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Louise

Louise Report 13 Jul 2006 20:02

I received my great grandfathers army records yesterday which seem to be quite interesting reading. The reason I requested the information was to find out where he was born but the records show something I had never expected to find. His name was David McDonald but the army records also show information on a man called David Lewis. It looks like he changed his name but I have no clue to why he did this. He would have been around the age of 19 or 20 when he changed his name. David Lewis - He firstly joined the Royal Engineers, 3 days after his 18th birthday in 1918 because of WW1. He then transferred into Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. He was then discharged from here in 1919 under para 392 (xxv) and joined the navy. David McDonald - Enlisted into Kings Own Scottish Borderers in 1920. He therfore must have changed his name between 1919 when he joined the navy as David Lewis and going into the KOSB's as David McDonald. Does anybody know if there would be any records which would show he had changed his name from Lewis to McDonald? And where would I be able to find them if there is? Any help is greatly appreciated. Louise

Grace

Grace Report 13 Jul 2006 20:25

all though i cannot be much help, you may be interested to know my grandfather was known as Thomas Waller in the WW2 and got married as a Waller, previous to that no trace of birth, family rumour says he changed his name from Waters, for what reason or when is still a mystery. As a matter of interest how did you manage to get the millitary records? Thank you Beth

Louise

Louise Report 13 Jul 2006 20:43

This website address was useful to find out who you should write to about getting army records. http://www.army.mod.uk/contacts/divisions/records.htm It cost £30 to get the army records and did take a long time to get them. I applied in January for them and only received them yesterday but I think it was worth the wait. I certainly did not expect to find what I have. Louise

Grace

Grace Report 13 Jul 2006 21:34

thanks I will go to the site and see how I get on, asap

Christine in Herts

Christine in Herts Report 13 Jul 2006 22:48

Your main risk in searching out info is that you don't actually have to do anything to change your name. Your legal name is what you are called - what you answer to. The only reason people jump through lots of hoops to change their names is in order to have documentation to prove something. These days it's very difficult to do anything if your current name doesn't match historical records - how can you prove you are who you are? There have been threads on the topic of name-changing. They might come up if you search for ''chang'' (I missed out the E at the end to allow for ''changing'' as well as''change''). Christine