How I wish I had asked my grandmother about her brother, Henry Cecil Laycock!
According to family hearsay, in about 1911 Cecil was sent to South Africa having got a young woman pregnant and being unable or unwilling to marry. I would love to know what became of him and any descendants.
Henry Cecil Laycock was born 26 July 1889 in Keighley, Yorkshire. He was the 6th of 7 children of John & Mary (nee Shuttleworth) Laycock. John Laycock was a tobacco & cigar merchant (J Laycock & Sons) with a shop in Church Street, Keighley. In 1911, Cecil was living at West House, Steeton, near Keighley with his parents, elder brother Harold, who was working in the family business, & younger sister Elizabeth Marjory Susannah (my grandmother). He was a bank clerk aged 21.
British Army Service Records show Henry Cecil Laycock, service no 641, enlisted with the Volunteer Force, 3rd West Riding Regiment 6 February 1907 & was transferred to 6th Battalion West Riding Regiment, 29 April 1908 when he was a bank clerk with the United Counties Bank Ltd and living at 32 Belgrave Road, Keighley. His engagement was terminated 28 April 1909.
I have found a 'Mr Laycock', single male, travelling first class on the Kildonan Castle to Cape, South Africa leaving Southampton 16 March 1912 but I have found no trace of him after that.
Mary Laycock died in 1931 - her obituary states that she is survived by her husband, 3 sons & 2 daughters, & that 2 sons died in the Great War. This suggests that Henry Cecil Laycock died at this time although I have found no record of his death or that the war was a convenient means of permanently banishing Henry Cecil from the family. (I have full BMD details of all his siblings.) John Laycock died in 1933 & his will makes no mention of Henry Cecil.
I have revisited this brick wall several times - the only possibly relevant record I have found is:
Henry C Laycock m Elizabeth J Richardson Jun quarter 1919 Lambeth 1d/642
There is a reference to Henry Cecil Laycock on ancestry.co.uk in London, England Marriage & Banns 1754-1921 m Elizabeth Jane Richardson father James Laycock (so unlikely?)
I would welcome any suggestions on how to track down my elusive great uncle.
Many thanks
According to family hearsay, in about 1911 Cecil was sent to South Africa having got a young woman pregnant and being unable or unwilling to marry. I would love to know what became of him and any descendants.
Henry Cecil Laycock was born 26 July 1889 in Keighley, Yorkshire. He was the 6th of 7 children of John & Mary (nee Shuttleworth) Laycock. John Laycock was a tobacco & cigar merchant (J Laycock & Sons) with a shop in Church Street, Keighley. In 1911, Cecil was living at West House, Steeton, near Keighley with his parents, elder brother Harold, who was working in the family business, & younger sister Elizabeth Marjory Susannah (my grandmother). He was a bank clerk aged 21.
British Army Service Records show Henry Cecil Laycock, service no 641, enlisted with the Volunteer Force, 3rd West Riding Regiment 6 February 1907 & was transferred to 6th Battalion West Riding Regiment, 29 April 1908 when he was a bank clerk with the United Counties Bank Ltd and living at 32 Belgrave Road, Keighley. His engagement was terminated 28 April 1909.
I have found a 'Mr Laycock', single male, travelling first class on the Kildonan Castle to Cape, South Africa leaving Southampton 16 March 1912 but I have found no trace of him after that.
Mary Laycock died in 1931 - her obituary states that she is survived by her husband, 3 sons & 2 daughters, & that 2 sons died in the Great War. This suggests that Henry Cecil Laycock died at this time although I have found no record of his death or that the war was a convenient means of permanently banishing Henry Cecil from the family. (I have full BMD details of all his siblings.) John Laycock died in 1933 & his will makes no mention of Henry Cecil.
I have revisited this brick wall several times - the only possibly relevant record I have found is:
Henry C Laycock m Elizabeth J Richardson Jun quarter 1919 Lambeth 1d/642
There is a reference to Henry Cecil Laycock on ancestry.co.uk in London, England Marriage & Banns 1754-1921 m Elizabeth Jane Richardson father James Laycock (so unlikely?)
I would welcome any suggestions on how to track down my elusive great uncle.
Many thanks
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