How Findmypast’s military records told the story of seven First World War brothers

9-10 minute read

By Ellie Ayton | January 6, 2022

Most of us have military ancestors, but telling their tale is another story. Findmypast’s Ellie took to family history records to uncover what happened to seven serving Overthrow brothers.

Many people had their lives cut short by war. But for others, war is only a part of their story. My family tree discoveries have changed how I view my military ancestors and made me feel immensely grateful for their bravery and sacrifice. Knowing my paternal grandfather served with Monty’s Eighth Army during the Second World War fills me with pride.

Find heroes in your family tree with a free trial

My maternal great-grandfather, Ralph Overthrow, enlisted in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1916 aged 20 while working as a chemist for Elliott’s Metal Company. His medical record describes his ‘poor physical development’. He was transferred to the Army Reserve, and was later discharged in 1919.

officers of the 12th battalion gloucester regiment

Officers of the 12th (service) Battalion, Gloucester Regiment, pictured here in The Tatler, 11 August 1915.

Though somewhat delighted (after all, if he had perished in the war, I would not be here today), I wondered if any other Overthrows in my family tree might have served. A simple search of Findmypast’s military records gave me around 30 Overthrows who had surviving details from this time, and to my surprise, seven of them were brothers from Gloucester.

I knew immediately that I had to find out what happened to them. Their stories deserved to be remembered. I am also grateful to Findmypast expert Paul Nixon for helping me with this research.

A family of soldiers

Thomas William Overthrow was born in 1859 and was a first cousin of my 2x-great-grandfather, Lewis Frank Overthrow. Census records told me he was married to Harriet Ann Hopkins, and they had the following children:

Charles Leonard, 1882
Sidney Ernest, 1883
Frederick William, 1885
Harold Walter, 1888
Percy Reginald 1889
Lionel Francis, 1891
Albert Joseph, 1897
Doris Winifred Anne, 1904

He was a cab driver, which seemed to run in the family – in the 1911 Census his son Harold was a chauffeur, and later his son Lionel was a cab driver. The release of the 1921 Census can also give us clues about whether their employers were the same.

By the time the First World War broke out, the family was living at 6, New Inn Lane, Gloucester, very near The New Inn, pictured here in the Francis Frith Collection in 1912.

I spotted this small article in our historical newspapers, which stated that Thomas and Harriet had five sons serving by 1915. I can’t imagine the anxiety they must have experienced, knowing most of their children faced danger and death as soldiers on the Western Front.

newspaper clipping of thomas and harriet overthrow

Gloucester Journal, 3 July 1915.

From there, I made it my quest to tell their stories.

Charles Overthrow

The eldest son Charles Leonard Overthrow was born in Gloucester in 1882. I discovered that he received a Silver War Badge on 23 October 1917, which gave me his service number of 15658 and his enlistment date of 3 September 1914 in the 6th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment. I also learned that he served overseas and that he was discharged on 25 April 1917 due to wounds.

Charles appeared in a casualty list published by The Times on 28 July 1916. Paul says Charles might have been injured on 3 July 1916, when the 19th Division (of which the 10th Worcestershire Regiment was part) attacked La Boiselle. This was the third day of the Battle of the Somme.

Illustration of the Battle of the Somme, from the Illustrated Police News, 6 July 1916. View the full image here.

It’s hard to get my head around that my relative was present at one of the bloodiest battles in human history. Paul informed me that Charles received a gunshot wound to his thigh, which later led to his discharge from the army in 1916.

Charles had married Alice McKee just before he enlisted in 1914. In the 1939 Register he was listed as an aircraft painter and sprayer. Even then, he was still determined to do his bit for the war effort. Though I imagine Charles carried his experiences with him, I’m pleased he strove for happiness. He died in 1964, aged 82. I wonder if he ever shared his story with his children and grandchildren.

Sidney Overthrow

Sidney Ernest Overthrow was born in 1883, and he married Ethel Lilley Mann in 1906. They had several children; I have no doubt that their son Lionel was named after Sidney’s brother. Sidney enlisted towards the end of the war on 2 July 1918 in the Royal Army Service Corps. He was a tramcar driver at the time. However, he was quickly discharged on 8 August due to sickness.

By 1927, Sidney was working as a cleaner at the Corporation Tramway Depot. Our newspapers report that in February 1927, he suffered a concussion at work.

Gloucestershire Echo, 18 February 1927.

Sidney died in 1937, and Ethel appears as a widow on the 1939 Register with children Peggy and Ivor. Tragically, Sidney and Ethel’s son Maurice was killed in action in Normandy during the Second World War. He was just 19 years old.

newspaper clipping of maurice overthrow's death

Maurice Overthrow's death recorded in the Gloucester Citizen, 6 September 1944.

I can’t imagine the pain Ethel must have experienced, to witness the troubling times of the First World War, only to lose her son to the Second World War.

Frederick Overthrow

Frederick William Overthrow was born in 1884. He married Rose Adelaide Mitchell in 1908, and from there, I spotted a tragic story in our newspapers. Not long after their marriage, Rose was investigated over the death of her 3-month-old illegitimate daughter, Winifred Overthrow Mitchell.

rose overthrow in our newspapers after her baby died

Gloucestershire Echo, 5 August 1908.

Winifred had been born prior to the marriage and was likely Frederick’s child. It really struck me how poorly Rose was treated during the inquest. According to the report, Rose had continued to breastfeed with an infection, and the coroner had said there was ‘a display of monstrous ignorance on the part of the mother.’

On 5 June 1915, Frederick volunteered to join the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was posted to the 92nd Field Ambulance, but was soon discharged on 30 June, under Paragraph 392. Paul said this probably meant that he was unlikely to become an efficient soldier.

The electoral register of 1921 tells me he and Rose were living at 20 Richmond Street, Gloucester. By 1939, Frederick was working at a ‘mental hospital’. He died in 1958, aged 74.

Frederick and Rose in the 1939 Register. See the full record here.

The 1921 Census revealed further clues about Frederick and his family. I learned that he was a stoker gas maker, and that he gave his daughter Joan the middle name Verdun. I wonder if that was his way of honouring a family member or friend.

Harold Overthrow

Harold Walter’s story is similar to that of his brother Sidney. He served originally in the Dragoons of the Line in 1906, and later enlisted in the 2/5th Gloucestershire Regiment on 29 September 1914. He was discharged by November on medical grounds.

He married Lily Grimes in 1911, and their daughter Eileen Barbara was born in 1913. The 1939 Register lists Lily as a widow, as Harold died in 1938.

In 1921, Harold is listed as living with his wife Lily and daughter Eileen, and was working as a private chauffeur for a doctor.

Percy Overthrow

Percy Reginald Overthrow was born in 1890. In 1910 he married Edith Emily Baker, and from there several children were born. On 29 August 1916, Percy was conscripted into the Army Service Corps.

According to his service record, he served overseas in Salonika. There’s a note in his papers from 24 July 1917, which states that the ship he was on was torpedoed. He returned to Britain the following day and was declared no longer physically fit for service on 11 January 1918. We’ve been unable to identify the name of the ship in question.

A tiny, handwritten note on Percy’s service record which states ‘ship torpedoed’. See the full record here.

Paul informs me that a single surviving pension card states Percy claimed a pension on the grounds of neurasthenia myalgia, aggravated by war service. This could include high blood pressure, anxiety, and heart palpitations. So many soldiers experienced the horrors of war, and Percy was just one of them.

percy's death recorded in our newspapers

Gloucester Citizen, 29 March 1949.

I spotted him on the 1921 electoral register with Edith, and the 1921 Census confirms he was working as a motor driver for W Colwell. According to a newspaper report from 1949, he caught a chill, went to work, and was taken to hospital where he died.

Lionel Overthrow

Lionel’s story is perhaps the most tragic. He was born in 1891 and attested for the Army Service Corps on 25 May 1915. Prior to this, he was a taxi driver for Mr W Colwell, and I also found him being injured by a runaway horse in 1911 while an ironmonger’s apprentice in our newspaper collection. At some point in late 1915 Lionel was in Malta and suffered after some sort of gas attack. He was transported back to England and hospitalised in Manchester with a gastric ulcer. On 14 January 1916, Lionel died after surgery.

Gloucester Journal, 22 January 1916.

According to the above report, Harriet received a message of condolence from the King and Queen, and it states she now has:

"‘three sons on active duty at the Front, and another is awaiting discharge from the Army, having been twice wounded and in hospital since May last.’"

After the war, Lionel’s name is mentioned once more: in our newspapers in 1920. His name appeared on the unveiling of a local war memorial, preserved for all time.

Albert Overthrow

William and Harriet’s youngest son was born in 1897. By 1915, he was in hospital fearing the loss of his left hand. I can’t even imagine what he might have faced, and this wasn’t even the first time he’d been wounded.

report of albert's injuries in our newspapers

Gloucester Journal, 29 May 1915.

He received the Silver War Badge in 1916 when he was discharged due to his wounds. The same record also told me he enlisted on 30 August 1913. He would have been around 17 years old.

After being discharged, he married Emily May Moore, who appear in the 1921 Census. Albert was a bricklayer at the time. They had two daughters: Mary (1926) and June (1929). I began to wonder how his injuries impacted his life and employment. In the 1939 Register, he was listed as a painter. He died in 1968 aged 71.

Doris Overthrow

Thomas and Harriet’s youngest child and only daughter was Doris, born in 1902. She will have watched her brothers work, enlist and head off to war. At some point she changed her name to Dorothy, married postman Joseph John Hardy in 1918 and they had at least nine children.

The end of the story?

The First World War undoubtedly had an impact on this family, but for many, their stories don’t end with the war. Who will tell the stories of your ancestors on Remembrance Day?

And a final note: if any descendants of Thomas, Harriet and their children happen to read this, I would love to hear from you. Please drop me an email to discoveries@findmypast.com