Mystery soldier and family

Mystery soldier and family
Source: Ancestry Online tree

I came across this photo on Ancestry. It was attached to my 2 x great grandparents, George Reeks and Maria Salisbury in a number of online trees and was labelled "Reeks_George & Maria with Selina & Fredrick".

George Reeks was born in 1858, his wife Maria in 1860, Selina in 1880 and Frederick in 1881. However, I was pretty confident that this photo was from the First World War era and that those in the photo were much younger than George and Maria and their children!

The photo had been uploaded by a known 3rd cousin, also a descendant of George and Maria, so my initial thought was that the soldier may be of one of their sons, however, a quick check of my tree confirmed that only one of their six sons, John, had joined the military but he had died in 1909 when he was 18 years of age, unmarried. 

My search then moved to their daughters. The only son-in-law to enlist was Charles William August Hausknecht, husband of their daughter, Millie. Charles and Millie had two children, Marjory (also known as Madge) born 1909 and Charles born 1912, so they fitted the demographic of those in the photo. 

I was however, keen to find further evidence to support this theory.

Charles William August Hausknecht - is he the mystery soldier?

Charles, a labourer, enlisted on 1 March 1915 at Maryborough, Queensland as a Private, he was aged 30 years and 9 months, was 5'5" tall and weighed 121 pounds. He was of dark complexion with light brown hair and blue eyes.  Details of distinctive marks are also included in his service records.

Service Records - Description
NAA: B2455, HAUSKNECHT C W A 

When he enlisted, Charles stated that he had been a member of the Wide Bay Infantry Regiment Services for 2 years. He was appointed to the 5th Reinforcement 9th Infantry Battalion 3rd Brigade at Enoggera, Brisbane on 14 April 1915. 

The 9th Battalion was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during the First World War. It was the first battalion recruited in Queensland, and with the 10th, 11th and 12th Battalions it formed the 3rd Brigade.

Charles travelled with his unit to Gallipoli on the HMAT Kyarra and arrived on 27 June 1915. Five months later he was transferred to the hospital ship Syria with dysentery on 18 November. The ship made it’s way to Egypt via Mudros on the island of Lemnos, Greece and he was admitted to No. 1 Auxiliary Hospital at Heliopolis on 21 November. A week later on 27 November he was transferred to No. 3 Auxiliary Hospital at Abbassia in Cairo, Egypt and finally to Ras el-Tin in Alexandria on 12 December 1915. 

Casualty Form - Active Service - Charles Hausknecht
NAA: B2455, HAUSKNECHT C W A 

He was discharged on 2 January 1916, but was admitted again on 5 January at Gherzirah and finally discharged and re-joined his unit on 26 January 1916.  During his recovery, the Allied forces had withdrawn from Anzac and Suvla between 15 - 20 December 1915. 

Cairo, Egypt, 1915. Nursing staff and patients from 2nd Australian General Hospital
in the garden at the former Ghezirah Palace, occupied at the time by the hospital.
Australian War Memorial, Public Domain 

After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. It was split to help form the 49th Battalion and bought up to strength with reinforcements. In March 1916 the battalion sailed for France and the Western Front. 

Six months later, on 14 June 1916 Charles received a gun shot wound to the thigh. He was admitted to the 3rd Australian General Hospital  at Abbassia and was transferred to the SS Seang Choon on 17 July for his return to Australia via the Suez Canal. He disembarked in Sydney on 18 August and was medically discharged from Victoria Barracks on 26 September 1916.

Charles was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. 

NAA: B2455, HAUSKNECHT C W A - Discharge Section

Examination of soldiers uniform

I have shared the photo with the Facebook group Genealogy CLUES- Dating Old Photographs and the feedback there indicated that based on the chevrons on the arm of his tunic, that the man in the photo was a Sergeant - and in the Cavalry as opposed to Infantry, based on his breeches.  

However, examination of photos of other members of the 9th Infantry Battalion do appear to be wearing similar breeches and further research on the Australian War Memorial website revealed the following:

The tunic was worn with khaki cord breeches of the riding pattern. There was little difference between the breeches worn by infantry and those worn by mounted troops. Breeches were laced below the knees and worn with either woollen puttees or leather leggings.

I also took the opportunity to share the photo with one of Ancestry's military specialists at a recent Ancestry Tips session offered by the Society of Australian Genealogists. He also commented on the colour patch on the arm of his tunic, which supported that he was with the 9th Infantry Battalion 3rd Brigade - the chart below confirming these are the colours worn by Queensland brigades. 

Colour patches in the Australian forces
Source: Western Front Association

Simon's other observation was that he is only wearing two medals. We know Charles was issued with three medals - but could the photo have been taken before the last medal was received?  While there are dates of issue on two of the medals, the year is not included. 

The 1914–15 Star was instituted in December 1918, the British War Medal in July 1919 and the Victory Medal in September 1919. The Victory Medal was issued to all those who received the 1914–15 Star, and to most of those who were awarded the British War Medal. It was not awarded singly.

What this does tell us, is that Charles did not receive his medals until late 1919 after the war had ended. Did he still have his uniform or has he borrowed it for the photo to be taken? Could the photo have been taken on the anniversary of the Armistice on 11 November 1919?

Comparisons with other photos

As I was searching for more details on Charles and his military career I came across The Hausknecht Family History which had been published on the Queensland Family History Societies website and noticed that it included a lovely wedding photo of Charles and Millie - is this the same couple in the above photo? A noticeable feature is Charles's handlebar moustache, which were often worn by soldiers during the 19th century until roughly the era of World War I.

Charles and Millie on their wedding day - 23 June 1911 at Woonona, NSW
Photo courtesy: Pauline Heiniger collection

After studying the photo many times, I realised that I could see a very strong resemblance to the young girl in the photo with another photo I have which includes Charles and Millie's daughter, Madge, seated on the right, with her cousins, Olive and Ivy Hails, who were my grandfather's sisters. 

Olive and Ivy Hails with their cousin, Madge Hausknecht

The back of this photo is inscribed To Grandmother and Grandfather with love from Olive, Ivy and Madge and was taken at W. E. Johnson's Rembrandt Studios 133 Liverpool St, Sydney, January 1928.

Conclusion

What do you think? Is the mystery soldier, Charles Hausknecht with his wife, Millie Reeks and their children, Marjory and Charles? I would love to know what you think!

Comparison collage 

References

• NSW BDM records
• Queensland BDM records
• World War II Military Service Records, 1939-1945 - National Archives of Australia
• 9th Australian Infantry Battalion - Australian War Memorial Collections
• The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) Other ranks uniform 1914-1918
• Colour Patches in the Australian Forces - The Western Front Association
• The Hausknecht Family History by Pauline Heiniger 

Introduction

This blog documents the stories of of my ancestors who have had some military involvement. As the stories are not written in any specific order, below is a summary of those I've written or plan to write in alphabetical order, which I hope will make it easier for you to navigate the blog:

• CONWAY, William John - Corporal, 7th Battalion, Black Watch, (Royal Highlanders), WWI
• GARRETT, Benjamin - Private, Coldstream Guards, Crimean War (yet to be published)
• FRY, John - Driver, Regiment Royal Horse And Foot Artillery, Napoleonic Wars (yet to be published)
• HAILS, Alfred William - Able Seaman, Royal Australian Navy, WWII
• McDOUGALL, John Murray - Able Seaman, Royal Navy, WWI
• McDOUGALL, Helen Forrest - Munitions Worker, WWII
• Mystery Soldier and family
• RAKE, George William - Leading Aircraftman, Royal Australian Air Force, WWII
• REEKS, John - Ordinary Seaman, Royal Australian Navy (yet to be published)

I have two other blogs, DNA Discoveries, where I have documented some case studies about how I've used DNA techniques together with traditional research to solve some family history dilemmas and My Ancestors Stories where I share general family history stories. 

Helen Forrest Martin nee McDougall - Munitions Worker

Munition Worker's Veterans badge

I was recently issued with a commemorative Munition Worker's Veterans badge for front line duty by BAE Systems Heritage Department in recognition of the valuable work of my grandparents Helen Forrest McDougall and Robert Conway Martin at ICI Ardeer in Stevenston, Ayrshire during the Second World War.  

Along with the badge, I was sent a copy of a letter from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Unfortunately the Palace has stated that the letter cannot be published, but the letter recognises "the remarkable courage and sacrifice of these individuals during a time of National Emergency".  

The letter and badge were made available as the result of a campaign by the Munitions Workers Association over many years. 

During the Second World War alone, there were over 3.5 million women who worked under the banner of Munitions, from shell production and filling to the construction of aeroplanes and tanks.

They endured gruelling shift patterns, exposure to toxins, and the threat that if they made an error during production it could cost the lives of the entire factory. Many women lost limbs, suffered with lung conditions for the duration of their lives, and lost babies who were stillborn due to the chemicals in which they worked. 

After the War, the women were largely forgotten, their stories left untold. A forgotten army of millions. Their courage, sacrifice and determination provided the Armed Forces with the materials to win the war. 

Nobel Industries Limited was founded in 1870 by Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel for the production of the new explosive dynamite in the United Kingdom. Ardeer, on the coast at Ayrshire, was chosen for the company's first factory. The business later diversified into the production of blasting gelatine, gelignite, ballistite, guncotton, and cordite. 

In 1926, the firm merged with several other companies creating a new group, Imperial Chemical Industries, then one of Britain's largest firms. Nobel Industries continued as the ICI Nobel division of the company.

Old Site Offices, Ardeer, ICI Nobel, Ayrshire
Rosser1954, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ICI Ardeer was commonly known locally as the 'factory' or the 'Dinnamite'. At the time the company generally provided higher quality employment regarding terms and conditions and pension rights than other local firms. At its peak, the site employed almost 13,000 workers in a fairly remote location. The Ardeer site was its own community with enough employees on site that a bank, a travel agency, and a dentist were located on the site.

The former Western Scottish Bus Company provided tens of buses per day to transport the workers to and from the site, and until the mid-1960s, there were even two trains per day to transport workers to a station within the factory which was used solely for workers and any special visitors with business in the ICI plant, and was never a regular passenger stop. The abandoned platform remains, hidden beneath dense undergrowth.

Our family has had a long association with the factory since the early 1900s. 

My great aunt, Caroline McDougall also worked as a munitions worker during the Second World War the following extract from a letter from her father to her sister in 1941 indicating that she was on the three to eleven shift. As Carrie lived in Glasgow, no doubt she used the private railway to travel to and from work.   

Letter from Alexander McDougall to his daughter, Helen dated 3 April 1941

My grandfather, Robert Conway Martin was also working as a Explosives Worker at the time of his marriage to Helen in 1938 as was his father, James Martin. His sister, Sarah Martin was also described as an Explosives Worker at the time of her marriage to Harry Catt in 1945. 

Marriage Certificate - Robert Conway Martin and Helen Forrest McDougall - 1938

My great grandfather, James Martin had worked at the ICI from at least 1911 when he is listed on the 1911 census with his sister, Lizzie McNeilly and her family. It is believed he and his brothers, John and William moved from Ireland to work at the factory. 

James' father-in-law, Robert Conway (my 2 x great grandfather) was also recorded as a labourer at Nobel's Factory at the time of the 1911 census. He advanced to the position of foreman before his retirement. 

Both Helen's parents, Alexander Murray McDougall and Caroline Anstey Garrett also worked as Explosive Workers at the time of their marriage in 1911. 

Marriage Certificate - Alexander Murray McDougall and Caroline Anstey Garrett - 1911

The following video was released this week by Shifting Sands and is dedicated to all who served, in whatever capacity, at Nobel Explosives / ICI, during all wars. It shows some fascinating graffiti left - in pencil - by those who worked at the former Cordite "press hooses" on the old Nobel site during the Second World War.  

Video courtesy of Shifting Sands Facebook Group 

Note  

You can click on any of the images to enlarge them.

____________________________________________

 Click here to Apply for a munitions worker’s veterans badge

George William Rake

(1925-1993)
son of Arthur Samuel Rake and Clara Lillian Phibbs

George William RAKE was born on 28 November 1925 in Erskineville, NSW, Australia the only son of my paternal great grandparents, Clara Lillian PHIBBS and Arthur Samuel RAKE who were married on 24 Dec 1915 at St. Pauls, Sydney.  George's father passed away when George was just 7 years old. 

 George enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force Service on 4 Jan 1944 shortly after his 18th birthday. He did his basic training at Tocumwal, NSW and served at Cootamundra, NSW; Batchelor, NT; Morotai, Indonesia and Balikpapan, Borneo. 

He was discharged 16 May 1946 as Leading Aircraftman with 24 Squadron. He was awarded the Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945 and the Australia Service Medal 1939-1945.

Cover of George's War Service Record
National Archives of Australia 

Upon his return from the war, George changed his name to Carl Drake. The clerk had a sense of humour! 

He was an entomologist and a musician.

He married Rhoda Ada BEAVIS in 1956 in Chatswood, New South Wales. 

George died on 12 November 1993 at the age of 67, and was buried in Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Sydney, New South Wales.

John Murray McDougall

Able Seaman

The Collingwood Battalion

Royal Naval Division

John Murray McDougall was born 2 Apr 1894 in Glasgow, the son of George Graeme McDougall and Martha Orr Campbell Murray, my 2 x great grandparents, who were married 24 Nov 1882 in Dalrymple, Ayrshire. The family moved to Glasgow shortly after their marriage. John was the second youngest of five children, he was just 2 years old when his mother, Martha died shortly after the birth of his younger brother in 1896.

Collingwood Battalion on Parade  Gallipolli

John joined the Collingwood Battalion of the Royal Naval Division as an Able Seaman.

The Royal Naval Division landed at Cape Helles at the end of May 1915 and prepared for what is now known as the Third Battle of Krithia. Amongst their ranks were the sailors of the Collingwood Battalion.

On 4 June, the seven hundred strong Collingwood Battalion took part in the second phase of the attack. The Royal Naval Division advanced and captured the enemy front line but suffered heavy casualties. The Collingwood Battalion took over and seized the Turkish second lines four hundred yards further on. However, the neighbouring French troops were driven back by a counter-attack, leaving the Battalion's right flank exposed. Flanking fire caused devastating casualties amongst the Collingwoods, with over five hundred men killed or wounded, including 21 year old, John Murray McDougall.

ADM 242: Naval Casualties, Indexes, War Grave Rolls and Statistics Book, First World War

 The Battalion withdrew but their casualties were so heavy that the Battalion disbanded with the survivors being attached to other Battalions as reinforcements.

Helles Memorial, Gallipoli

John is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial on the Gallipoli peninsula overlooking the Dardanelles.

This is a battle memorial for the whole Gallipoli campaign and a place of commemoration for Commonwealth servicemen who died there and have no known grave.

The memorial bears more than 21,000 names.

William John Conway

Corporal

7th Battalion

Black Watch 

(Royal Highlanders)

William John Conway, was born on 1 October 1895 in Belfast the eldest son of Robert Conway and Margaret Jane Moore, my 2 x great grandparents who were married on 9 February 1892 in Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church, Bangor, Down, Ireland.  The family lived in nearby Conlig and also at 34 Well Street, Belfast before moving to Scotland (sometime between 1905 and 1908) where they lived at 13 Townhead Street, Stevenston, Ayrshire.  

In the 1911 census, William, aged 15, was working as a cattle boy for John Matthews on Girthill Farm, Ardrossan. Before enlisting he was employed by J. Morrison & Sons, Stevenston, Bread and Pastry Manufacturers, where he was serving his time as a baker.

William joined the Royal Highlanders Black Watch and went to France on 20 September 1915 and served with the 7th Battalion. He was 22 when he was killed in action on 26 March 1918 during the German Spring Offensive.  The 17 May 1918 edition of the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald reported that Corporal William John Conway was missing in action and later it was officially confirmed that he must be presumed to have been killed.

Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France

William has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in France and on the Conway family grave headstone in Bangor Cemetery, Down, Ireland.

Bangor Cemetery, Newtownards Road, Bangor, Down, Northern Ireland

Also commemorated on the family headstone are his grandfather William John Conway who died at Conlig on 15 May 1919 (aged 76); his grandmother Agnes Jane Conway who died at Conlig on 4 January 1922 (aged 70) and his blind uncle, Hugh Conway, who died at Conlig on 25 September 1918 (aged 43).

Alfred William Hails

(1918-2009)  

Son of Robert Hails and Emma Sarah Reeks

My grandfather, Alfred William Hails was born at Concord on 25 October 1918, the youngest of six children of Robert Hails and Emma Sarah Reeks who were married 6 February 1909 at Helensburgh, NSW, Australia. The family lived for a time on the south coast but had moved to Sydney by 1917. 

Alf’s parents were divorced when he was 8 years old and he lived with his mother and siblings at Arncliffe.  Alf was a textile worker and married my grandmother, Esther Rose Lillian Rake in 1935 when he was just 16 years old. They had two children.

Record of Service

Alf enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy just before the outbreak of WWII. He reported for duty on 27 Aug 1939 and was initially assigned to the Penguin II, the RAN's main naval base at Garden Island as an Able Seaman.

Able Seaman - Royal Australian Navy
27 Aug 1939 - 24 Oct 1945

Alf served on HMAS Canberra from 29 Feb 1940 patrolling and escorting in home waters and the Tasman Sea. She later began a period of service in the Indian Ocean on escort duty from Fremantle to Colombo and Cape Town and was involved in several searches for various German vessels on the shipping routes leading from Africa to India and the Malay States.

HMAS Canberra, Sydney Harbour, Oct 1930

Following the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Canberra continued her role of escort cruiser, convoying troops to New Guinea and convoys to the Malayan / Java theatre. 

HMAS Canberra was at anchor in Sydney Harbour on the night of the Japanese midget submarine attack on 31 May / 1 June 1942.  Details of the attack and what happened afterwards are covered in this DigiTalk - The mystery of the M24 midget submarine  by Sirling Smith, hosted by the Harbour Trust. 

Alf, Back row, 5th from left

Two of the submarines were recovered several days after the attack and after analysis they were sent around New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria to raise money for the Royal Australian Navy Relief Fund and the King George Relief Fund for Merchant Sailors. People could pay to view the submarines, buy war bonds and souvenirs, such as lead models of the submarines. They were then sent to the Australian War Memorial and remains of the two submarines have been put together and are on display in the Anzac Hall.  Alf participated in this tour and is pictured above. 

HMAS Canberra supported the American landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi, which ended with her loss in the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942 when she was struck by two torpedoes. With power lost and the ship listing, the wounded and survivors were evacuated  and the Canberra was then sunk by two American destroyers.

Of the 816 officers and men, casualties included 10 dead of wounds; 74 missing believed killed and 109 wounded. 

Alf survived this encounter and later served on the HMAS Wagga and was demobbed on 24 Oct 1945.

Alf and Esther divorced during the war and he married again. After the death of his second wife, Alf reconnected with Esther and they married again in 1980 and remained together until Esther’s death in 2000.

Alf always participated in the Anzac Day marches while he was able. He died on 29 Dec 2009 in Westmead Hospital, when he was 91 years old.