Duncan Charles Heigham CHISHOLM

[ag.hamilton]

Duncan Charles Heigham CHISHOLM was an officer in the Worcestershire Regt. He was born ca 1879 and served from ca 1900 to 1920 when he left the Army with the rank of Major, emigrating to Australia in 1923.
In 1905 he married Lucy Ethel Hall. I have two questions:
1. Where was Duncan serving during the period 1903 - 1905?
2. Are there any records relating to his marriage which would give any information about his wife?
My interest is because Lucy was my grandmother. The father of her first child, my mother, was an officer in the Life Guards (she seems to have been keen on military men) and I'm trying to find out where she may have lived as she does not appear in the birth records or the census in the uk. any help would be most useful. thanks, Angela

[scully]

Hi Angela,

I found details of Duncan Charles Heigham CHISHOLM (born at Littlehampton, Sussex in 1879) on the 1901 British Census at the time he was stationed at Blenheim Barracks, Farnborough. At the time he was a Lieutenant with the 3rd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment.

He married Lucy Ethel Hall in 1905. The GRO (General Register Office) reference details required to order a copy of the marraige certificate is as follows:
Marriage of Duncan Charles Heigham CHISHOLM to Lucy Ethel HALL
Year = 1905
Quarter = December
District = Brentford
Volume = 3a
Page = 169
You can order a certificate online direct from the GRO at:
ERROR://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

The marriage certificate will give Lucy's age, her fathers name and place of residence, which will help track down her birth details.

I found many Lucy Ethel HALL's in the records so you will need more details as mentioned above to track her birth details down. If you get a copy of the marriage certificate then send me the details and I will try and find her birth records for you.

Suggest you contact RHQ at Norton Barracks for more details on Major Duncan Charles Heigham CHISHOLM.

Regards,

Louis

[scully]

found more information. on Duncan Charles Heigham CHISHOLM.

1881 British Census
He was living at Western Place, Broadwater, Worthing, Sussex with his parents - father Alexander Chisholm - age 38 (a Captain in the Army) and his mother Mary (age 20). He also had a sister Mary A. M. (she was only 9 months old when the census was taken and Duncan was 2 years old.
His father was born in Marylebone, London, Middlesex and his mother was born in Seaford, Sussex.

1891 British Census
Shows him living with his mother Mary Chisholm (she is down as a widow) age 29 and his sister Mary Alexandra M. Chisholm (age 10)
The family was living in the parish of Heene, Worthing, Sussex. The house was called "Strathglass".

The GRO deaths records show his father died early in 1891 and his death was registered at East Preston, Sussex. His full name was Alexander Bain Chisholm.

Regards,

Louis

[ag.hamilton]

Hello Louis, thank you so much for replying - twice.
I have the m. cert. for Duncan Chisholm and Lucy Ethel Hall 1905. She was 21 so b. ca 1884. Father Francis Hall, 'gentleman' and one of the witnesses was Harry Joseph Hall - perhaps a brother or uncle? Address 50, Bath Road, Bedford Park West, Middlesex which is where she was also living in late 1903/early 1904. Her father is not given as 'deceased' on her m. cert. but neither is Duncan's father and he was definitely dead by then so the registrar evidently wasn't bothered about including it one way or the other.
I have been totally unable to find a birth for a Lucy Ethel Hall around 1894 in England and Wales or in Scotland. There is one in Chelsea in 1886 which is not her - that child died shortly after birth. She doesn't appear in the 1891 or 1901 censuses either - 50 Bath Road was occupied by a Baptist minister called Frederick Benskin in 1902 - in 1901 the house was empty because Frederick was staying in Devon.
Because both the father of her first, illegitimate , child (my mother Mary) and her husband were army officers I've wondered if her father Francis also had a military connection. Could she have been born in India? I have tried to find where she could have met Mary's father who was Edward Patrick Barry, a Veterinary Captain in the Second Life Guards, but I can't find where he was serving in about March 1903 when Mary would have been conceived. And how did she then later meet Duncan? A family military connection seems possible.
I've rambled on a bit here, but any fresh ideas would useful. I should add that although Mary's birth was registered, by Lucy, with the surname Hall when on admission to an orphanage aged 3 weeks the mother's name was given as Ethel Lloyd Hall (definitely our Lucy as the address is still 50 Bath Road and Mary's birth date is correct)- my mother was always known by the surname Lloyd-Hall. Now where did that come from??!!
Any thoughts would be very welcome. Angela

[scully]

Hi Angela,

I have found a possible match on the 1901 Census for Ethel Lucy Hall. At the time she was 17 years old and was staying at her grandparents house in Kilsby, Northampton. Her grandparents were Thomas Timms (age 61) and Charlotte Timms (age 67). Ethel's mother Mary A. Hall (age 39) was also at the same address and she was down as a widow and daughter of Thomas and Charlotte Timms. On the census it states that Ethel was born in Kilsby. The 1901 Census reference details are as follows:
RG13/2919 folio 101 page 9.

Could this be the Ethel Lucy Hall you are looking for as her age matches the year of birth you gave?

This was the only match I could find on the 1901 Census.

Regards,

Louis

[ag.hamilton]

Hello again Louis. Thank you for that - I hadn't found that family before. Unfortunately it seems that the father of that Ethel Lucy was called John. The father of my Lucy Ethel (or Ethel Lucy!) was Francis. I shall have to keep searching.
Thank you again, Angela

[Calder]

Hi Angela,

You contacted me last year regarding Alexander Bain Chisholm, father of Major Duncan Charles Heigham Chisholm. I have some new information and wanted to contact you but your e-mail address is no longer operative.

Please contact me at ichisholm@shaw.ca .

Regards,

Ian Chisholm

[Simon_Fielding]

I have an interest in this officer as he wrote a letter of condolence to the wife of a soldier I'm researching:

Corporal Arthur WHILE
10th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment 6949

Killed in action 13th October 1915

Kidderminster Times 23rd OCT 1915. PAGE 8.

Corporal While, of Lax Lane, joined the Army at the outbreak of war, being engaged in the collieries in Wales. Corporal While, who is thirty-two years of age, leaves a widow and three children.

The following letter was received by the widow:-

‘I very much regret to inform you that your husband (6949) Corporal While of the company under my command, was killed last night (October 13th) by a piece of shell which struck the billet in which we were situated. Please accept my deepest sympathy in your great loss. He was one of the very best of soldiers, and it was a source of great pleasure to have him with me. We had soldiered together before in Tipperary, Ireland. He is being buried today in the English Military Cemetery. D.C.H. Chisholm, Captain.’

Does anyone know when this officer died?

[ag.hamilton]

Hello Simon.

Duncan Charles Heigham CHISHOLM died on sep 29 1962 in Australia where he had lived since 1923. He was 83.

I have more information. about him if you are interested.

Regards
Angela

(I'm sending this again - I don't think it went though the first time)

[Simon_Fielding]

Hi Angela - I'd love to know more. He sounds a model officer, and the letter went that little bit further than the usual platitudes!

My email is simonharveyfielding+yahoo.co.uk where the + is a @!


Simon