Friday, 28 September 2012

Interesting link...

We've been away on holiday in Cornwall and visited a few relatives. One of my cousins told me something that set me off investigating as soon as I returned. People often ask me if I'm related to the blind Cornish poet Jack Clemo. I've always said no as he was from St Austell at the other end of the county. However, Rose told me that she was told by her father that Jack Clemo was our grandfather Jim's cousin, and that he came down to Goldsithney to visit on several occasions. This got me thinking and investigating. The first thing I was able to establish was that Jack's full name was Reginald John Clemo. He was born in 1916 and his father died at sea soon afterwards. This got me thinking. There are two Clemos on the Navy Memorial at Plymouth. One is grandfather Jim's older brother Reginald Charles, who went down with HMS Prize, and the other in Stoker Reginald Clemo who was on HMS Tornado when is was hit by a mine in 1917. Could this be Jack's father? If so, then we must work backwards to find the family link.