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Original poster

Does anyone have the surname PENNOCK? I have this book, you see ......

183 replies

Desiderata · 25/07/2007 15:43

I bought it in an Oxfam shop in Coventry seven, maybe eight years ago.

I believe it's quite valuable, but I would like it to be returned to the family of the man who originally bought it.

His name was J H Pennock, with PIP in brackets. He was a soldier in the Great War. He was in Poperinghe (near Ypres) in October 1917.

He was in the late Signals H/79 Bde, RFA

He was entered as a clark to TocH (Talbot House) in December 1922.

The Book is Tales of Talbot House (1st Edition) by P B Clayton.

Sorry for the monotone delivery of this OP, but I wanted to get all the facts in from the off

So ... anyone have the surname Pennock?

OP posts:
Trouvere · 27/07/2007 14:37

Borrrring, I could ask the great grandson, but so far I just have the quarter in which his birth was registered - 3 qtr 1891.

Mercy · 27/07/2007 14:55

Trouvere, Des said

"In the fly leaf, he has written that he joined the Middlesbrough branch of TocH in July 1922."

He was only abroad during WW1 (and poss 2)

Well done btw!

Trouvere · 27/07/2007 15:34

Oh, right! Thanks, Mercy. I missed that. I feel pretty sure it is the right man, then.

Original poster
Desiderata · 27/07/2007 17:03

Hi all!

Yes, I'm certain this is our man, Trouvere. According to the medals list, there were only two J H Pennocks who survived the Great War. So even without the Middlesbrough connection, the chances of it being him are very high.

With the connection, there can be no doubt.

Well done again! I really hope he contacts me

OP posts:
TnOgu · 27/07/2007 17:05

< lurking on very interesting thread >

Original poster
Desiderata · 27/07/2007 18:15

OK - I've been having a behind-the-scenes discussion with the wonderful Trouvere, and I have just emailed J H Pennock's great-grandson.

There are a few other leads to close down ... but the Middlesbrough connection is the clincher for me.

I'll keep you all fully updated, of course!

OP posts:
Trouvere · 27/07/2007 18:29

Do you suppose great grandson's grandmother would recognise her father's writing?
How fantastic to be able to give the book to the man's daughter!
(And enough with the praise - I didn't do anything clever... I just happened to have subscriptions to the right genealogy sites)

laundrylover · 27/07/2007 18:33

Ooh exciting developments.....hope it's your man!

Original poster
Desiderata · 27/07/2007 18:36

I was thinking that myself, Trouvere. It hadn't crossed my mind that his own daughter would still be alive!

He would not have mentioned the war to her. It would be poignant, I'm sure, to see his writing again, and to read the incredible text of Talbot House, (which was written by a clergyman stationed at Poperinghe in the Great War). He was a member when it formed as a society after the war, so it must have meant a great deal to him.

I suppose it was a way of being with other men who he could talk to about it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Desiderata · 28/07/2007 00:20

A late night bump for anyone who's interested in tracing their family tree.

OP posts:
edam · 28/07/2007 00:25

Lovely story, Desi, do hope this is the right man and his family are glad to hear about it.

Original poster
Desiderata · 28/07/2007 00:46

Edam, I've literally just heard from him.

He's over the moon! I'll update in the morning.

OP posts:
Original poster
Desiderata · 28/07/2007 00:50

His great grand-son even posted me a picture of him!

He looked exactly how I imagined him.

OP posts:
edam · 28/07/2007 00:54

Fantastic!

Wish MN could locate my own long-lost relative but fear it is even more tricky than your Pennock search.

edam · 28/07/2007 00:54

Oops, cross post, not fantastic that he'd died before great-grandson was born, obv.

Tortington · 28/07/2007 00:55

ive been following this - remarkale desi - remarkable. how wonderful you are.

Original poster
Desiderata · 28/07/2007 01:03

I've just spoken to him again, custy!

He's over the moon. His grand-mother (Pennock's daughter) is crying [sad} She is now 72.

Her father was 46 when he had her, and he never spoke of the war. Then again, none of them did.

Feck it. I'm crying.

OP posts:
Tortington · 28/07/2007 01:11

god ...thats just the nicest nice thing i've heard in ages

suedonim · 28/07/2007 01:25

What an astonishing thread! I'm up late tonight but when I go to bed I'll be pondering on how a war of nearly a century ago still resonates in lives today.

FunkyGlassSlipper · 28/07/2007 05:42

This is fantastic and shows just what pleasure one person's random kind actions can bring to another.

MotherFunk · 28/07/2007 06:20

Message withdrawn

edam · 28/07/2007 12:10

Oh, am so glad you've helped his daughter find out about her father.

Now, any MN sleuths want to find a certain Maureen Cecila Murphy, b. 1923 or earlier, resident in Maida Vale, London, in 1945, for me?

edam · 28/07/2007 12:11

'Cecilia'

Mercy · 28/07/2007 12:24

Thanks for the update Des. Amazing that in just 3/4 days you were able to trace the family.

Edam, is Murphy her married name? Any other details?

(unfortunately I need to renew my subscriptions to a couple of sites, so I won't be of much help I'm afraid)

TnOgu · 28/07/2007 12:26

< Well done, Desi and Trouvere.

This thread makes me feel very emotional, thinking of young men sent off to fight in other lands.

You have completed a circle and in some way you have brought a little bit of Pennock to life for his great-grandson.>