Wigan Album

Hello Keith, his cap badge is Royal Artillery and with him wearing spurs on his boots he would probably have been in the The Royal Horse Artillery. The RHA was armed with light, mobile, horse drawn guns that in theory provided firepower in support of the cavalry and in practice supplemented the Royal Field Artillery. Hope this helps a little.

Just enlarged the photo Keith to see if I could read his shoulder title but I can't. I am almost sure it would be RHA going off his uniform, spurs, and lanyard on left shoulder.

My ggrandfather was also in the Royal Horse Artillery,he came from Platt Bridge and enlisted in Wigan in 1914 when he was over-age,he was then 46.The company served in France and he was killed in 1915 on the Somme but before the great battle. As he died of wounds we have a grave and details. I made enquiries through the Regiment as to why he would be in an artillery regiment at such an advanced age and was told that as his peacetime occupation was an electrician he would have been useful as the guns were fired by electrical charges and maybe that why he was a Staff Serj at the time of death. Do you know what Walter did in peacetime? Ancestry uk has soldiers details but a lot of records of the first war were destroyed in the bombing of ww2 however maybe Walter had a war pension and you could look there. Also look for his medal details as he survived. That may give some insight.

Keith, there is a Walter Gorrie listed as medal holder for the 1915 medal. His reg number is 359044. his rank is given as L/corporal, previously Pte. and of the Manchester Regiment. (Many units were merged during the war so people often started in one and finishd in another) I can't find an address so this may not be your chap but it may be, if you can verify it from another of your home records,hope this helps a little.

Thank you very much indeed Wigwann and Joseph for all your help. I do appreciate it and I shall try to follow up your advice to see if I can discover a little more.

On the 1891 census he is aged 5 living at 9 Albert St, Hindley with dad James 37, mum Ann 35, sister Clara 9 and baby Maggie aged 3 months. I can't see them on the 1901 census, probably because of a transcription error over the spelling.

Wigwann, I am not sure that the Walter Gorrie on the Medal Roll Index card you mentioned is the right one. He has two service numbers, the first one 3473 is a Territorial Force number when he joined the Manchester Regiment as a Private on 8 May 1915. The second number 359044 he got when he transferred to the Labour Corps. He was discharged 6 March 1919 with the rank of Lance Corporal. There is no mention of the Royal Field Artillery or the Royal Horse Artillery. Also I don't understand why he didn't get the Victory Medal and British War medal as well if he was discharged after the war.

Thank you Graham, you're probably right. An "unusual" surname (except in parts of Scotland where the father originated) is a double edged sword. It makes life quite a bit easier when searching but if, as it is often misspelt, it makes it impossible to find. He seems to be still in Hindley in 1911 and Walter appears to have married a Jane Green in 1922, just 2 years before he passed away but not before they had a son also named Walter who I met once. I know the family later moved to Forge Street and later Hartley Street.

There is no sign of his Service records or an Army Pension record.

In the 1911 Census Summary Books there is a Gorrie family of 3 males and 2 females living at 27 Harper St, off Darligton St East.

Thank you Graham, you have the right family and correct address. I don't know if Walter was still living at home in 1911 but I do know that my dear Auntie Maggie would have been one of those girls and my lovely grandmother was the other one. I've done research on Walter's father (James) and he had a "colourful" life. Thanks again.

Hi Keith,
Walter Gorrie is on the 1911 Census as Graham states.
He is aged 25 and his occupation is a Labourer at a Brewery, (sounds a good job to me!).
His father is James aged 57 an Electric Car Driver born in Edinburgh.I also found his parents living in Wigan in the 1881 Census, James was then a Cab Driver.
If you list his military details on the rootschat.com forum, (special interest/armed forces/WW1), you will find the people very helpful- I did. Good luck with your searching.

There are 9 Gorries buried in Lower Ince cemetery. Four of them are in the same grave Q194 including Walter, his wife Jane, father James and mother Ann.

Ann age 54 of 27 Harper St buried 3 Dec 1910
James age 68 of 29 Clarington Grove buried 20 June 1921
Walter age 38 of Arley St buried 6 Feb 1924
Jane age 66 Thurston St buried 25 Feb 1954

The Harper St address of Ann confirms the 1911 census address in my previous post.

Hi MikeC and Graham, I do owe you a debt of gratitude for being so helpful with my research. It seems to me that wiganworld can certainly hold its head high when it comes to assisting contributors, thanks to people such as your good selves. There's quite a bit more I could add and probably will elaborate on as far as Walter's father is concerned but that's for a later date, suffice to say I now know because of the help received that Walter's father, James, was born in Edinburgh, whereas before it was only ever referred to as Scotland.

Keith
Just to clarify the residents of Harper Street in 1911.
Walter Gorrie (born Hindley) and his father James (widower)
Maggie Gorrie, daughter aged 20 born Hindley
James Gorrie, son aged 17, labourer Corp. car shed born H.Ince
Annie Gorrie, daughter aged 13 born H.Ince

Many thanks MikeC, it's much appreciated. I note my grandmother (Annie) is here but not unlike many families I suppose it's so very easy to lose contact or not even know about family connections. It's only later in life I guess when you wished you'd listened more carefully and had a more sympathetic understanding of how we are all related.

A bit late I know, but it appears that when Walter died aged 38 he was listed as a soldier, looks as if he stayed in the Army after the war, if this is right.

This is not Walter Gorrie it is James Gorrie (uncle Jimmy)

Hi Christine, many apologies for getting James's name wrong. I didn't have my mother around to ask but that's no excuse and thank you for putting me right. Was he marrried in 1922 to Ellen?

Hi Keith
I don't know. I cannot remember dad saying "Auntie Ellen" but "Aunty Maggie" seems to ring a bell. James and his wife had no childen. My dad was 18 months old when his dad Walter Gorrie died. He had been gassed in the war and always had a 'bad chest' which made it difficult for him to work. If only I had talked more to elderly relatives about the family.

Many thanks for your reply Christine. I wonder if you would mind getting in touch with me, there are one or two things that you just might just be able to help me with, I'd be very obliged. Thank you, Keith.

Hi Christine, if you haven’t come across my message so far, I’ll leave this information for you to consider. I have the following from Lancs BMD, James Gorrie married Ellen Ward at St Elizabeth, Aspull and Walter Gorrie married Jane Green in Wigan, also in 1922. The only Auntie Maggie, I know of was my Auntie Maggie (Gorrie), my grandmother’s sister, who never married, and was sister to Walter and James. She was in fact my great auntie Maggie and my mother's auntie, but of course we called her Auntie Maggie, she was a lovely person.

My mother Annie Goulden (nee Moss) was also cousin to Walter Gorrie her mother (my grandmother) was Clara aged 9 in 1891 census, who was mentioned by Graham Taylor in previous comments.

hi keith,walter gorrie was my favourite uncle,christine is my cousin.the resemblence is amazing.i don't know whether christine has told you,but he had a sister named dorris.there was a lot of tragedy in uncle walter aunty bessie and christine's life,and its stil vivid in my memory,as it is in our christine's.i don't see much of her these days even though we live within a mile of each other,but on saying that i live in turkey most of the year,and this is were this is coming from,technology is unbeleivable these days.anyway my uncle walter was superb with me as a young lad,he took me everywhere with him.i've nothing bad to say about the man he was an uncle to die for.