Researching Roger Courtney
Delve into the history of Roger Courtney using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 2148 people with the Courtney surname? In that year Courtney was ranked number 1751 for popularity in the UK. |

The name Roger means "famous spear" and is of German origin.
Records of Roger Courtney on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Roger Courtney in your family tree. A vast range of data is available to search ranging from census records, births, deaths and marriages, military records and immigration records to name but a few. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Roger Courtney. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Roger Courtney. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Roger Courtney. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Roger Courtney. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Roger Courtney. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Courtney ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Courtney Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Roger Courtney and the Courtney Family Tree
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Courtney Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Courtney family tree.
Look at Parish Records for Roger Courtney at Find My Past.
Look at for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Roger Courtney using the FreeBMD database.
Explore Genealogy Bank for Roger Courtney records.
Explore MyHeritage for Roger Courtney information.
Study the LDS Database for records about Roger Courtney.
Research the Courtney surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Courtney Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 4872 people with the Courtney surname in the UK? Courtney is now ranked number 1213 for popularity in the UK. |
Courtney Family Tree Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Investigate the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Roger Courtney.
Study MyTrees for information on the Courtney family and people looking to contact living Courtney relations.
Search One Great Family for Courtney records submitted by people who are already researching the Courtney Family Tree.
Find Roger Courtney from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Courtney Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Courtney surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 30382 people with the Courtney surname in the USA? Courtney is ranked number 147 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Courtney Databases
Look at the Ellis Island Database for information on Roger Courtney. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Roger Courtney
Roger Courtney
Roger James Allen Courtney MC (1902 – 15 February 1946) (His brother gives his date of death as 14 February 1949), known as Jumbo, was a British soldier who established the Special Boat Sections which saw action in World War II. These would eventually lead to the formation of the UK Special Boat Service.
Courtney was a bank clerk in Leeds, England, before he became a professional white hunter and gold prospector in East Africa. Upon his return to England he wrote an account of his experiences, a book entitled Claws of Africa, Experiences of a Professional Big-game Hunter (published in 1934 by George G. Harrap & Co.) He was also a sergeant in the Palestinian Police Force.
When World War II began, he travelled from Africa (where he was big-game hunting) to England to join the Army as a "commando folding kayaker". When his ideas were rebuffed, he joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a Rifleman. Soon promoted to Corporal, he was commissioned in November 1939.
Courtney became an Army Commando recruit in mid-1940, and was sent to the Combined Training Centre in Scotland. He was unsuccessful in his initial attempts to convince Admiral of the Fleet Roger Keyes and later Admiral Theodore Hallett, commander of the Combined Training Centre, that his idea of a folding kayak brigade would be effective. He decided to infiltrate, a Landing Ship, Infantry anchored in the River Clyde. Courtney paddled (with his kayak) to the ship, climbed aboard undetected, wrote his initials on the door to the captain's cabin, and stole a deck gun cover. He presented the soaking cover to a group of high-ranking Royal Navy officers meeting at a nearby hotel in Inveraray, Scotland. He was promoted to Captain, and given command of twelve men, the first Special Boat Section.
Courtney's brother Gruff (G.B. Courtney) later commanded a second section of the SBS. The units carried out several raids during the early years of the war, especially in the Mediterranean, which validated Courtney's idea of mounting small-scale attacks from the sea. Gruff himself took part in Operation Flagpole (World War II). However, heavy losses led to its personnel being amalgamated in 1943 into the new Special Boat Squadron, led by George Jellicoe. Roger Courtney lost his command, became a locust control officer and died of pneumonia in Hargeisa, Somaliland aged 46.
Source: Roger Courtney, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Courtney
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Caradine Cardamone Cardane Cardanoli Carden Cardenas Cardenosa Cardenoso Cardenoza Cardenti Cardin Cardinal Cardinale Cardinali Cardinall Carding Cardnell Cardner Cardno Cardon Cardona Cardone Cartan Carten Cartin Cartmael Cartmail Cartmale Cartman Cartmel Cartmell Cartmer Cartmill Cartmille Cartner Cartney Carton Carwithan Carwithen Carwithim Certain Certing Chardin Chartman Charton Chretien Chyuerton Coradine Corden Cordiner Cording Cordingley Cordingly Cordner Cordon Cordone Cordonnier Corduan Corradengo Corradini Corradino Corriden Corten Corteney Corthine Cortimiglia Cortin Cortina Cortnay Cortner Corton Courtemanche Courtenay Courteney Courtin Courtine Courtman Courtner Courtonne Crayden Craydon Crayton Creddon Creeden Creedon Creighton Cretney Cretton Crighten Crighton Critten Crittenden Crittendon Croden Crotinger Crottinger Crouthamel Crowden Crowding Croyden Croydon Cruden Cruttenden Cuerden Cureton Curtain Curtayne Curtin Curtner Curton





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