Lives of the First World War

Portrait in uniform whilst a Private in the British Army, WW1

William James (Jimmy) Harrison, in the Royal Navy, which he joined after his army service in WW1. He entered the Royal Navy under the Alias Thomas McNamara (his records were amended later). His hat has HMS Scythe written on it, one of the ships he served on.

Copy of William James Harrisons Birth Certificate.

Green arrow points towards Thomas Street in Garston, Liverpool, UK. William James Harrison was born in number 5 Thomas Street in 1895. Garston has been redeveloped now, and most streets and houses demolished or greatly changed. This particular map is from the mid 20th century and shows the garston that William James Harrison lived in. He would have witnessed the development of some of the streets seen in this map, but much was already there long before his birth.

William James (Jimmy) Harrison and his Wife Annie (nee Hart) and their children lived at 80 King Street from the early 1940s onward. The family were still there when Jimmy died in 1960, and his Wife Annie lived there until the 1970s when she moved to a unit in "The Tenements". The house was an old club that had been converted by the Corporation to house the large Harrison family (11 children). The green dot on the map shows the exact location where the house was (it is now demolished). To the left (on the corner of Sinclair St and King Street) is the Victoria Hotel, and to the right, on the corner of the block and attached to the Harrison house, was Jim Robinsons Greengrocers (demolished). Across Hughes street is the King Street Vaults (pub).

Highlighted is where William appears in the War Office Daily List of Casualties for 9 Nov 1917. I could not fit the year into the picture.

Featuring the White Horse of Hanover.

This is a copy of the certificate of marriage of William James Harrison to Annie Hart, 5 March, 1919.