John Moss DAKIN

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suepugh7
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I am researching the men who died in WW1 on the Memorial Cross at All Saints' Church, Baschurch.  I have been lucky enough to find the Attestation Papers for one of these men - John Moss Dakin, born 1878 I believe in Leicester.  However, the reason he is on our Cross is that he and his family lived at The Lodge, Walford Manor, Walford, near Baschurch.  However, unlike the other men on the Cross whose details I have found on the various CWGC sites, according to FreeBMD Dakin died Wem, December quarter 1921.  Is there any way I can find out if he died from injuries from the war and the exact date he died without going to the expense of buying a death certificate?  Grateful for your help.  Sue

Michael J Hulme
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Hello Sue

Looking at the 1911 census I see the family were living at Yeaton, Baschurch and that it was John's wife Louisa who was born at Thornton, Leicestershire.  John is shown as born Whitchurch, Salop (Shropshire).  Their two children were both born Baschurch.

I have been trying to work out why John's death was registered in the Wem Registration District when it didn't include Baschurch although it is not straight forward because registration districts have changed several times since they were formed in 1837.

Don't forget the possibility of something useful in the newspapers once you find the exact date of his death.  I wonder whether there was an Inquest if his death was linked to something suffered during the war.

Mike

suepugh7
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Hi Mike

Typically, once I had done the post I checked the 1911 census and found him in Yeaton with his birth Whitchurch.  Will check the newspapers to see if I can find anything.  As far as I can make out he left the Army in 1919.  There is no document for injuries that I can see.  So I suppose we must assume he was OK.  But its very strange that he died so soon afterwards and presumably not in Yeaton/Baschurch area.  Also odd that he is remembered on All Saints' Memorial Cross as all the others died in active service. Grateful for your help as you can imagine time is short as this needs to be ready for 11th November!  Sue

PhilPoole
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Hi Sue,

This is an intriguing problem. As you've found his Attestation Papers, which are part of his Army Pension Records, you will be aware that he first joined the Army in 1899 and served in Egypt, South Africa and India. One aspect of his records that I don't fully understand is that he was discharged in March 1916 under Kings Regs Para 392 (xxi), but then re-joined in June 1916, and was part of the British Expeditionary Force. Unfortunately the Medal Roll Index does not specify where he served as part of BEF. KR Para 392 (xxi) is a discharge due to injuries or illness, but there is no medical record attached to his Pension Records, so I consulted a friend who is an expert in military issues, and he concludes that he was not injured. He was demobbed in 1919.

In conclusion I think the only way to find out the cause of his death is to obtain his death certificate. I wonder what rules Baschurch applied to add his name to the Memorial?

One extra thought. Was his death registered in district of Wem due to him being in hospital there, rather than his home in Baschurch? The 1921 Census may give a clue, but it will be another 3 years before that is released to the public.

By the way John Moss Dakin is included in a family tree on the Ancestry website, but it only states that he died in 1921, and unfortunately the owner of the tree has not logged on to Ancestry in the last 12 months.

Regards

Phil

PhilPoole
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Hi Sue,

My "military" friend has come back with more thoughts that you might find interesting.

The CWGC allow date of death (by any means, including ill health in the UK) for all WW1 people who served to be extended out to 31/8/1921. John’s is just outside this limit, consequently it explains why he’s not on the CWGC website.

It’s a mute point if he should actually be inscribed on the Baschurch Memorial Cross at all, but I’ve had some experience researching names on WW1 memorials these last 4 years and what I found was common, was that the memorial committee involved advertised locally for submissions – these arrangements commonly taking place in the 1920’s. In the main little checking was carried out providing the named person served in WW1 and had died by the time the memorial was being planned. Q4 of 1921 is still close enough to November 1918 to be a raw memory of a deceased soldier.

As with the CWGC, it was not a criteria for the soldier to have died of wounds, but in fact all categories of death were not really questioned. Of course, late memorial planning by the early 1930’s, it would by then be much more difficult to include a 1930’s death. Also consideration should be given to the question if John died from the 1919 flu pandemic, which killed sufferers post 1919. I believe the committee would have been sympathetic to a family who had a serving soldier die so soon after the Armistice.

I have just found him in another Ancestry Tree, who logged on last week. Its a long shot, but I will try to contact them.

Regards

Phil

suepugh7
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Hello Phil

Very many thanks for all your efforts and  please also thank your "military friend".

Very interesting to read how the men were chosen to have their names on the Memorial Cross as I have found a lot more local men who should have been but are not.  In fact if I was doing the list today there would be far more names on our Memorial.  Secondly, from my point of view ninety something years later, I wish there had been more information.  Our Cross only gives an initial and surname.  For example, E. Jones!  This is a nightmare to find the right person. 

I am currently in touch with a lady in the village (who is a "good" age) in the hope that she can remember more details.

The death of John Moss intrigues me so lets hope that the person on Ancestry picks up soon.

Regards, Sue

PhilPoole
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Hi Sue,

I'll pass on your thanks to my contact.

Interesting comment you made about missing names. I now live in Kent and another person in the village has been doing the same as you, i.e. researching the lives of the names on the village War Memorial. During their research they also found a couple of missing names who died in WWI. The Memorial has been cleaned for the WWI Centenary and the "missing names" have just been added and re-dedicated in time for 11/11/2018. 

Regards

Phil