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:-)))

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

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

Wendy

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

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)

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?

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

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

Margaret,

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

Dr Downham might also be a "she".

Rose

Meg,

Yes you are right - that could be the day he found out he died. And it reads:

Oct 1st - Dr Downham died.

I guess there is a very remote possibility he meant 1917?

You see he used one book/diary for three years and on each day he wrote 1917 events on the top of the page, 1918 events in the middle and 1919 events at the bottom.

The "Dr Downham died" is written in the middle (meaning 1918) and above it it reads "bombed 1917" - so to me that reads it was 1918 - but he did not write 1918 after it. Does that make sense?

I appreciate the search and help and like I said way back - this was a long shot just because his Dad was rumoured to be a doctor...

I'm off to bed (I'm in Los Angeles) so will check back tomorrow :)

Rose, I know this is probably more information than you needed, but it seems he moves around quite a bit

His last entry in his diary for Sept 1918 and reads:

23rd - Major Sergeants Great Ballard New Milton

26th - Barton (it says in the back of his diary he was convalescent until Oct 24th)

For Oct 1918:

9th - Great Ballard

15th - M.O inspection duty

23rd - Milford

24th - sick furlough

25th - ten days sick leave from Barton to London

26th - Camberwell

27th - married St Georges 12:15pm Camberwell (man of many words!)

28th - Bentley

30th - Alton leave

31st - Emily died Farnham

Nov;

1st - Alton to London

2nd - Camberwell

3rd - Camberwell

4th - Camberwell - reported back to the 61 Battery Lessness Park (spelling? sometimes its hard to read his cursive writing)

From then on it looks like he is back to training with the RFA in England until he gets leave at Christmas and goes back to Alton.

He has addresses in the back of his diary and addresses that match these areas are as follows:

G. Foskett, Hordle House, Milford, Hants.

Weydon Mill, Farnham, Surrey

6 Woodbere? Cottages, Ansty?, Alton

or he could ahve died earlier, and there could ahve been a coroner's inquest ......... the death wouldn't be officially registered until the coroner had rendered his decision




sylvia

Rose, are you asking about Dr Downham in 1918? Well we don't know, cos all of the Downham deaths in the Dec Qtr of 1918 we have investigated and they have thrown up zilch. There is no doctor Downham whose death was registered that quarter. That's why I suggested the dog. Might seem potty but I've nothing else to suggest.

The thing is, I've checked all Downhams who died in the December quarter of 1918, and none of them are doctors of any sort, and only a couple (whether male or female) of the right age to be doctors, let alone the father of Harold William. That's why I suggested the dog. Run out of ideas. People had odd names for dogs. Or horses. I am not being facetious, I am genuinely trying to think of possible answers.

Sue, this diary entry. Is it an entry made on 1st October and says "Dr Downham died", which might mean that was the day he LEARNT that Dr Downham had died, as opposed to Dr Downham died today. Do you see the difference? Cos I can find a few Downhams died in WW1 that might not have been notified to the family till later.

Though I don't think that even if we find him it is going to lead us to your relative at all.

Is there anything else in his diary of likely interest?

Sue,

Where was he living in Oct. 1918?

Rose

Sorry for all the confusion with the different threads Meg set me straight! I shall not multiple post again!!

Pet dog theory - funny - as he was a gardener and other entries in his diary are like how many rabbit he killed and such! It was just a wild idea that I thought I would throw out there.

I am not sure whether he eventually did find out the who his father was, and this could quite possibly have been a family doctor that he mentioned in his diary.

Interestingly he was sent to a private school that was quite elite back in the day - and we think the father paid for that schooling, as there is no one else in the family that would have been in the position to pay for it. I contacted the Gordon Boys School in Woking and they are mailing me all his documents from that time - so patiently waiting by the mailbox for that and the b.cert. for William Harold Chiverton.

His entries in his diary were quite interesting, like for instance, he was shipped out from northern France on a hospital ship the Warilda on Aug 2nd 1918, which was torpedoed and sunk, 123 lives lost, he made it of course, ended up at Netley hospital in England. Is there anyone or any organisation that is interested in this information? He lists where he was most days, the towns, the villages (he was in The Royal Field Artillery) and whether they were shelled, bombed, who was injured...It seems like someone might benefit from it?

Anyway - thanks again for all your help. I know how time consuming this can be, so I appreciate all your efforts.

Best Sue

Also checked WW1 deaths.

anythings always possible, MM!


I really think we are chasing a red herring with this fmaily.


There really is no way that I can see to prove, or disprove, who fathered Harold William.

It's the kind of information that goes to the grave with the mother, and possibly the father although he may never have known he had fathered a child anyway!



sylvia

Bit of a long name for a dog, Madmeg., but perhaps he liked going down rabbit holes :-)

Sorry to joke - I've looked up all the possibles you have and came to the same conclusions.

I feel daft at suggesting this, but could Dr Downham have been a pet dog?