For those who have been following me the name George Howard Busby will be very familiar!
He is my great-grandfather and was the reason I started researching my family history back in 1986 trying to answer a query from my Mother.
There had been a family split and she had never known her grandfather and she wanted to see a photo of him .
His funeral notice seen two hours after his funeral showed he had been living for the previous twelve months within 20km of the family.
I have written about him a number of times before: here, here and here as he was a very interesting person who seems to know I am looking for him. He drop hints and snippets of information here and there to keep the chase interesting.
I did manage to find a picture of George in the Queenslander.
This was back in the days before we had our wonderful digitised papers on Trove.
It was thanks to the fantastic Library staff at the John Oxley library in Brisbane. They had indexed the photos of servicemen leaving for World War 1 in the Queenslander and had written them up on a card index.
I had come across another photo of George in a group shot of the Queensland Ambulance transport Brigade but George was not able to be distinguished as he was standing in the shadows.
I have a Google alert for George and regularly run searches for him.
Luckily Busby is not that common a name so searching as Busby, GH Busby, Busby GH, Busby G, G Busby, George Busby isn’t that difficult.
(Remember to search all variations of the name as names can show differently in lists,)
Today I struck pure gold as TWO images showed in a search.
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| 15th Battalion 4th Brigade Military Band Ennogera Camp 1914 |
The image had the names listed but not in any particular order. So I reviewed the image and picked this gentleman out as my George
In a newspaper report which mentioned that George was a drum-major in the 15th Battalion.
I was pretty happy about this and then looked at the second image.
This one is not as sharp but has a major advantage as the individual names had been written around the photo.
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| 15th Battalion 4th Brigade Military Band Ennogera Camp 1914 |
So the next thing to do when I can get an afternoon off is to visit the John Oxley Library to see the originals and buy good copies.
These are both wonderful finds and prove the old adage of never giving up!
It is a shame that my Mother passed on last year and wasn’t here to share in the joy of this discovery but I am sure she is observing from above. Maybe she has even had a chance to meet her Grandfather at last.
That's great news, Helen. Finding photos is always a huge thrill.
I'm so pleased for you, Helen… always good to have a find, but when it is as substantial as this one, and one that you have been searching for for so long, even more rewarding.
Woo Hoo…happy dance…congratulations after searching for a birth for 35yrs…I understand your joy – Well done!
Well done Helen. It goes to show that perseverance does pay off in the end. Your mum would have been so happy with your find. I myself have after 30 odd years finally found my Swiss family so I know how happy and excited you are feeling now, 🙂 Melissa
Perseverance Pays Off. Your Mum Will Be Surely smiling Down And Sharing Your Joy.
Thanks Judy! It was indeed a thrill. Maybe even a late birthday present from Mum?
Thank you. It was quite unexpected and it is a fantastic find.
Thank you. Only another genealogist can understand the thrill of it all. I did mention the find to someone at work and got a "So?" response.
Thanks Melissa. It is finds like these and our genealogy community who understand the joy that makes it all worthwhile.
Thanks Jill. Maybe it was a late birthday present from Mum?
Good for you! Your mom would be proud of your inquisitive mind!
Congratulations Helen on your wonderful find. I know just how excited you feel! Your Mum and her grandad are probably in cahoots now in showing the way 🙂
Thank you. Finding out is such fun.
Thanks Kerryn. Yes I think they must be helping things along. Now if they could just find me the New Guinea Police record my cup would runneth over.
Great find Helen! Perseverance obviously paying off!
Great post Helen. It resonated with me on a number of levels. e.g. it also took me a long time to track down my Grandfather who was also a musician in the Army (British) etc etc…
Wonderful find… congrats!!! Catherine.
Thanks Maureen. He is such an interesting fellow.
Thank you Catherine. It is so wonderful when we can find out things about our people and it is amazing at times what can be found when you don't think there is anything available.
There are so many treasures hidden in people's homes etc that are starting to see the light of day due tot he Internet etc that exciting times lie ahead.
Woo hoo, happy dance indeed Helen! And how important was that photo from the Queenslander to being able to pick him in the "new" photos.
Yes I was so lucky in having that photo as otherwise I would never have been happy about which one he was.
Hmmm…sounds so familiar…