Ralph Godfrey - from West Bromwich to Suffolk

[BonnieDownUnder]

Hello Looking4ralph,
Just a couple of ideas:
- Did you grandfather marry after his 21st in 1939? If so, he would not have required a parent/s permission to wed.
- Carol question: Who were the witnesses at Reginald's nuptials? Do you know who they are, relatives or friends?
- Does your mother remember having any great aunts or uncles on Lillian's side of the family?
- Also does she know if her grandfather Ralph served in WW1?
Bonnie

[looking4ralph]

Thanks Bonnie,
Reginald got married two weeks before he turned 21. The witnesses are A.E. Smith, and F. (R or K)
Froud. I think Froud is Florence Froud a friend and I do not know who A.E. Smith is. At the time of his marriage he lived at 61 Westgate Street, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. All we know about Ralph is he was in sales and supposedly named Ralph Godfrey. Thank you for helping me and your good ideas!

[BonnieDownUnder]

Hi
I am not sure how the system works in England but here 'down under', you can also, if available, obtain a copy of the Church record of a marriage which would give a lot more info than what is shown on the marriage certificate.  Hopefully someone will pick up this thread and give you some leads.

Re WW1 servicemen's records.  You can look for these on ww.nationalarchives.gov.uk however as you don't know when or where Ralph (if that's his birth name) Godfrey was born, or if he served in the Army, Navy or Airforce or indeed served at all, it will require a lot of patience searching records.

Lastly, I have found that people tend to collect photos, letters, newspaper clippings, handed down from one generation to the next, which get stowed away in shoe boxes or suitcases etc., and forgotten about. Anything like that lurking in your mum's cupboards?  Bonnie

[carol8353]

In England and Wales the marriage cert is an exact copy of the parish register.

http://home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/marriages.htm

I refer back to my reply number 3- you need to get a copy of Ethel's death cert.

You have not completed your profile so I don't know if you are in the UK?

If you are near enough to Bury St Edmunds library or record office you could try and get the electoral roll look up at the address (61 Westgate Street, Bury St. Edmunds) where Reginald married from.

http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/libraries-and-culture/culture-and-heritage/suffolk-record-office/contact-suffolk-record-office/bury-record-office/

[BonnieDownUnder]

Carol8353 ... thanks your response.
So as Reginald was under 21, wouldn't he have needed one of his parent's give consent to marry?

So according to his marriage certificate, father Ralph was deceased and so to apparently his mother - story told to 'looking4Ralph' mother, Ralph and Lillian parents both killed in a car accident but nothing found on FreeBDM of their demise.
Bonnie

[carol8353]

If he said he was already 21 then no one would have checked.
It happened all the time,lots of lads joined up to the army in wartime adjusting their ages slightly.

When I married in 1973 no one asked for proof of anything ,age, address, nothing 

[BonnieDownUnder]

Gosh Carol, that rather staggers me that in 1973 you didn't have to produce any documentation of who you both where when you married. 
I would have thought we would have followed what would have been set down in the  'British Rules'.  Hubby to be and self had to produce our birth certificates and sign a declaration we hadn't been previously married, and also give our parents names along with mother's maiden names etc.,
Interestingly, when we obtained Australian passports just after we wed, the marriage certificate the Minister gave us surmised however when we needed to renew passports 5 years ago, that wasn't acceptable and need to actual obtain the Church record to confirm we were married ...   hello!

[carol8353]

I see on FREEBDM there is a birth registration of a ETHEL L. MOORE Q1/1918 6b/1306 district West Bromwich with mother's surname of MOORE

Ethel's birth is in fact registered under the surname GODFREY not Moore- that's just her mother's maiden (birth) name.

Births Mar 1918   
Godfrey    Ethel L   mmn Moore    W.Bromwich    6b   1306

[MargP]

Hi

I agree that the Death Record for Ethel is vital

Margp