Exploring Family Background with Timelines

Lloyd C.V. WWI aircraft 1917*

Last week I was distracted from my blog research and ended up looking into my grandfather's WWI service. His records showed him as a seaman in the Royal Navy. I wanted to know more so, I came up with a two-pronged research quest:

• to find out more about my grandfather's seaman's record

• to find out the background behind grandad's remark to my dad about Harry's nose being out of joint by dad joining "his" branch of the military  

Harry, my dad's oldest brother, was in the RAF in WWI and grandad said to my father that Harry would give dad a hard time for joining "his" branch of the service. My dad joined the RAF anyway, what are brother for if not to put each other's noses out of joint? The remark shed some light on the people involved, my grandad and uncle. I wanted to see if I could find out more about those two by looking at the records.

I decided to do a timeline of the records I found from both my grandfather, Charles Cavanagh's life as well as that of my uncle, Harry (Henry Robert Booth). The latest webinar on Can Gen Twist put on by Kathryn Lake Hogan, had been about timelines and I was itching to try one which showed the changing ages of the parties involved, like the one on the webinar.

It took ages to do the timeline because I was doing research and filling it in at the same time, probably not ideal but sometimes it helps to have a deadline to get things done. The pivotal entry that brought the two together was the 1915 marriage of Charles Edwin Cavanagh to Ellen Myra Booth. Her occupation was left blank, a terrible oversight if I ever saw one, as she ran a pub and had four living children. Henry Robert Booth was the eldest. He was 16 when his mother got married for a second time. Charles was a bachelor. I wonder if he knew what he was getting into?

 

One of the pages from the timeline 

The First World War began in 1914 and England was in the thick of it. Many young men of Harry's age were itching to get in on the fight; some lied about their ages to join up. But it was Harry's stepfather, Charles Cavanagh, who signed up first, joining the Royal Navy on June 8, 1917. He was sent to Chingford, where the navy aerodrome was, the next day and to the Eastern Mediterranean on September 15. The Royal Air Force was founded in 1918 and Charles was transferred to the RAF on April 1, 1918. Henry Robert Booth was 19 when he joined the RAF on July 24,1918. So, his stepfather was actually in the RAF already when he joined. Did Harry follow him into this branch of the service or was he unaware that his stepfather had been transferred?

Although Harry's enlistment record shows the pub on Dock Street as his permanent address, there were indications that the family wasn't actually living there at the time. These could been seen on Charles' transfer papers which list the younger children on the side, who were Harry's younger brother and sister and his half brothers, Charles and Cyril. While Charles and Ellen Myra's first son was listed as being born in Whitechapel, according to the notation their second son, Cyril, was born in Sunbury. 

The 1919 electoral poll shows Charles and Ellen Myra back on Dock Street. Looks like things were back to normal after the cessation of hostilities. Harry was probably living there as well because that was the address given on his 1921 marriage certificate. His stepfather Charles was one of the witnesses to his marriage, which argues that the relationship was close. Harry's bride, Christina, lived just a short distance away on Upper East Smithfield Street which was probably how the young couple met. In fact, Harry and Christina lived at that address until 1939, another indication of a close relationship with family. 

Extract of 1899 Booth Poverty map showing Upper East Smithfield and Dock Streets

 

Now, 1939 was when my father was talking about joining the RAF. That was when my grandad made the remark about Harry's nose being out of joint by dad joining "his" branch of the service. I can't be sure about the true context of the remarks but drawing up the timeline of events and filling in some of the gaps gave me a clearer picture of the people involved, the closeness of the family bonds and a better understanding of the history in which my relatives were involved. 

 

If you are looking for a way to organize your family research and get a better understanding of a forebear's live, timelines are a good tool. They are also a great way to organize the information you have gathered into a usable form. It took me a while to draw up the timeline but it focused my research. I wonder which line I should make a timeline for next?

 

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/list/timeline-of-world-war-i  

 

Images:

 

*By Unknown - Original publication: 1915Immediate source: http://riseofflight.com/forum/topic/27999-gift-registry-list-enter-your-na#e/page-46, Public Domain, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42385135