In my extensive collection of old photos, I also have a specific collection of wedding photos.

For this time coming up to Remembrance Day, I’m sharing two of these pictures, which have clues about the subjects written on the back. You can follow my research journey. My family stories have links to WW1 and WW2, as most families do.

Who are Olga and John?

I’m starting with this absolutely fabulous wedding group photo taken by Mrs G Swain, St Giles Studio, Norwich.

I searched first on FreeBMD for a marriage of Olga Mills in 1914, and there was just one.

Olga L M Mills married Tilley. So now I need to find out his full name. So again I do another search on FreeBMD for Tilley marrying Mills.

As Olga L. M. was quite unusual, I conducted a birth search and wasn’t surprised when I saw she was born in the Norwich area, matching the location of her marriage.

Next, I did a birth search for John P Tilley for the years 1880-1890, and again, luck was with me.

I wonder how they met?

So now I started a small tree on Ancestry with what I had found out.

Continuing my research, I visited FamilySearch.org. This site offers free indexes of UK census records from 1841 to 1911 and provides links to the original images. This is a great alternative to just relying on transcriptions available on Ancestry, Find My Past or other sites, which require a subscription.

As an example from Family Search, here’s what you see when you’re searching for Olga on the 1911 census. I’m just showing you the information for her father. As you can see, the transcription is good enough to add lots of details to your family tree wherever you have it, even if it’s not online, and all for free.

This search also showed me Olga and other members of the family on the 1901 and 1891 censuses and several more records. These two websites are excellent if you are researching on a budget. You don’t have to register on FreeBMD, FamilySearch. It’s a very simple process, but you do have to register on FamilySearch. It’s a very simple process, then you log in. Links here: FreeBMD (New Site) and FamilySearch

To explore your family’s history further, a subscription to a family history site is required after inputting the basic information.

During WW1, John Percy Tilley served as a Lieutenant in an APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier), typically commanding a platoon, which is the unit that rides in the APC.

I currently have access to Ancestry and Find My Past, so I can show you information about Olga and John, along with their family, staff, and visitors from the 1921 census, which took place on June 19, 1921. This census is invaluable because it provides insight into where people were and what they were doing shortly after World War I had ended.

As you can see, John Percy Tilley was a Chartered Accountant. John and Olga have three daughters, the two eldest born in Norfolk and the youngest in Surrey. The eldest daughter, Diana Vera, married Richard Gough Dowell in 1942. Lillian Joan married Robert Hunter Roxburgh on 28 June 1941. They had a daughter, Jennifer, born in 1942, just a few months before Robert was killed while serving on board H.M.S. Dulverton, 7 December 1942; he is remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 76, Column 3. Lillian remarried a few years later and had two sons.

World War 2 records

The youngest, Olga Ann, died when she was 23, but why? Having access to the British Newspaper Archives via Find My Past is invaluable, so I searched for the year she died and found the cause of death in a newspaper article about her funeral.

Young Olga Tilley worked at the Royal Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, during WW2 as a VAD nurse.

After reading the newspaper article about young Olga’s death, I checked the 1939 register and found that our mother, the bride, Olga and young Olga’s two sisters were also working for the Red Cross VADs.

During World War II, VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurses, primarily women, played a crucial role in supporting the war effort by caring for sick and wounded soldiers. VADs received training in first aid, home nursing, hygiene, and other essential skills.

They provided vital support in both military and auxiliary hospitals, and in some cases, they served near the front lines. Their duties encompassed a wide range of tasks, from basic nursing care to transportation and organisation. VADs were responsible for transporting patients, assisting with wound care, and even acting as ambulance drivers. Some VADs specialised in areas such as X-ray operation, massage therapy, dispensing medication, and cooking. They were known for their ability to improvise and adapt to the challenges posed by wartime conditions.

John died on 17 June 1955. He was 69 years old. Olga died on 12 November 1977; she was 87 years old.

Now I’ll turn to my second photo choice.

Who were Jacob and Edith?

The next wedding photo was taken on 15 July 1926, 12 years after the first photo and also after World War I. As you can see, it looks like the groom has a facial disfigurement. Was he injured in the war? Or could it be something like Bell’s Palsy?

My starting point to find this bride and groom was again FreeBMD. I entered Jacob with no surname and spouse Edith with no surname in the third quarter of 1926. I had two results.

When I reversed the search for Rosen marrying Goggan, it showed that the bride’s name was Dorothy L. Goggan, so not my bride.

It had to be Jacob Timmins who married Rilley, but when I reversed it to check her name, I had no results, very strange. So I looked at the actual GRO index page by clicking on the squiggle after the word ‘info’ in the red box.

As you can see, it could also be Killey, not Rilley. So I did a search with Killey, and that was correct, Edith Killey married Jacob Timmins, registered in Cockermouth, Cumberland.

Jacob’s Military Record WWI

Now that I knew the groom’s name, I had to try and find out a little more about him, especially about his WW1 service. His birth date was on 17 March 1904 in Distington, Cumberland. So, looking at Military records, I found these first two records on Ancestry.

Jacob Timmings enlisted on 30 May 1918 and was discharged on 9 November 1918. As you can see above, Jacob was awarded the Silver War Badge. “The Silver War Badge was a British medal awarded during World War 1 to service personnel who had been honourably discharged due to wounds, sickness, or other disabilities sustained during the war“.

It’s a matter of piecing together the clues. This is his war medal card record above, and as you can see, his Cause of Discharge was 392 XVI KR. The XVI relates to being ‘No longer physically fit for war service‘ The Military Researcher website by Forrest Anderson is excellent for all sorts of Free Military information, link here: Cause of Discharge. Military researcher.

Another Free resource is The National Archives. They have many digitised records, including those related to World War I and II, military records, and some naval records, which are available for free online viewing if you create a free account. Jacob Timmins‘ record is middle left on this sheet below.

From these records and the fact that Jacob was in the Army for just a few months and was awarded the Silver War Medal, I do think he was injured while serving abroad.

Obviously, we could delve deeper into this couple’s family, which would take a bit more time.

But I will tell you that the couple had three sons, and here’s the family living at The Cottage, 10 Lime Road, Workington, Cumberland, England. Jacob was a Builder’s General labourer. Edie died in the Autumn of 1976, aged 69, and Jacob died in the summer of 1982, aged 78.

This blog was originally shared as my two guest blogs for Family Wise back in the summer.

Are you a descendant of one of these families? If you are, please do get in touch either with a comment on here or via email to lynnswaffles@gmail.com. 

Till next time then…….