Accessory belonged to british soldier KEETON J landed at Salerno septmber 1943

[Matteo La Boccia]

Accessorio per lucidare bottoni uniformi senza sporcarsi. Appartenuta al soldato inglese matricola 2660844 KEETON J delle Coldstream Guards. Qualcuno può aiutarci a trovare maggiori informazioni su di lui e sulla sua famiglia? Grazie

 

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[Mackaydon]

Translating Matteo: "Accessory for polishing uniform buttons without getting dirty. Belonged to the English soldier serial number 2660844 KEETON J of the Coldstream Guards. Can anyone help us find more information about him and his family?"

Matteo:

Sergeant J. Keeton was in the 4th Battalion

Commander-in-Chief's Certificate
2660854 Sergeant J. KEETON
(Note the difference in his service number; ending in '44' and '54'.)
Source: https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/6th-guards-tank-brigade.51973/
Don....

 

[Mackaydon]

Apologies for digressing off point:
The accessory is called a Button Stick. The bottom would be slid up the stick's channel to then be polished without staining the clothing material.

The Button Stick was patented by Joseph R Parker and L/Cpl Thomas Cooke. They filed an application in Aug. 1917 and were eventually granted British Patent No. 116972 in July 1918. It continued to be produced until the 1970s.
Don......

 

[invent4hir]

Don, good research! When I look at the Commander-in-Chief's Certificate, two sergeants have a number that is one digit off. Namely, 2661844 Sergeant C. TURNER and 2660854 Sergeant J. KEETON. I'll refer Major (Retd) Cazenove of the Coldstream Guards Association to this thread and see if he or anyone in his organization can provide more info. Will post his/their reply asap.

 

[invent4hir]

Major (Retd) Cazenove confirmed that Jack Keeton's number is 2660844. So this is his button stick. Also, he was discharged in 1946 - thus survived the war.

 

[Matteo La Boccia]

Many thanks!!! Any chanche to find some relatives of J. Keeton and some informations about his service??

 

[Mackaydon]

Matteo,
Yes, there is a chance to find his relatives. Four sources come to mind:
1. Ancestry.com
2. Myheritage.com
3. Enlistment papers
4. Records kept by his burial cemetery (direct or online)
The first two require a subscription; the third and fourth options require time and effort.
Don......

 

[invent4hir]

I briefly checked Ancestry, Myheritage, FamilySearch and Fold3 yesterday. There are a few men by that name whose ages would be about right to have served in WWII. Plus a few more with the surname Keaton. As far as I can tell, none are connected to a family tree - so not able to find a next-of-kin that way. I checked freebmd.org.uk for a Jack Keeton's baptism/marriage/death records and found 8 men (see screen capture below). Two can be ignored as they were born & died in 1944. It would help to know where he was born/lived to see who among the remaining 6 might be the best candidates. Note: FreeBMD hasn't yet transcribed the whole index - see here for which years have been transcribed. Also checked freereg.org.uk and no men named Jack Keeton appeared in parish registers from 1900 to 2024. Ditto for Jack Keaton.

Also, knowing where he was born/lived might make it possible to contact a church in that area whose records are not on-line. Plus a Family History Center in that area might also be able to assist.

Hopefully later this week I'll re-visit the on-line searches plus try https://www.findmypast.com/

 

[invent4hir]

Was able to identify which Jack Keeton on the list above is associated with the soldier serial # on the button stick. Plus I found him on a Ancestor family tree. He was born on 16 June 1914 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and died on 21 September 2001 in the Chesterfield area of Derbyshire. On 30 May 1936 he married Ellen Scott at St. Bartholomew Church, Clay Cross, Chesterfield area, Derbyshire. She died in 1983. They had at least 2 children who are labelled "Private" suggesting they may still be living.

Tomorrow I plan to find out if I can contact the tree owner, as they are likely to be related to Jack and interested in history. If they respond, I'll ask some confirmation questions, to determine if indeed they are related. If so, I'll offer to send them a link to this post - so they can see first hand this isn't a scam. Then arrangements can be made to return the button stick.

While waiting for their response, I'm going to research some more records (i.e. parish), hoping to get the info of a next of kin - just in case the tree owner isn't related. Two other organizations that may have some potential are the Derbyshire Record Office and Chesterfield Library.

Lastly, in the British Telephone book for Derbyshire there were 3 people with the Keeton surname. If all else fails I'll call them - but past experience has shown me not to have too high of expectations.

The findmypast website has a lot of British records. Fortunately I have free access to that website via the local Family History Center. Time permitting I may resume researching Horace Astin. However, after tomorrow the next time I'll be able to visit the center will be 17 July or later.

 

[invent4hir]

Birth registration records on findmypast show that Ellen gave birth to John G. in October-November-December 1944 and Paul in January-February-March 1952.

Ancestry prevented me from contacting the owner (ID: JQatLB) of the Keeton Family Tree - saying "that page is no longer available". I searched and found a post by a John with that unique ID on a website called ww2talk. He is likely the Ancestry tree owner - but since that post was from April 2015 - I'm not sure he is still following it. That said, I posted a message there and will give it a few days to see if I get a response from him or a moderator.

On the website 192.com there are only 3 men named John G. Keeton - and all live in the Chesterfield area. I think they are the same man - just from different years. There are 64 men named Paul - and without a middle initial - who knows which one is the son of Jack & Ellen. If someone on TNet has a subscription to this website - they can view the rest of John G.'s info - and either post it here or contact John directly about the button stick.

 

[Matteo La Boccia]

Caro Alan,


ancora grazie mille per il tuo prezioso aiuto. Spero che i tuoi sforzi abbiano successo!


Ci suggerisci di creare un account sul sito web 192? È utile per le ricerche nel Regno Unito? Posso informare la nostra associazione su questo.


Cordiali saluti, Matteo

 

[Mackaydon]

Matteo's post #11 translated:
Thanks again so much for your precious help. I hope your efforts are successful!
Do you suggest we create an account on the 192 website? Is it useful for searches in the UK? I can inform our association about this.

 

[invent4hir]

I can NOT recommend getting an account on 192.com to find Jack Keeton's sons John G. and Paul.

Based on what it shows, John G. last appears in the Electoral Record in 2011. It could be he passed away after 2011. If he appeared in the Electoral Record in 2024, I would suggest buying only his Background Report. To compare, I did look up Enid Astin (daughter of Horace who passed away in March 2023). According to 192.com she last appears in the Electoral Record in 2022 - which is logical. Regarding Paul, without a middle initial, there are too many men on 192.com to look at.

Before you or your organization proceed with 192.com, I recommend having your contact in England try to contact John G. in Chesterfield. Then let me know what they find out.

 

[invent4hir]

Most reviews of 192.com (and websites like it) on the internet are 3 out of 5 stars or worse. Therefore, if I were you or Salerno1943, I'd only purchase a Background Report after ALL other options are unsuccessful. I still think your contact in England is the best bet.

A Jack Keaton appears on a second Ancestry tree. Although the surname is spelled different (with an "a"), all his vital stats are correct. Once again, my attempt to contact the tree owner was met with Ancestry saying that page is no longer available. That same person also appears on the FamilySearch website - so I messaged them today. Will let you know if/what they reply.

Of the 7 remaining trees on Ancestry, only 1 has a record for Jack, and none have his spouse (Ellen Scott) listed correctly.

 

[invent4hir]

Attached is an update.

 

[Mackaydon]

Invent 4,
Kudos for your efforts.
Don in SoCal

 

[invent4hir]

Gave some thought as what else I could do - and only came up with calling/messaging the Chesterfield Police. Perhaps if I give them John G.'s last public address and the purpose, they'd be willing to convey the message to him (or his next of kin if he has passed away). I know it is a looong shot, but the worst they can say is "no". If anyone has other ideas then post.

 

[invent4hir]

Contacted the Chesterfield Police - will post their reply - assuming they do...

 

[invent4hir]

Contacted the Church of England- will post their reply - assuming they do...

 

[invent4hir]

No reply yet from the Church of England. I see they have a facebook page at https://www.facebook.com › thechurchofengland, however, I don't do facebook. If anyone on TNet does, alert them to this thread. Maybe then some progress will be made.