Groom, Bride and Bridesmaids.

Extreme left is 'Chic' Gorry, real name Edith, Thomas's cousin, her mother was Nellie's sister Edith Overend (Thomas's father, John Welding married Ellen Overend, aka Nellie)

Next to her is Frances's school friend Mary Ronan, now Mary Keen, Mary is still alive in Aintree, they are still in touch. Another enduring friendship.

Thomas Welding of course, and the blushing bride, Frances.

On the extreme right of the photo is Joan Welding, Thomas's sister.

Thomas Welding and Frances (Mcardle) Wedding Day

Thomas Welding (b. 1924) and Frances Mcardle (b. 1925) were married in the September quarter of 1945 at South Sefton Register Office, Liverpool, Lancashire.

They are still together. A testament to the enduring power of love and friendship.

Many thanks to his son, John Welding and his Grand-daughter, Karen Welding, for taking the time to scan the above photo.

Joseph Leslie Welding : Dispatch Rider WW2

Another treasure from the family military heritage. Although there was a lot of creasing on the image, none went through critical areas so the photo cleaned up very nicely.

This is Joseph Leslie Welding, who preferred to be called Leslie. In uniform as a fresh faced dispatch rider during the war, Leslie was born abt March 1923 and I would estimate that this photo was taken around 1941.

Joseph Leslie Welding

I was born in 1957 and my dad, Arthur Weldon, had this van when we were nippers, he used to take us over to Ainsdale to the sand dunes, many a happy picnic, setting up a little camping spot in a secluded area, thermos flasks and cheese butties. The van was a multi-purpose arrangement and had a removable seat in the back.

This picture that John Welding sent me brought all that back, this is Leslie Welding and his wife Jean, the familiar van and removable seat, parallel lives on the same coastline.

Joseph Leslie Welding and Thomas with Ronald Cooke.

I'll upload several family photographs now, taking a break from the Military theme.

This photograph introduces the faces of three more of the clan, one by marriage. This is Leslie and Thomas Welding and their brother in law, Ronald Cooke.

Joseph Leslie Welding (b. abt March 1923) and his brother Thomas (b. abt March 1924) and Ronald Cooke who married Joan Welding (b. abt Decemember 1926). Joseph who was known as Leslie, Thomas and Joan were the children of John Welding and Ellen (nee Overend).

Stanley Weldon, Loyal Regiment, Lancashire

Stanley Weldon. (b. August 1928) Served with the Loyal Regiment between 1946 and 1948.

This photo was provided by John Welding (b. abt 1947), son of Thomas Welding (b. abt 1924). Thomas is the son of John Welding (b. abt 1893). Stanley Joseph Weldon is the nephew of the older John Welding, the 1st cousin of Thomas and the 1st cousin once removed of John.

Arthur Weldon, Royal Irish Fusiliers.

Arthur Weldon

All this activity regarding military records made me realize that there are a couple of photographs of my dad that need to be uploaded to the blog.

Arthur Herbert Weldon (b. September 1926) who served in the Royal Irish Fusiliers with the Middle East Force in Palestine.

He was about twenty years old when this was taken.

The Commerce of Ancestry

I included those (so far) none related medal cards in the blog because at some point they will be of interest to someone out there in blogosphere and available here for free as long as the blog survives.

I have been researching my family tree for almost a dozen years now and one thing I have found to be very common are the number of organizations out there who wish to capitalize and monetize the whole process, not only the commercial sites, but also our official, record keeping sites like the Census and the National Archives.

This can be frustrating at times, mainly because you cannot "see" the information and often have to purchase multiple times to find the correct ancestor or family records. I have a suspicion that some of the more organized ancestry type commercial sites capitalize on exactly that.

I have already listed the free sites that I frequent, but it does not harm to repeat them:

Free Births, Marriages and Deaths. UK.   :    http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
Lancashire BMD   :    http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/
Online Parish Clerks : Lancashire   :    http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/

And very recently, when I was researching John Welding, I discovered the London Gazette, a searchable archive that is surprisingly free   :   http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/

Some of the other free sites that I started with a decade ago appear to have been hijacked over the years by those interested in money.

Acting Corporal Leslie Welding, Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

The National Archives Medal Card, obtained when I downloaded the John Welding card. Catalogue Reference WO/372/21 Image Reference 16844.  I believe R.W.Fus stands for Royal Welsh Fusiliers and Leslie Welding was an acting Corporal, regiment 73074. 

John Welding, Driver, Army Service Corps.

The National Archives Medal Card, obtained when I downloaded the John Welding card. Catalogue Reference WO/372/21 Image Reference 16844.  I don't believe it is the same John who was a Gunner in the Royal Field Artillery, this John Welding was a driver in the ASC or the Army Service Corps, serving in Egypt. Regiment number T4/143646.

Corporal Joseph Welding, Royal Army Pay Corps.

The National Archives Medal Card, obtained when I downloaded the John Welding card. Catalogue Reference WO/372/21 Image Reference 16844.  This Joseph Welding is not the same as discussed so far in this blog. This Joseph was a Corporal in the Royal Army Pay Corps, regiment 14421.

Sergeant Joseph Welding, Royal Fusiliers.

The National Archives Medal Card, obtained when I downloaded the John Welding card. Catalogue Reference WO/372/21 Image Reference 16844.  This Joseph Welding is not the same as discussed so far in this blog. This Joseph was a Sergeant in the Royal Fusiliers, Regiment number GS/11766.

Private Henry Welding, Liverpool Regiment.

The National Archives Medal Card, obtained when I downloaded the John Welding card. Catalogue Reference WO/372/21 Image Reference 16844.  This Henry Welding who has not been linked with my family yet was a Private in the Liverpool Regiment, Regiment number 332204.

Private Walter Welding, West Yorkshire Regiment

The National Archives Card, obtained when I downloaded the Richard Welding card. Catalogue Reference WO/372/21. Image Reference 16845.  This Walter Welding who has not been linked with my family yet was a Private in the West Yorkshire Regiment, Regiment number 57905.

Private William Lionel Welding, Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

The National Archives Card, obtained when I downloaded the Richard Welding card. Catalogue Reference WO/372/21, Image Reference 16845.  This William Lionel Welding who has not been linked with my family yet was a Private in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Regiment number 242886.

Private Samuel Welding, Lancashire Fusiliers.

The National Archives Card, obtained when I downloaded the Richard Welding card. Catalogue Reference WO/372/21, Image Reference 16845.  This Samuel Welding who has not been linked with my family yet was a Private in the Lancashire Fusiliers, Regiment number 5417.

Driver William Welding, Royal Field Artillery.

The National Archives Card, obtained when I downloaded the Richard Welding card. Catalogue Reference WO/372/21, Image Reference 16845.  This William Welding who has not been linked with my family yet was a driver in the RFA, Royal Field Artillery, Regiment number 116658.

A driver of that time was a soldier trained in the management and use of horses. The six horses drawing the gun, or wagon, were driven by three drivers, all on the nearside horses, and much training was required before drivers would be rated as competent. The drivers, of course, also looked after the horses and the management, condition and state of health of these animals was regarded as one of the most important functions in the battery.

Private Richard Welding, South Lancashire regiment.

This is the National Archives medal card for Richard Welding who died, defending his King and Country, on the 30th November, 1917 at the Battle of Cambrai. He is on record as being a Private in the South Lancashire Regiment, Regiment numbers 3717 and 241411.

I should extract the other records for the Welding surname from the two National Archive records I purchased for the brothers John and Richard, the archives charge for a single card, yet entries have five or six cards with similar surnames.

London Gazette. 17th September, 1917 : Announcement

If you want to see this, take a look at the London Gazette, 17th September 1917, Pages 9604 thru 9613. I have copied the header from page 9604 and added it to the John Welding announcement for the Military Medal for bravery in the field on page 9613. The inset is the actual medal awarded to John.

2/3 West Lancs R.F.A. 14th Battery

The West Lancashire Division was a formation of the Territorial Force. It was formed as a result of the reforms of the army carried out in 1908 under the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane and was one of 14 Divisions of the peacetime TF.

I've done a little research and will add it here, the R.F.A. stands for Royal Field Artillery and information shows that John Welding was a member of the 14th battery. A battery would be responsible for up to six artillery guns, trailers and a team of horses.

A search on the National Archives (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) shows ref WO 372/21 for John Welding, Royal Field Artillery Corps, Regiment number 686026. The following is his card:

Rank shown as GNR or Gunner. National Archive catalog reference for Roll RFA/115B will be WO 329/45 and page 2890