The Life of William Boocock

William Boocock has always been a bit of a mystery to me. He is listed in the 1871 Census as a 4 year old boy living with his parents, but I can not find him in the 1881 Census, when he would have been about 14. He is not listed with his widowed mother and I haven't been able to find him living elsewhere.

It is possible that William is listed in the 1881 Census but that his surname is spelled incorrectly. I have seen examples of the family's surname being spelled Bocock, Bowcock, and Babcock, but I imagine that, with literacy being what it was then, the possibilities are endless. I did find a William BULCOCK in the 1881 Census, shown below, that could actually be William Boocock.

1881 CENSUS OF AIGHTON, LANCASHIRE:
NAME:	RELATION:	CONDITION:	SEX:	AGE:	OCCUPATION:	BIRTHPLACE:
William Bulcock	Servant	Unm.	M	14	General Servant	Preston, Lancashire

My late cousin Elsie (Swarbrick) Banks seemed to think that William had joined the British Army and had the photos shown below, which she thought was her Granduncle William.

Although hard to see clearly even in the above enlargement, the lapel badge appears to be the insignia of the Royal Army Medical Corps. I will have to study the photograph more closely and do a bit of research to try to verify that and determine his rank.

If these are indeed photographs of William Boocock it would appear that he did marry and have at least one son. At this point my only hope is that a descendant of William's will find this website and contact me. Until then, I'm afraid I'll have more questions than answers.

NOTE:
1:	The above information is taken from various records held at the Lancashire Record Office, and from information related to me by my late cousin Elsie (Swarbrick) Banks.
2:	The above photos, from the Elsie Banks collection, were taken on the same day at the firm of James Arthur, which had studios in Liverpool, Warrington and Wigan, Lancashire.

NOTE:
1:	Living and working at Stoneyhurst College, Aighton, Lancashire. (RG12-4170 folio 99)