Melksham Times Past

A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis

The Two George Sheppards

Last issue I brought you the story of George Sheppard, who was born in the Melksham area around the mid 1880s and served in World War I.

In this issue, I want to tell you about the George Sheppard who was born in the Melksham area around the mid 1880s and served in World War I.

And here lies the problem with family trees and a mistake I almost made in the previous issue.

It’s not enough to look at only one document or take the word of someone else’s research to find your x times great-grandparent.

Take, for instance, the photo from around 1910 that accompanies this article. Dustman George Sheppard is holding the reins of the horse, while Henry Missen stands with his hands on his hips. I came close to identifying this Sheppard as the man who wrote to his mother from the battlefield around 1915.

But he wasn’t the same. And it took a few hours of comparing documents to discover that I had him misidentified, which, in turn, resulted in an apology email to Laura of the MIN that my article was going to be a little late.

The man with the hat is George Richard Sheppard born on 14 August 1883; son of Henry and Anna Maria. His mother posed an interesting research dilemma as well, as she was born illegitimately with the surname of Harris; her mother married a man who used the surname of Butler but then reverted back to his birth name, Townsend. Anna Maria used all four surnames at one time or another. As I stated, do not rely on just one document.

George Sheppard served in the 2nd Wilts Regiment as a private and was killed from wounds he received in action on 14 April, 1917. His name is on the War Memorial in Church Street.

Ironically, in the photo, he’s looking towards the very spot that same memorial would be erected about a decade later.

Married to Ellen Sarah “Nellie” Holcombe in 1903, they had three children, William, Winnie and Mable. The family lived in Watsons Court and it’s probable they knew all eight of the Goodwin family, who died in the Titanic disaster of 1912, since they were close neighbours at that time.

But there weren’t just two men of the same name to sort through in this research. I can tell you about 14 more George Sheppard/Shepperd/Shepherds and one Georgina, all from the Melksham area. And that’s not even the most common name. Can you guess which surname in the 1911 Melksham census was the most common (heads of households only)?

Pictured: Dustmen Henry Missen and George Sheppard in Canon Square, Church Street c1910.