vickers in 1924 and the first of the children whose births have been found was born in 1924.

The lady's birth cert would help (or probably better the birth cert of Viola 1924). That would have father's occupation and address.

Neither of the two men whose medal cards we have found was in the Royal Engineers, at least not during WW1, so maybe there is another William Charles Hitching!

Thanks for that Potty, family research can be a headache at times! lol

She seems sure about the 'Royal Engineers' but she may be wrong ?

How many William Charles Hitching are there born about the same time, about 5 perhaps ? Does seem rather strange having the same names, and born abt the same time! To have the same middle name too, a case of strange but true! :-D

There were 3 born in the right time period - one died shortly after birth, leaving the 2 we have been looking at:

Births Dec 1893
Hitching William Charles St. Saviour 1d 43 - this is the son of Arthur William Hitching and Harriet Louisa Cottrell. He appears to have been a career soldier and not just a WW1 conscript. No definite sign of him after WW1 but does not seem to have been killed in it.

Births Sep 1895
Hitching William Charles Stepney 1c 389 - this one is the son of William Henry and Mary Ann; looks to have served in WW1; living with parents until 1924 when a William Charles Hitching marries Sophia Sarah Vickers in West Ham 1924 then disappears until 1964 when they appear in Hackney, in what appears to be Almshouses. Dies in 1969:

Deaths Jun 1969 (>99%)

HITCHING William Charles 29Jy1895 Hackney 5b 1038 - DOB is the same as on baptism record for William Henry & Mary Ann's son. The death cert should name the informant, who may have been a relative. This death cert I think would answer which William he was.

I see that in your first post you give a DOB as Aug 1895. Have you asked her where this date came from?

That is a good question Potty, because I know she wasn't sure about his year of birth, so, how she knows the month is interesting, well, I suppose she remembers his birthday. She don't seem to know a lot, which I find a little surprising, I know people were not into family research like we are today, and World Wars going on etc... so, this maybe the reason she don't know much.

Did you ask her about any aunts, uncles or cousins?

Thanks.

No, I didn't ask her about aunts, uncles and cousins, didn't think I needed to at this stage

If you know her fathers brothers or sisters, that can help to pinpoint him.

If you can find her cousins, or their children, or trees on here, they may have more knowledge of the family than she does.

Ok thanks for the added info.

It does seem that William Charles Hitching parents were: Arthur William Hitching and H Louisa Cottrell or William Henry Hitching and Mary Ann, but the William C Hitching linked to them, married someone named: Sophia Vickers in West Ham. So, if I was to put a bet on it, I would go with the first one above, but need to be 100% sure!

She says she doesn't remember when her father died. Does she know where? Or when and where her mother died?

Does your elderly friend have any children who may have better memory of dates?

patchem, there is a tree on Ancestry that could possible be the lady's son's. It has very little on it apart from Ekatrina (as Hitching) and the 3 children but only John's name is given as the other two are shown as living. It does have a source a birth for a possible nephew b1960 but I can find nothing else for him - no marriage or death.

She knows when and where her mother died, on Christmas day, must have been terrible to died on this day!