Hi Debbie and All: Soldiers did not have to produce a birth certificate when they enlisted in WWI in most countries. Hence both those who enlisted under an assumed name, and numbers of both under-age and over-age soldiers. The youngest Australian "Boy Soldier" to die, Jim Martin, was 14 when he enlisted but he said he was 18. He died at Gallipoli, see: http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/martin.htm Horace Moore-Jones the artist painted Gallipoli scenes including "The Man with a Donkey" carring the wounded. He put his age down from 46 to join the New Zealand Expeditionary Force as a Sapper, go down to Moore-Jones on: http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-heroes/simpson.htm#untold Some men put their age up for one war and then down for the next (eg Boer War/WWI or WWI/WWII). Edward Broughton served in the South African (Boer) War of 1899-1902 and WWI in New Zealand forces, and then in WWII in the Australian home forces: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130305b.htm Richard Charles Travis won the Victoria Cross in WWI. His real name was Dickson Cornelius Savage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Charles_Travis Yours, John Wilson > > I have a letter from my grandfather from the Military Detention Barracks > Derby dated 1919. I have been trying to get some information on why he was > there. He is proving difficult to trace as he was born Edward Cockin but > was known as Alf Turner - he only changed his name formally in 1950 to Alf > Alf Turner. I decided to try the burnt records for both names. I have > found him under "alf Turner". I know it is him as the regiment number > matches his. It is > very intriguiging and mentions forfeiture of his medals. Unfortunately > it is very hard to decipher the writing! it seems to say Forfieture under > AA? sentenced to 2 years .....?(indecipherable word). > this throws up a few questions. > how could he have registered in the royal field artillery under an assumed > name? i have his birth certificate and his statutory declaration of 1950, > when he says he was born Edward Cockin but was "always known" as > Alf Turner. > surely he would have to have produced a birth cert? could he have managed > to get in by using someone else's cert? why would he do this? > perhaps his sentence is something to do with using the wrong name? > what sort of misdemenour would result in a 2 year sentence? > surely if it had > been committed during 1918 he would not have been sent home to a prison? > > I have a copy of the PDF burnt record file if anyone wanted me to send it > to them for help in deciphering the information on it! > > it's all very interesting but frustrating! > > any ideas or information would be really appreciated. > > many thanks. > > Debbie Cameron > debbie.cameron@alandeb.org.uk > > http://www.alandeb.org.uk >