The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

Jim · Joined: 30 May 2008 Posts: 195

I fully accept there's no conspiracy.

My curiosity was aroused solely on the basis of the first post on this thread.

kinnethmont · Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1649 Location: Aberdeenshire

William Sim Philips was born at Peterhead on 26th May 1885.

William Sim enlisted age 19 into the H.L.I. at Aberdeen on 27th Dec 1904 for 12 years ( 9 + 3 in Reserve) declaring he was born in the parish of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. He joined at Hamilton next day.

5 July 1907 - Assumed his true name of William Phillips

16 May 1911 - W S Phillips agreed to transfer to the Army Reserve after 7 years service

11 October 1912 - married Jessie Baxter Henderson at Stirling. Moved to Canada before September 1914

Mobilised on 3rd September 1914 and posted to 3rd Battalion H.L.I 16 Oct 1914. Residing at Grafton, Ontario

Joined BEF, France 5th January 1915

Wife at Grafton, Ontario, Canada 20 March 1918

Name: PHILLIPS
Initials: W
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Lance Corporal
Regiment/Service: Highland Light Infantry
Unit Text: 1st Bn.
Date of Death: 10/05/1915
Service No: 9660
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: XVII. B. 24.
Cemetery: CABARET-ROUGE BRITISH CEMETERY, SOUCHEZ

CWGC will be made aware that it appears the date of death should be 19th May 1915. Their original records do show 10th May.

The WW1 Book of Remembrance was completed in 1942. I do not believe it involved VAC althought they provide images of the relevant pages from their Canadian Virtual War Memorial records. I have also advised my contact at VAC of my findings.
_________________
Jim

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

www.kinnethmont.co.uk

Adam Brown · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 2:38 pm Post subject:

Jim

Many thanks for all the extra detail. So he was known as William Sim when he first enlisted into the HLI and two years later used his real name.

He was in Canada in 1914 when mobilised and his wife was still there at his death and the end of the war. That certainly explains his inclusion. The duplication of entries is interesting though. If his wife submitted him she would know him as Philips, so where did the Sim entry come from?

It seems to have been a one-man-band affair in compiling the names which is why it took until 1942, so we'll probably never know now, but was his entry from two sources. One from his wife and the other from UK records? Was a list provided of reservists who sailed from Canada in 1914. If so did Philip's service file still have his orginal enlistment name of Sim?

Good to see that a clerical error at the time over the date of his death can be fixed out of this too.

I hope this can be cleared up on the virtual database so that the Sim entry points to the Philips entry.

Thanks

Adam

kinnethmont · Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1649 Location: Aberdeenshire

Adam

I have had to suppose he enlisted as William Sim in 1904, but when in the Army he certainly assumed his real name of William Phillips in 1907, confiming he was known to them by another name before that date.

As you suggest, his wife was probably unaware of his use of the name Sim five years before they married. Certainly she did nor provide any details to IWGC, hence the basic entry.

I do not believe she had anything to do with the Book of Remembrance entries. I think both details ( or certainly Sim ) orginated from this side of the Atlantic. Our old unreliable friend SDGW has no listing for Phillips, only Sim. Unusually SNWM have Phillips, whereas they usually gathered details, errors and all, from the SDGW records.
This left both Phillips and Sim in the Canadian records.

CWGC have only the Phillips detail which the Army provided.

My contact at VAC should get to the bottom of it but she is off work currently. It might be that the reference to Sim is removed altogether.
That said, like CWGC, they will prefer to record a man twice than not at all.

Will update when more info available.
_________________
Jim

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

www.kinnethmont.co.uk

Adam Brown · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:56 pm Post subject:

Fascinating information Jim. I suspect the Sim entry will stay on the database since it is recorded in the Book of Remembrance.

I hadn't looked up SDGW. I had assumed that the SNWM entry would have been the same. Now that I know SNWM and SDGW don't always match I'll make sure I look up both entries in future.

Thanks

Adam