As children were normally baptised within a few weeks of birth it is assumed that she was born in December. This is confirmed by he birth registration.

Address: Battle Bridge, Islington, Middlesex

Her parents and two older brothers James and Charles would have been present but who else is not known

Oral family history says that one of the Wakefield brothers emigated to America presmably with his wife and any children which they may have had. As William is the only brother for which an unambiguous death registration could not be found he is the most likely candidate especially as a no record for either of them could be found in the 1911 Census. However, a search of the passenger lists could not find any record of their departure to North America or the Empire. One promising lead for a W H Wakefeld departing on18 May 1907 on board the Celtic turned out to be a Walter Harold Wakefieled on examination of the Ellis Island record. (The Ellis Island record is mistranscribed as Walker Harold Wakefield but the existence of a Walker Harold Wakefield whose birth was registered in Cirencester in the second quarter of 1880 was confirmed.)

Another possibility was a Mr and Mrs W Wakefield with 3 children under 12 - a boy and two girls with the initials H and M who sailed for Halifax, Canada on 8 April 1909 on board the Tunisian. However it has not been possible to confirm the children's birth registration in a district (e.g. Islington) which related to the parents.

There is a record of a William Henry Wakefield arriving at Southhampton from New York on 19 March 1912 but he was by himself.

So whether William emigrated - with or without his wife - remains in question. The other possibilibility that William and Fanny emigrated, she died abroad (her death registration could not be found) and he returned alone is remotely possible but thought to be unlikely.

A search of death registrations failed to produce a death record so the last definative record of her being alive is the 1911 Census when she is recorded as living with her husband and daughter at 53 Alexander Road Upper Holloway N. However, if she did emigrate and died abroad this could account for lack of a registration.

William Henry Benjamin Wakefield (1880-1929)

Lilian Charlotte Wakefield (1901- )

Address: Battle Bridge, Kings Cross, Middlesex

James was the bride's brother; the relationship of Robert Green to the couple is unknown but he was probably a friend.

There is a degree of mystery surrounding the marriage. Firstly the William's age is given as 23 and his occupation as Grocer's Assistant. However, he had enlisted in the Grenadier Guards in March 1900 and both his baptismal record, birth registration and Army record indicate that he would have been 20 at the time of his marriage. This would immediately raise the suspicion that the marriage record and the Army record were for different William Wakefields. However, the two records are firmly linked by the factors set out below.

The marriage register entry gives his name as William Henry Benjamin Wakefield, his father's name as Henry James Wakefield and his father's occupation as hairdresser. The Army record gives his name as William Henry Wakefield and shows that he was married on 16 December 1900 to Amy Matilda Leggett (spinster) at All Saints Church, Battle Bridge, Kings Cross by the Rev. A. Wardroper; the witnesses were J Leggett and R Green. In addition it gives his next-of-kin as his father Wm. H. Wakefield and mother Eliza of 51 St George Road, Hotwells, Bristol, and names his brothers as Walter Sidney and Albert Fredrick (Albert was Albert Nathaniel). Presumably those details were provided on enlistment in March 1900 but why they were not subsequently amended to show his wife Amy as his next-of-kin is not known.

There is another anomaly. In the 1901 Census when William was stationed at the New Windsor Barracks he is shown as single. In the same Census Fanny is shown as married and living with her parents in Islington. Her age given in the Census enabled her birth registration to be traced which shows that she was actually 38 at the time of her marriage rather that 32 as shown in the marriage register. In other words she was 18 years older than William!

The final linkage is that the clasps for his South African medal were sent to 23 Huntington Street which is the same address as both William and Amy gave when they were married and where Fanny was living with her parents at the time of the 1901 Census.

The only conclusion is that William lied about his age and occupation as he was not 21 and soldiers were supposed to obtain permission to marry and that he delayed reporting his marriage until he was over 21. Why her name is shown as Amy Matilda Leggett rather than Fanny Matilda Leggett is not known although Amy and Fanny sound similar and it may have been a recording error if a verbal report had been made.

Address: 53 Alexander Road Upper Holloway N

The household consisted of William, his wife Fanny and their daughter Lillian (age 9). They lived in three rooms and shared the house with another family of 3 who also occupied 3 rooms and a pensioner who had 1 room.