Walter Keig (1887 - 1973)

Born 4 Apr 1887 in Fistard, Rushen, Isle of Man

Died 21 May 1973 at age 86 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Walter was born at Fistard, Rushen, Isle of Man in 1887, the son of Thomas Keig and his wife Emily Clark. He was baptised at Rushen on 26 Jun 1887.

His mother died in 1889 when he was 2 and his father remarried a few months later to Eleanor Gale. Eleanor died in 1897 when Thomas was 10. His father remarried to Margaret Piercy (née Christian, herself a widow) on 06 Feb 1898 at Braddan, Isle of Man.

It seems the family used the Gale name as well as the Keig name. In the 1901 Census he is living as Walter Gale with his parents and 4 siblings and step-siblings at Onchan, Isle of Man. His parents are using the Gale surname. He is a butcher's apprentice.^[1] His father is a fireman on a steamship.

There is a 1911 Census record for a Walter Gale, a tailor, who was living alone in Onchan, Isle of Man. He claimed he was born in Rushen, Isle of Man. This is possibly him.

Walter's step-mother, Margaret Gale was living in Bootle, Liverpool, England in 1911, along with her daughter Amelia Piercy, and her son John Robert Gale (née Keig). She was still resident in Bootle in 1915 (and in 1939).

On 14 Sep 1915, Walter enlisted (as Walter Gale) in the Australian Imperial Force in Brisbane, Queensland as a Private and was allocated to the 15th Reinforcements, 9th Bn (initially allocated Regimental No 4497, but later changed to 4786). At the time he was single and a labourer. He was 5 ft 4 in tall with fair complexion, brown hair and blue eyes.

Walter departed Australia on 28 Mar 1916, bound initially for Egypt.

After landing in Egypt he was taken on strength by the 3rd Training Bn at Perham Downs in England on 09 Aug 1916. He proceeded to France on 16 Sep 1916 and was taken on strength by 9th Bn in the field in France on 01 Oct 1916.

Walter was severely wounded in the abdomen in Belgium on 31 Oct 1917 and was evacuated to hospital in Epsom, England and later to Weymouth. He returned to Australia on the "Dunvegan Castle", departing England on 13 Mar 1918. At Durban, South Africa, it appears he transferred to the "Field Marshall". He was discharged in Brisbane, Queensland on 26 Jun 1918.

On 25 Oct 1919 Walter married (as Walter Keig) Lillian Inger Ovenden in Brisbane, Queensland. He was living in Yeronga, QLD when their son, William Raymond, died in 1923.^[2] He sold a buggy and pony later that year.^[3]

He died in Brisbane in 1973. His death registration shows his parents as Thomas Keig and Margaret Christian.

Research Notes

In the 1891 Isle of Man Census,^[4] Walter and his family (under the last name Gale (the birth last name of his stepmother, Eleanor) were living next door to a number of related families: Elizabeth Maddrell (40), and her daughter Eleanor (18); Catherine Keig (40), and her children: Catherine (10), and Annie (4); and Henry Maddrell (67), his wife: Annie (62), and his son: John (37), and daughter: Emily (22). The Maddrell link goes through Walter's paternal grandmother: Elizabeth Maddrell.

It appears that in this extended family (if not Manx generally) the women often kept their birth last names, and as often their husbands were known by the birth last name of their spouse. This makes tracing any one family a little more difficult for the researcher, so great care needs to be used.

Sources

1. ↑ 1901 Census - "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X91J-Y64 : 21 May 2019), Walter Gale in household of Thomas Gale, Onchan, Isle of Man; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
2. ↑ Death and Funeral Notices for son - Family Notices (1923, January 30). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), p. 6. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article178431069
3. ↑ Advertising (1923, December 10). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), p. 9. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article178442551
4. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4B2T-9ZM : 8 May 2019), Walter Gale in household of Eleanor Gale, Rushen, Isle of Man; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Isle Of Man county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9KN8-9CV

• Birth - "Isle of Man Births and Baptisms, 1607-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X5G4-825 : 6 February 2020), Walter Keig, 1887.

• Baptism - "Isle of Man Parish Registers, 1598-2009," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZBF-YQS : 2 March 2021), Walter Keig, 26 Jun 1887, Christening; citing Rushen, Isle of Man, Manx National Heritage Library, Douglas.

• 1911 Census (probably) - "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VS-183 : 23 July 2019), Walter Gale in household of Richard Quirk, Onchan, Isle of Man; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• WW1 Australian Army service File - National Archives of Australia - Gale Walter : SERN 4786 : POB Isle Of Man England : POE Brisbane QLD : NOK M Gale Margaret - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=4001856

• Marriage - Queensland BDM Marriage index - Walter Keig; Event date: 25/10/1919; Event type: Marriage registration; Registration details: 1919/B/23846; Spouse: Lillian Inger Ovenden

• Death - Queensland BDM Death index -Walter Keig; Event date: 21/05/1973; Event type: Death registration; Registration details: 1973/B/41534; Mother: Margaret Christian; Father/parent: Thomas Keig

• Repatriation Medical case files for First World War ex-servicemen - National Archives of Australia - KEIG [aka GALE], Walter - Service Number - 4786; paper file (location: Brisbane) - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=32253418