I recently found an article in the Surrey Times and County Express where a Pte. George Athya was included in a list of soldiers who was fined for cycling on a footpath in Guildford, a town in Surrey located about 28 miles outside of London.
Surrey Times and County Express, Guildford, Surrey, England, May 6, May 1911.
Farnham. Farnham Petty Sessions.
THURSDAY.—Before: Mr. R. Mowbray Howard (chairman), Mr. G. Goodall, Col. E. A. FitzRoy, C.A. , Mr. F. Mangles, Captain Bacon and Mr. C. E. Borelli. …
ON THE FOOTPATH. Pte. Henry Ayres was fined 7s. 6d. for having cycled on the footpath at Ash.—P.S. Sawyer said a considerable number of soldiers had ridden on the path, and, while he was taking the name of one, others committed the offence.—The following were fined 7s. 6d. for similar offences at the same time and place: Pte. Joseph Skerritt, Pte. Geo. Parker, Pte. Charles Phipps, Pte. Archibald Vernon, Pte. George Athya, James Hancock, Pte. Wm. Richardson, Pte. Leslie Brown, Albert Foyster and Lieut. Eric Pharozyn. Captain John A. Orr was fined 20s. for having ridden a motor-bicycle on the footpath.
So, was this our George Athya? Let’s look at the records. We know George was in the military from March 15, 1909 to March 6, 1919, serving with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, Labour Corps.
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Roll of Individuals entitled to the "War Badge" (click to enlarge) |
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George Athya, British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards (click to enlarge) |
The 1911 England census for the civil parish of Farnborough includes a private George Athya on line 14. The top of the form states “Return of all Commissioned Officers, Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, Trumpeters or Drummers, and Rank and File, who passed the night of Sunday, April 2, 1911, in these Barracks or Quarters, or arrived on the morning of Monday, April 3rd, not having been enumerated elsewhere. [See Instructions 2 and 3 on page 11.]”
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Cropped 1911 England census listing George Athya (click to enlarge) |
Ancestry’s index provides additional information not shown on sheet 129 of the census record. I added a couple of notes in parentheses.
Name: George Athya
Age in 1911: 20
Estimated Birth Year: 1891 (his birthday was June 26, 1892)
Birth Place: Glasgow, Lanarkshire (he was born in Bothwell, Lanarkshire—9 miles from Glasgow)
Civil parish: Farnborough
Country: England
Street Address: Qudenarde Barracks, Church of England Soldier’s Home, West Square, Brigade Office, Caretaker R A M C Recreation Ground, Marlborough Lines, Aldershot
Marital Status: Single
Rank: Private
Military Unit 1: Battalion Cameron Highlanders
The barracks were located in Farnborough, “a town in northeast Hampshire, England” according to Wikipedia. Farnborough is about 13 miles from Guildford, Surrey, England according to Google Maps, certainly within range of the barracks. Based on the information above, I feel certain that the George Athya who was fined for cycling on the footpath is my husband’s grandfather.
It’s always fun to find snippets of their lives.
References
- Farnborough civil parish, England census, 1911.
- Farnborough, Hampshire; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnborough,_Hampshire.
- Farnham: Farnham Petty Sessions, Surrey Times and County Express, Guildford, Surrey, England, May 6, May 1911.
- George Athya, British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914–1920.
- Google Maps: Guildford, UK to Farnborough, United Kingdom; https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Guildford,+Surrey,+England,+UK/Farnborough,+Hampshire,+United+Kingdom/@51.2561816,-0.6965209,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4875c4afb79659df:0x946699b2f9eba8a1!2m2!1d-0.570409!2d51.23622!1m5!1m1!1s0x48742ac28424763b:0x8deb0ce49313925d!2m2!1d-0.752615!2d51.2868939!3e0.
- Guildford; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guildford?msclkid=6a3b93a8cec711ecb4991e9e4d76fa45.
- War Office, Roll of Individuals Entitled to the “War Badge,” August 1919.
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