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Margaret,

I was wondering where Harold was to narrow down the deaths.

Dr Downham might also be a "she".

Rose

Interesting....


This one is Harold Downham:

Name: DOWNHAM
Initials: H
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Second Lieutenant
Regiment/Service: Lancashire Fusiliers
Unit Text: 1st/7th Bn.
Date of Death: 29/09/1918
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: XV. A. 8.
Cemetery: GREVILLERS BRITISH CEMETERY

British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920
about H Downham
Name: H Downham
[Harold Downham]
Regiment or Corps: 7/Lan Fus
Regimental Number: 2591




Rose

Looking at FreeBMD, the first Harold Downham was born 1881. Seems unlikely any of them would be old enough to be William's father.

Rose

Still thinking.....

Could Dr Downham be a nick-name for one of his colleagues - i.e. a gunner who always had a supply of plasters? Two Dowham's from the RFA were killed in action:

Harry William Downham, 21, from Gloucestershire, 26/6/1918
James Downham, 22 from Burnley, 5/10/1917.

Maybe even Downham was made up - going back to Wend's joke about rabbit holes - maybe this colleague had a supply of pills and was always saying "Down 'em and you'll feel better". So he got known as Dr Downham. These grand fellas that fought our wars made their amusement any way they could.

Or might he have gone back somewhere on 1 Oct 1918, looked up an old friend/family doctor only to discover the house had been bombed in 1917 and he was dead. Was there somewhere that he visited earlier in 1917 and went back to on 1 Oct 1918?

Very good lateral thinking MM, but I think Sylvia may be right, in that this is all possibly a bit of a red herring at the moment. I think concentrate more on the name Chipperton (see one of the other threads mentioned). Sue
thinks she may have a connection to my tree via Alice Theresa Foss, Harold Chipperton's wife. I haven't had much time to delve into it so far, but have come up with Herbert Frederick Chipperton, born 1886 Paddington and Alice Foss was also born in Paddington, 1900, father Joseph Foss 1860, mother Francis Foss, born 1874, Plymouth, Devonshire. Hope I've got everything in that I typed - I just put my elbow on the keyboard and everything went haywire! Actually, reading through this, I think I'm probably barking up the wrong tree! (or Dr. Downham is, ha ha)

I agree Wend (and Sylvia).

I was trying to justify to Sue why we should ignore Dr Downham for now.

I'll go back to the Chipperton thread.

Margaret

Good one Margaret, let sleeping dogs lie for the time being - there could be bigger fish to fry!

Wendy

That sounds ominous Wend. Bigger Fish and Chip(s)pertons?

:-)))