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Trying to find Lieutentent Colonel Peter Crawford Steel. Born c1924 died active service WW11 France. Married Patricia Mary (surname unknown)
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Have yo looked at the Commonwealth Graves site? It says he was a major.
http://www.cwgc.org/
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Thanks for that, am on the case!
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STEEL Walter Crawford married Margarita Backus of Chile, parents of Peter Crawford Steel. Any info appreciated. Also info about Patricia Mary Kelly (wife of Peter Crawford Steel).
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can't find him on the CWGC site
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Walter Crawford Steel seems to have spent most of his life in Chile. I know nothing about him apart from his marriage (?) and his child Peter, whom I have found details of. Am really stuck!
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Hi Claire - not sure where you've looked but a combination of FreeBMD/Ancestry/Find My Past/The Times Online a google search and the London Gazette offers a fair bit of info that certainly suggests this is the right family
A birth reg for Walter Crawford Steel shows up 3/4 1884 - Hampstead 1a 684
1891 census shows him living at 1 Somerset Road, Ealing with his mother Mary C Steel, (42) her unmarried sister Kathleen Crawford (52) - both born Liverpool and 5 sisters and a brother. All the children except Walter are shown as born Coquimbo, Chile
It looks from FreeBMD that his parents married 4/4 1873
CRAWFORD Mary Ann C Kensington 1a 207
STEEL Alfred Kensington 1a 207
There was a Walter Crawford Steel who served in the Royal Field Artillery in WW1 - his medal card shows him as a Captain - who first entered a theatre of war in France on 30th March 1916. As well as the Victory and British Medals - it shows he won the Military Cross too. His address in 1923 when he applied for the medals was Cleeve Grange, Bishops Cleeve, Glos.
The citation for the MC can be read here: (5th one down left hand side)
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/31583/supplements/12337/page.pdf
To confirm he is your WCS you would need to have a look at his Officers service record in the NA at Kew - this looks to be him
Piece details WO 339/45852 - STEEL W C
His date of entry ties up with a shipping arrival at Avonmouth on 12th September 1915 - Walter Crawford Steel ( 31 - Manager Nitrate Works) Margarita Steel (27) and Peter Steel (1 1/2) boarded the CARINA in Kingston Jamaica - giving their last country of residence as Chile
Immediately above them in the passenger list are Sidney Eric Backus (25) Anita Elizabeth Backus (36) and Geoffrey Marlow Backus (3 3/4)
Sidney also joined the RFA - but was later attached to the RAF - a 1900 shipping arrival at Southampton shows he was Margarita's brother - 2 years younger than her - their mother Caroline was travelling with 4 children - including Margarita
The 1901 census has them all (except Sidney who was a boarder at a school in Coulsdon Surrey) - plus another son Charles at 49 Victoria Road Kensington - They are all shown as US citizens - with widowed mother Caroline having been born in Chile and the 4 children in Peru
Margarita's younger brother Arthur Ronald who also won the MC was killed in 1917 - see CWGC - http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=450761
This seems to confirm that their late father was Jacob Backus an American who founded a brewery in Peru - in 1879 - see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backus_and_Johnston
Going back to Peter - his birth was registered in the Consular Birth Indices at Iquique (Chile) in the volume 1911 - 1915 - page 270
He was apparently a career soldier - passing out from a Gentleman Cadet at the Royal Military College as a Second Lt to the KSLI on 30th August 1934
His Forthcoming Marriage was announced in The Times - 11th Sept 1942 at the time his parents were at Hoogate, Woodbridge Suffolk - Patricia was a WAAF - daughter of Mr and Mrs Maurice Kelly, Ash Manor, Ash Green Surrey
Other announcements in The Times suggest there were at least 3 other children - Margaret Crawford Steel married John Robert Crockett - 22nd Dec 1939 and Richard Crawford Steel married Sheila Jane D'Arcy in Oban on 31st August 1962 and the eldest daughter Betty was reported as having died in Budapest on October 20th 1934 (the address on the back of the medal card was given in the announcement for the parents)
Walter had died by the time Richard married but I haven't had a chance to check out when - it doesn't come up in a search in The Times - but Margarita lived till 25th December 1972 - her funeral was at Aldeburgh Parish Church at 2.30pm on 29th . Her death registration 4/4 1972 Deben 4b 2467 gives her dob as 2/9/1888
Hope this helps a bit - it would be well worth you checking out some of these websites to get original copies and more information - as no doubt there is extra stuff that I've missed - and of course you should DOUBLE CHECK everything with certificates etc in case something doesn't tie up
Good Luck with your quest
Sue
Hunter Valley NSW Australia
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Just double checked - the Betty who died in 1934 was registered in Budapest in the Consular Death Indices (1931 - 1935 vol 28 page 164) as 19 years old - Elizabeth C Steel
A check of the birth registers shows this was registered in Kensington 4th qtr 1915 (vol 1a Page: 142 ) - with mmn Backus - so I'm reasonably confident now that all references given for Walter suggest he is one and the same
Cheers
Sue
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this is him but the record is marked unknown which means they don't have a record of his wife and parents
Name: STEEL, PETER CRAWFORD
Initials: P C
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Major
Regiment/Service: King's Shropshire Light Infantry
Unit Text: 2nd Bn.
Date of Death: 06/06/1944
Service No: 63616
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: V. C. 16.
Cemetery: RANVILLE WAR CEMETERY
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