Local Soldiers Great War Army papers Puzzle

[GHOME]

Hello Can anyone give any advice or reason why there is a Local Newspaper article inside His Army Records? I will try to read what the newspaper cutting says.

Heading SAILORS ADVENTURE, Policeman Chased with his own sword.
Breezy Adventures in an Argintine seaport were described by Wiliam Youlden at Liverpool Court with deserting his ship, I did not desert my ship I was detained by Circumstances beyond my control.
I went ashore at Rogario on 27th October and on the same night me and my friend got in Difficulties with a Vigilante policeman, The vigilante policeman then threw my pal to the floor then drew his Sword. The article ends here so I think one of the Pals took the Sword off the policeman and then chased him around the town, But I was just wondering if the Pal was my Grandad James Walton whose Army Papers this was attached?

Can someone please shed any light on this because I do not think he was a Sailor. I reckon this must of happened around the time of my Grandfather Enlisting to the Graet War he enlisted 12 November 1914.

[daggers]

It is a great story! Is there no year given on the cutting? If there is, it is worth a look at other papers of around the date.
I look forward to other views.
D

[Hilary]

I've seen newspaper articles as part of a First World War soldier's papers. In the case I saw the article descibed how the soldier had been disembarked in the UK but was found to have his throat cut. Unfortunately the coroner's report was not also there.

I've also seen one which had a Birkenhead Police report attached and the description of the soldier given was "this man is of very bad character". His police record started aged 12 and his last act before being chucked put of the army was flogging his uniform!

Hilary
Ed Officer

[GHOME]

The Newspaper Cutting was taken from a S.E.1 area code of london so I would not have a clue why it`s in the newspaper there being a proper Scouse Docker. I have since found out the name of the Ship they jumped from it was the Steamer Novington which was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1917 at Scarpa in Scotland.

[dickiesam]

Hi,
Having a relatively unusual surname I wonder if the sailor in the court case is Able Seaman William R Youldon, who was aged 23 in 1910, and born in Dartmouth, Devonshire?

There's a mention of the SS Novington in the Count Carlo Zanardi Landi Photo Collection, 1907-1929, held in the Universlty of California. http://www.oac.cdlib.org/data/13030/6n/ ... 09r76n.pdf

He seems to have specialised in salvage & shipping photographs. There's a description and catalogue list here: http://texts.cdlib.org:8088/xtf/data/13 ... 09r76n.xml
Cat # 2 2:21 = Photographic postcard of crew members on a lifeboat near S.S. Novington in Lerwick Shetland, 1918, January.
Cat # 2 2:22 = Torpedo damage inside S.S. Novington, ca. 1917-1918.

It would appear from that second photo that although damaged, the Novington was salvaged and did not actually sink.

Dickiesam

[GHOME]

Thank You Dickiesam for this information this must of been the same Able Seaman, but I know that when the SS Novington was hit by the U-Boat in 1917 my grand father James Walton was serving in the Great War until 1918-1919.

The original question was the Friend who was pushed over by the Vigilante policeman might of been my Grandfater James Walton. Without the paper article giving a date I was trying to acertain the year and If this is my Grandfather who I was very suprised at being an Able Seaman.

[dickiesam]

Hi,
My best guess would be that the link is Liverpool. You say your g.father was "a proper Scouse Docker" and the case against William Youldon was heard in a Liverpool court. It is possible of course, but I doubt if g.father went through WW1 as a soldier and then signed up for the Merchant Marine or Navy, or was a seaman before the outbreak of war. I think someone in the family would know about such a 'career' change.

Maybe they knew each other as friends from before the war with g.father being a docker and WY being a sailor. Regarding the incident in Rogario, it would appear that WY and his fellow seaman were eventually arrested and 'slung in the clink' to cool off. Meanwhile their ship sailed without them. A check of the Incoming Passenger List from say 1911 to 1918 might reveal WY coming home as a DBS category passenger.

Dickiesam

[MaryA]

Might I ask if this newspaper article was found in the paper file of Army Records of your grandfather, or amongst the Ancestry images? Just a thought.

[GHOME]

Hi The Newspaper Article was in my Grandfathers army papers on ancestry?

[MaryA]

That makes me wonder if it has been scanned out of order, perhaps something just caught up amongst other papers. Ancestry aren't known for being the most efficient.

[Hilary]

I suspect that Ancestry has just copied the films of the papers held by the National Archives. You only see films there never the paper documents.

Can you tell us which set of documents are your James Waltons on Ancestry, sometimes a fresh pair of eyes sees something different.?

If the case was held in Liverpool it would have been reported in the Liverpool papers as well.

Hilary
Ed Officer

[imorgs]

I might be able to shed some light on this for you.

There is a report at http://shetlopedia.com/Novington of the Novington being torpedoed and sunk during the First World War:

The Novington, a vessel laden with a cargo of sawn timber, 3442 GRT, 110.4 L x 15.2 B x 6.6 D metres, 327 hp, built 1906 Richardson, Duck & Co., Ltd., Stockton, England, owner Southdown SS. Co., Ltd. (Bell, Symondson & Co.), London, England.
This vessel in passage from Archangel, Russia, via Lerwick to the Tyne, England, or Nantes, France (the available records are in dispute), was attacked and damaged by the German submarine UC 40, Captain Hermann Menzel, at a position approx 25 miles E of the Bard of Bressay, on October 24th 1917.

The information available for subsequent events affecting this vessel is extremely vague, it would appear that she was then taken in tow, but broke adrfit. By means unspecified she was then purposely beached at Cullingsburgh, Bressay. Next she was brought around to Lerwick, but for reason(s) not recorded she sank at an unspecified position off Scarfa Skerry, on the NE side of the Ness of Sound, on an unrecorded date before the end of 1917.
All of the crew are believed to have been saved.

Another report at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/t ... 1287558826 says:

Consul Olsson Sw 1617 (Horn) 2,538 g.t. one funnel, two masts, built 1899 as Novington for Southdown SS Co, London, 1911 sold to Rederi A/B Helsingborg (N. F. Corfitzon), Helsingborg, 1918 renamed Salen, 1921 sold Germany renamed Athalwin, 1923 returned to Sweden renamed Salen, 1925 renamed Argos, 1925 wrecked Cat Island, Newfoundland.

So it seems that there is conflicting stories about the Novington and it looks likely that there were two ships of that name. The one your grandfather seems to have sailed on is likely to be the Novington that was built by Richardson, Duck & Co Ltd, Thornaby, England, 1912. 3,442 gross tons; 362 (bp) feet long; 50 feet wide. Steam triple expansion engine, single screw. Service speed 12 knots. Cargo ship. Built for British owners, British flag, in 1912 and named Novington for Southdown SS / Bell Symondson & Co. Sold in 1931 and renamed Ioannis Frangos. Sold in 1954 and renamed Ramiz. Sold in 1957 and renamed Ismet. Scrapped at Piraeus in 1961.

This Novington travelled regularly to Rosario in Argentina in the 1920s. There is a record at Ellis Island of it calling at New York from Rosario in 1924 and there is a passenger manifest at http://www.ellisisland.org/search/ship_ ... rio&page=1

I also know that the Novington (Ship No. 132729) travelled from the UK to Rosario between 10 May 1927 and 12 August 1927 as my grandfather was on the crew and I have his Certificate of Discharge and Argentinian Immigration Papers from that voyage.

Who know, it is entirely possible that our grandfathers were crew mates on the Novington in the 1920s.

I hope that helps.

[MaryA]

Hi Ian and welcome to the forum. Thank you for posting such a comprehensive reply to this query, we will all be interested in this.