Stuck trying to find DH’s grandfather’s origins

[zelbazinnamon]

Any ancestry sleuths want to have a go?

MIL is a posthumous child and knows very little about her father or any relatives.

Her father was Thomas Grier, died 1941 in the RAF (she was born a few months later).

From what comes up online, he was born 1918 in Glasgow, but I haven’t found a birth record. An online article also says his father was also called Thomas Grier, and that he had been in the Royal Scots Fusiliers in WW2. I haven’t been able to find that either.

MIL thinks his father was some sort of shipwright or boat draughtsman. They definitely had a Glasgow connection. The father must have died by 1940, as we have a news clipping from a Dunoon newspaper about Thomas Grier being awarded DFC, describing him as the son of Mrs Maddocks, so she had evidently re married.

Anyone want to have a go?!

Sorry, Royal Scots Fusiliers in WW1!

Hi, what websites are you using?

I’ve looked on Ancestry. It maybe that’s not the right place for Scottish records?

try scotlands people - thats the main one for scottish records

Squadron Leader Thomas Grier DFC . RAF 32 squadron. Son of Thomas and Mary Grier. Husband of Sybil. Is this your man?

Only one Thomas Grier in Royal Scots Fusiliers in WWI according to this
www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/313/royal-scots-fusiliers

You need to subscribe to see what details they hold on him though

Scotland's People is what you need to be looking at - Ancestry can only really help if you have someone who has a public tree.

Looking at Scotland's People has been very useful!

@StopGo - yes, that's definitely the right man, but what's always confused me is that I couldn't find any evidence to show that Thomas and Mary were his parents as I could never find a birth record for him (think this was because I was looking on Ancestry).

@BoreOfWhabylon I registered to see, and they have one Private Thomas Grier, killed in action in Flanders 21/03/1918 (who would be MIL's grandfather) - which is confusing because I can find 2 Thomas Griers (jnrs) born in Glasgow in 1918, neither of which could be his son -

one 26th Oct, parents John Grier, railway clerk, and mum Janet
one 12th oct, parents Thomas Grier, ship plater (journeyman) and mum Mary - so I think this is the birth of MIL's father, but he definitely didn't die in Flanders in March 1918, then did he?!

I wonder where the person who wrote that Thomas Grier Senior served in the Royal Scots Fusiliers got that from - I'm thinking that it was an mistake, and to be discarded as a red herring (www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Grier.htm)

I would try looking for Mary Grier's second marriage to Mr Maddocks at Scotlands People, that will give you a latest date for her first husband's death.

Hello, I'm a relative of Thomas Grier, your MIL's father and can provide more information about the Grier family. He was my Gran's cousin.

@zelbazinnamon

Thanks, I’ve messaged @Mindrafyne