Living at 17 Watts Lane Middlesex in 1881
Never married died aged 26
DEATH: Died at only age 26
May sometimes have been spelt as "Mather" Listed as aged 27 in April 1901 her eldest twochildren are paupers in the workhouse and I have been unable to find any trace of her husband William
1920 Street Directory Acton
RE: Packington Road
Packington Road is still there, or parts of it are! It is between
Stanley Road and Palmerston Road, which is close to South Acton railway
station. The street directory for 1920 shows the occupier
as Martha Elizabeth Dagg, Grocer, the property was clearly
a shop on the corner of Braemar Road. South Acton was an area of
close packed terraced houses and many laundries.
About half of the houses in Packington Road appear to have been laundries.
The whole area was cleared in the 1960s and replaced with blocks of flats.
Nothing exists today of the area as it was in 1916. It might not appear on
internet maps as it does not have any houses today.
The page below has a little bit about the area:
http://www.actonhistory.co.uk/acton/page8.html
I hope this helps. We would be interested in hearing
any more you might have about Acton.
Regards David
From: ajk@globalnet.co.uk info@actonhistory.co.uk
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 10:57 PM
Martha Elizabeth's birth certificte shows mother's name as Elizabeth Snoad formerly Jarrett She was married before to a Mr Fever - her previous married name
BIOGRAPHY: William James DAGG was born on 24 Jul 1902 in Chiswick, London Middlesex, at 102 Duke Road. I was told by my mother Irene Pearce that he ran away to sea when his father died because he "couldn't stand being in a house full of women" He was certainly serving aboard the "Emma" on the 9 March 1918 when she entered the French port of Callais. And the General Register and Record Office of Shipping and Seamen certified that "W Dagg who at the time of his engagement on the first vessel named below gave the following personal particulars- age 15, nationality or birthplace London, appears by the Records in this Office to have served on board the undermentioned Vessels in the Capacities and during the periods herein Stated, viz:-
Vessel Official Port Tons Horse Capacity From To Trade Ability Conduct
No of Registry Power in which
served
Inflexible 95306 Ipswhich 65 - Cook 31/7/1917 5 /11/1917 Coasting or V. Good V. Good
Home Trade
Emma 104424 Weymouth 68 - Cook 10/1/ 1918 3/6/1918 Coasting or V. Good V. Good
Home Trade
Issued on the 5 March 1919 signed by William Avery (1 shilling and sixpence office fee)
*************************************************************************************************************************************
His medal card shows authority to wear the British War Medal ribbon and the Mercantile Marine Medal ribbon was authorised on 20 March 1920. on the 5 October 1921 the authority to wear the British War Medal ( and clasp) and the Mercantil Marine Medal were added.(I have the Medals in my Possession) The next pieces of the puzzle are photographs taken in the early 1920s. The writing just above the inscription "Billie" is "Central Koln - the German name for the town of Cologne. It is most likely that he was serving in the army of the Allied Occupation of the Rhineland. The next interesting document is a certificate of Qualification of Fireman Examiner or Deputy (Coal Mines Act 1911) This certifies that William James Dagg residing at 11 Abergwawr ? Place, Aberaman near Mertha Tydfil has been duly examined (etc) and it is dated 26th April 1926. The United Kingdom General Strike of 1926 lasted 9 days, from 3 May to 12 May 1926, and it is likely that he was either "one of the middle class scabs" or more likely member of the military forces who kept things running during the strike and afterwards. I have been unable to find out which if either version is true. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_General_Strike_1926) In any case this is undoubtedly how he met and married Rachel HINTON in 1925 in Merthyr Tidville District. The family must have moved back to the London area because his second son William T DAGG was born in 1927 in Kensington. The next document is a military identity card dated 9 December 1941 Number M 475235. His rank was 2nd Lt in the 8a Middlesex Battallion of the Home Guard. He was living at 13 Thornfield Road Shepherds Bush. By 1945 an Extract of Army Order 32/1945 Territorial Army and Airforce Association of the County of Middlesex, reference L.28:(H.R) 7th Ba/E Coy granted him the honary rank of Captain upon disbandment of the Home Guard. The notification dated 4th November 1946, was addressed to 13 Thornfield Road W2. The same address he gave when he registered his mother's death in 1932I have quite a deal of documentation about William James in my possesion, but each piece seems to pose more questions than it answers! In late 1945 he is documented in Alexandria in Egypt, where he has a military pass permitting him to enter the docks with camera equipment, his occupation is listed as a film contruction manager, but the typed text says "William James Dagg -naval photographer". This fact although startling enough on its own, should be viewed in light of the extremely unstable political situation in Egypt at the time (2 years before the start of the Suez Crisis and the same time as the up risings in Cairo)
He was obviously on a film set because I have a picture of him dressed up as a centurian (above left) presumably he was doubling up as an extra! I have done some research and the 1945 J Arthur Rank British film production Ceasar and Cleopatra seems to be a strong candidate for the film being shot. Living in Shepherds Bush as he did, he was close to the film studios of the day, maybe that's how he got the job? Then another photograph from the same time period, together with the phrase "naval photographer" puts a possible different interpretation on his time in Egypt.He is shown Dining with several Egyptian military types - there do not appear to be any other europeans present.
BIOGRAPHY: William James DAGG was born on 24 Jul 1902 in Chiswick, London Middlesex, at 102 Duke Road. I was told by my mother Irene Pearce that he ran away to sea when his father died because he "couldn't stand being in a house full of women" He was certainly serving aboard the "Emma" on the 9 March 1918 when she entered the French port of Callais. And the General Register and Record Office of Shipping and Seamen certified that "W Dagg who at the time of his engagement on the first vessel named below gave the following personal particulars- age 15, nationality or birthplace London, appears by the Records in this Office to have served on board the undermentioned Vessels in the Capacities and during the periods herein Stated, viz:-
Vessel Official Port Tons Horse Capacity From To Trade Ability Conduct
No of Registry Power in which
served
Inflexible 95306 Ipswhich 65 - Cook 31/7/1917 5 /11/1917 Coasting or V. Good V. Good
Home Trade
Emma 104424 Weymouth 68 - Cook 10/1/ 1918 3/6/1918 Coasting or V. Good V. Good
Home Trade
Issued on the 5 March 1919 signed by William Avery (1 shilling and sixpence office fee)
*************************************************************************************************************************************
His medal card shows authority to wear the British War Medal ribbon and the Mercantile Marine Medal ribbon was authorised on 20 March 1920. on the 5 October 1921 the authority to wear the British War Medal ( and clasp) and the Mercantil Marine Medal were added.(I have the Medals in my Possession) The next pieces of the puzzle are photographs taken in the early 1920s. The writing just above the inscription "Billie" is "Central Koln - the German name for the town of Cologne. It is most likely that he was serving in the army of the Allied Occupation of the Rhineland. The next interesting document is a certificate of Qualification of Fireman Examiner or Deputy (Coal Mines Act 1911) This certifies that William James Dagg residing at 11 Abergwawr ? Place, Aberaman near Mertha Tydfil has been duly examined (etc) and it is dated 26th April 1926. The United Kingdom General Strike of 1926 lasted 9 days, from 3 May to 12 May 1926, and it is likely that he was either "one of the middle class scabs" or more likely member of the military forces who kept things running during the strike and afterwards. I have been unable to find out which if either version is true. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_General_Strike_1926) In any case this is undoubtedly how he met and married Rachel HINTON in 1925 in Merthyr Tidville District. The family must have moved back to the London area because his second son William T DAGG was born in 1927 in Kensington. The next document is a military identity card dated 9 December 1941 Number M 475235. His rank was 2nd Lt in the 8a Middlesex Battallion of the Home Guard. He was living at 13 Thornfield Road Shepherds Bush. By 1945 an Extract of Army Order 32/1945 Territorial Army and Airforce Association of the County of Middlesex, reference L.28:(H.R) 7th Ba/E Coy granted him the honary rank of Captain upon disbandment of the Home Guard. The notification dated 4th November 1946, was addressed to 13 Thornfield Road W2. The same address he gave when he registered his mother's death in 1932I have quite a deal of documentation about William James in my possesion, but each piece seems to pose more questions than it answers! In late 1945 he is documented in Alexandria in Egypt, where he has a military pass permitting him to enter the docks with camera equipment, his occupation is listed as a film contruction manager, but the typed text says "William James Dagg -naval photographer". This fact although startling enough on its own, should be viewed in light of the extremely unstable political situation in Egypt at the time (2 years before the start of the Suez Crisis and the same time as the up risings in Cairo)
He was obviously on a film set because I have a picture of him dressed up as a centurian (above left) presumably he was doubling up as an extra! I have done some research and the 1945 J Arthur Rank British film production Ceasar and Cleopatra seems to be a strong candidate for the film being shot. Living in Shepherds Bush as he did, he was close to the film studios of the day, maybe that's how he got the job? Then another photograph from the same time period, together with the phrase "naval photographer" puts a possible different interpretation on his time in Egypt.He is shown Dining with several Egyptian military types - there do not appear to be any other europeans present.
Most likely lied about her age on marriage certificate in 1904 said she was 19when more likely just 17
My mother Irene Pearce told me a story about how all the girls (her sisters and herself were at her mothers house [Florence Harrington Pearce] playing cards during the Blitz in the second world war and how a bomb fell smack bang in the middle of all their houses a door fell on some-one I can't remember who, but no one was killed which they certainly would have been if they'd all been in their own houses. Diana McGlone nee Dagg
My birth certificate states that my father was one Edward John Wood my mother's first husband, but I was always told that my birth father was actually William James Dagg and my mother changed both her and my surname by deed poll about a year after I was born. How many times has that kind of thing happened throughout history I wonder?, but it hasn't dampened by interest in the detective work involved in researching a family tree,even though the paper trail may sometimes take us in entirely the wrong direction!
Martha Elizabeth's birth certificte shows mother's name as Elizabeth Snoad formerly Jarrett She was married before to a Mr Fever - her previous married name
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