Dalton alias Doughton
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I understand writing errors like Brook or Brooke, Hellewell or Hellawell and even Broderick or Brodrick and many others, but I don't understand how a Dalton becomes a Doughton! 😃
Posted
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by
cyngast
moderator
It does look a bit absurd, doesn't it? But I suspect that the answer lies in how the name is pronounced. Dalton is usually pronounced as if it is Dall-ton while Doughton is more like Dow-ton, but those aren't very far apart in how they sound. Add a regional accent from Manchester or Hull or Liverpool, and they could sound very much alike, particularly if the person writing it down was from a different part of the UK.
I don't know if the initial enlistments were handled by forms filled out by the men or by someone who took down their answers, but some of the errors I've seen in Lives of the First World War make me think that names were being taken down by clerks at several tables in a large room. Maybe there were three or four lines of men giving their information. It's crowded and noisy in the room. The clerks at the tables are impatient and just put down what they think the man said.
So for this particular man, maybe someone thought he said Dalton and then at a later time, the man himself filled out a form or saw his records and said, "That's not how I spell my name. It's Doughton."
Just my ideas. At 100 years later, we'll never know for sure!
Posted
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by
erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be
in response to cyngast's comment.
I wonder if something similar happened with these nominal lists: someone reads out the names and someone else is typing. But as you say we'll never know (we are not dr Who 😉 )
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by
cyngast
moderator
It could be that someone read the names and another person did the typing.
As for Dr. Who...
Posted