Having seen Lynn's thread about the medals update on Ancestry, I had another look and also at the service record update.
For over 20 years I have been trying to find out about ny Dad's much older half-brother, Mick McDonough, to no avail. I thought he'd probably died in Jan 1919, but the cwg citation and commemoration just gives an initial and no family details. No way of proving it was the right soldier.
I looked again today, under McDonough, and there was no record, but just as I was about to leave the site, I spotted the place name Blyth next to an entry for Michael Farrer, alternative name Michaeal McDonough!!!!
IT IS MY MICK - only 6 images instead of the promised 8 (the papers may have got mixed up with the Farrers) BUT the images include a form listing all Mick's relatives and my Dad and all his family are named.
Partner is away on business and there is no-one else in the house. I am sitting here with tears rolling down my face. Tears of joy that at last I have the missing link and the mystery is solved, but also tears of sadness, because i've learned that Mick was married and had a son with the same name as my Dad, but born 2 months after him. I'm sad that my Parents never knew this, or any of my older cousins, although we knew about Mick meeting his end in WW1.
I just needed to share with someone, so if you've taken the trouble to read this post, thankyou.
Thanks to Lynn for jogging my memory and prompting me to look again.
And the moral of the story? NEVER EVER give up the search AND follow up all POSSIBLE leads, even if you think you won't find anything.
Jay
For over 20 years I have been trying to find out about ny Dad's much older half-brother, Mick McDonough, to no avail. I thought he'd probably died in Jan 1919, but the cwg citation and commemoration just gives an initial and no family details. No way of proving it was the right soldier.
I looked again today, under McDonough, and there was no record, but just as I was about to leave the site, I spotted the place name Blyth next to an entry for Michael Farrer, alternative name Michaeal McDonough!!!!
IT IS MY MICK - only 6 images instead of the promised 8 (the papers may have got mixed up with the Farrers) BUT the images include a form listing all Mick's relatives and my Dad and all his family are named.
Partner is away on business and there is no-one else in the house. I am sitting here with tears rolling down my face. Tears of joy that at last I have the missing link and the mystery is solved, but also tears of sadness, because i've learned that Mick was married and had a son with the same name as my Dad, but born 2 months after him. I'm sad that my Parents never knew this, or any of my older cousins, although we knew about Mick meeting his end in WW1.
I just needed to share with someone, so if you've taken the trouble to read this post, thankyou.
Thanks to Lynn for jogging my memory and prompting me to look again.
And the moral of the story? NEVER EVER give up the search AND follow up all POSSIBLE leads, even if you think you won't find anything.
Jay
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