POsted the story abt James Dobbie below. Kept coming up with brick walls Since then, due to tracking his work as a ship's fireman over about 15 years up to 1914, he consistently said he was born in 1871 or 1872. So when he said he was 40 on enlistment, he was probably a bit older. I am now seeking a James Dobbie born Glasgow, 1871 or 72, looking for any guidance re same. Found 2 in the 1881 census, one had a father who was an undertaker and the other's father was a blacksmith. Which do you think is more likely. Any interesting deductions?. Previous post I have been trying to track James Dobbie who died in WW1 in 1916, France, one of the Fromelles burials.. Am trying to find which family he came from. Grateful for any guidance. Its quite a brick wall. According to his war record (Australian) the following "facts" are known. he was 40 years and five months when he signed up in July 1915. And he was born in Glasgow. His occupation was marine fireman (stoker?) His next of kin was a friend Arthur Horsefield of Sydney, so presume he had no family in Aus. I think I tracked him arriving as a crew man in Sydney in 1901. I looked in the 1881 census, thinking I could pick him out and tracked the most obvious candidate, born in Glasgow, though Scotlands People, but found he died in Slamannan in 1944.