Genealogy Chat

Can anyone advise me as to what happened on censuses for service families that were posted abroad? Was there a census of Army people and their families? Trying to find my grandad and his parents on the 1901 census but I think they may have been posted abroad.

Welcome to the boards Maria.

Can you give us their names and years of birth, where they were born and I am sure someone on these boards would be willing to take a look for you and post the info on here.

I've never seen census from overseas, apart from Sailors on 'Vessels'.

It might be possible to find your grt grandfather's service records which could indicate it he was abroad at the time.

About the 1901 census which was taken on the night of 31 March 1901 -
"Some pieces may be missing from this collection. Pieces 835 and 836 are known to have been missing at the time of filming. The missing pieces cover records from Kent for the Eastry registration district."

Do you have reason to believe that your great-grandfather was in the forces?

i have some male family members who were in the Navy or were mariners

They are only on the census if the vessel was in British waters at census time

I think the 1911 Census was the only one that did have a count of sailors on vessels outside British waters

not sure if they had soldiers on foreign bases or not.




so I guess the answer to Maria's question is that there was no census for servicemen, or their families, who were posted outside England and Wales.



The only other place to check would be to check for marriages or births recorded overseas.


try checking familysearch to see if you can find anything


https://familysearch.org/search



or FindMyPast

I think there was at one time an Absent Voters list. I wonder if this could help at all.

That would apply to WW1, not the 1901 census

I'll let Maria know how to find her replies :-)

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=2352
is the search screen for: 1911 England Census
The blurb under the screen says:
Men on Royal Navy and merchant marine vessels were counted, as were the families of military personnel stationed overseas.

The Overseas RN was given the registration District # 640, and 19 of the "Men on Royal Navy vessels" were called Mary, so maybe there's some foundation to the RN tradition of "Rum, sodomy and the lash".
The Overseas Military was given the registration District # 641, and includes 1399 Mary's.
HM Troopship Rewa was in a truly exotic location in 1911, viz. Portsmouth (rg14/34975).
The Overseas Military included locations in the Channel Islands, which I thought were in the British seas, not overseas, but at least they're outside the UK (rg14/34998).

If he didn't serve in WW1, then FMP would have his pre-WW1 service record.
Are there any hints from kids' birthplaces in 1911 where they might be in 1901?

Thank you for all your help. My grandfather was born in Alderney in 1905 which is were his father was posted with the Army. I have been unable to find the family on the 1911 Census so I assume that they must have been posted abroad at that time. Which is why I wondered if Army personnel abroad completed a census.

If you're searching on Ancestry, try:
1911 Channel Islands Census
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=2355

and then try:
1911 England Census
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=2352
but specify piece # = 34998 in the advanced search screen to get Military in the Channel Islands.

Maria, the 1911 included all Army personnel both in the UK and abroad. If you post your greatgrandfather's details, somebody may be able to find his service record. Was he still in the Army during WW1? Also, have you tried the Irish 1901 census?