On 6 January 1938 a lady of this name set sail on the 'Rangitiki' in London bound for Aukland. She was apparently travelling alone. Her age was given as 65 and her address as Kingsbridge Road, Parkstone.
There is an outside chance that this was the first wife of my grandfather and the mother of four children who I have been completely unable to trace after the 1901 UK census. (References - Piece:2477, Folio:37, Page:4 - Name has been misspelt 'Robberts''). The children's details are Gertrude Gwladys, William O R, Joseph A and Doris M, all born in Wales in the 1890s ).
Gertrude Snr. was born in Chester in 1872.
What is striking is that although Gertrude and my grandfather apparently split up shortly after the 1901 census the above address is within a mile or so of where he was living with my grandmother in 1938, them having moved there around 1928.
If (big 'if') this was indeed one and the same person I can only imagine that she would have been travelling to join one or more of her children in New Zealand. The passenger list shows her 'Country of Last Permanent Residence' as 'other parts of the British Empire' which doesn't tie in unless she had moved to NZ (or elsewhere) before and this was a return visit back to UK.
I have done what searches I can to try and find any trace of her or any of her children in NZ but without any success. (There was a Gertrude Ellen Roberts who died in Murchison in 1950 aged 75 but I bought her death certificate and this was definitely not 'my' Gertrude - although she could have been the passenger on the Rangitiki).
If anybody can find any details on the Gertrude Roberts who travelled to New Zealand in 1938 particularly anything giving any family details I would be really grateful if only so that I can cross her off my list of 'possibles'.
