Military Chat

He could be Albert only or Albert Joseph. He was born in London in 1892 and was orphaned after his mother passed away at a relatively early age. He had other older siblings but because he was the youngest he was put into an orphanage (so the story goes). He was in WW1 and he lost his leg. I can't seem to find anything else out about him.

I can't see a birth for that name in London in 1892. Do you know his mother's name?

Kath. x

I just unearthed a certificate that I received from a long lost relative in England. He is registered as Albert (my grandmother, his sister, Amy, b. oct 5, 1888, always called him Joe) and his birthdate is 29 November 1895. His parents were John Berryman and Jane Berryman (nee Miles). It indicates an address of: 4 Baldwin Street, County of London, Reg District Holborn. I'm sorry, I had the birth year wrong -- my grandmother said that he was 5 years younger than her. I am really interested in finding out about his time in the war.
Thank you very much for your help but please don't spend too much time on this. As you can see, I am not very organized yet with everything.

His baptism record shows an address as 32 Payne St, Father a bricklayer. Birth date is confirmed as Nov 29th 1895:

Name: Albert Berryman
Record Type: Baptism
Baptism Date: 16 Sep 1896
Father's Name: John Berryman
Mother's Name: Jane Berryman
Parish or Poor Law Union: Pentonville St Silas
Borough: Islington
Register Type: Parish Registers

He's still with his widowed father in 1901:

Address: 33, York Road, St Luke County: London

BERRYMAN, John Head Widower M 53 1848 Bricklayer
Southampton, Hampshire
BERRYMAN, Jane Daughter Single F 26 1875 Ironer
St Lukes, London
BERRYMAN, Ann Daughter Single F 12 1889
St Lukes, London
BERRYMAN, Gertrude Daughter Single F 10 1891
St Lukes, London
BERRYMAN, Albert Son M 5 1896 St Lukes, London

I can't find him at present in census 1911.

This might be a red herring, but I wondered if this was him, despite the variant spelling:

Name: Albert Berriman
Gender: Male
Age: 13
Birth Date: abt 1896
Departure Date: 25 Feb 1909
Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
Destination Port: Portland
Ship Name: Dominion
Search Ship Database: Search the 'Dominion' in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Shipping Line: Dominion Line
Official Number: 109417
Master: W K Mendus

It's just that most of the other passengers listed seem to be teenagers, He's described as a 'farm hand'. I wondered if it was a contingent of 'home children' or similar. I can't find a corresponding birth for an Albert 'Berriman'. That might support the family tales of him being 'put into an orphanage'.

Still not him in the army!


Name: Albert Berryman
Age: 3
Birth Date: 30 Nov 1895
School: Moreland Street School
Borough: Islington
Admission Date: 3 Jul 1899
Parent: John
Notes: Moreland Street School (0388) opened 1877, Moreland Primary Schools from 1951
Reference Number: LCC/EO/DIV03/MOR/AD/007

Father John a bricklayer. Address 163 Central Street

Death is registered under both his names, so he obviously became known as Joseph at some point.

Name: Albert Berryman
Birth Date: 29 Nov 1895
Date of Registration: Mar 1975
Age at Death: 79
Registration District: Portsmouth
Inferred County: Hampshire
Volume: 20
Page: 0933

Name: Joseph Albert Berryman
Birth Date: 29 Nov 1895
Date of Registration: Mar 1975
Age at Death: 79
Registration District: Portsmouth
Inferred County: Hampshire
Volume: 20
Page: 0933

??

Probably not

Name: Joseph A Berryman
Regiment or Corps: Gloucestershire Regiment
Regimental Number: 20623

Victory and British medals

There is an army service record for an Albert Berryman born Kingsland parish Middlesex c1892. Married an Elizabeth Drain in 1914. (mistranscribed Perryman on freeBMD).

I don't think it's your man, unless the marriage fits?

EDIT: From correspondence later in the record, it looks like this man is Albert Benjamin Berryman, so not your relative.

Unfortunately about two thirds of WWI service records were lost in WWII.

Wow! Thank you all so much for searching. I am fairly certain he didn't leave England. My grandmother came to Canada after she was married and we knew her so she would have said something about Joe being in Canada too because she was very close to him. I found a letter she had written to him as well when he was older and he was in England. My grandmother was Amy b. Oct 5, 1888, and I don't see her on the 1901 census. She would have been 3 at the time so maybe it's the Ann that was listed.
Again, thankyou so much for helping. <3

I think Amy is recorded as Ann on the 1901 census. It definitely says Ann on the image, but the enumerator may have mistranscribed Amy when writing up the census book.

Do you have John Thomas Berryman and Jane Miles marriage cert/image, if not, do you want it?

I wondered if he had been sent out as a 'home child' then come back to enlist and stayed put, but as I said, probably just a red herring.

Name: John Thomas Berryman
Age: Full Age
Spouse Name: Jane Miles
Record Type: Marriage
Event Date: 5 May 1872
Parish: Hoxton St John
Borough: Hackney
Father Name: Charles Berryman
Spouse Father Name: Thomas Miles
Register Type: Parish Register