Page 241 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

Horsham in 1989. Peter died in Horsham in 2004. I do not know whether Doreen was still alive at the time of the 2011 census, but she has not been included. As it stands at the moment, I believe that this grouping used the Soothill name between 1920 and the first decade of the twenty-first century, but not any more. However, there is more to say.
I did speak to Peter early on in the development of this study, but he was not interested – indeed, I would describe his attitude as hostile. He was unwilling to discuss his concerns and simply asked me not to contact him again. Hence, I had to make my own discoveries.
Much more recently, while probing any Soothills with a military background, I discovered that Peter Soothill had been awarded a Military Medal – the date of the Gazette announcement was 18 July 1941 – with the war theatre being noted as ‘Middle East’. It was a Royal Artillery Military Medal which Peter obtained while serving in the 51 Field Regiment RA as a Gunner. His domicile was described as ‘Worthing, Sussex’, so I can say with some confidence that I have the right Soothill. As far as I am aware, Peter is the only Soothill to be awarded a military medal in the Second World War.
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