SOUTHSEA - Electoral roll late 40s / 50s

[yelkcub]

No, that's right – still no nearer finding out when Fred departed this life ... How old would you say he was in the photograph? I suppose it could have been taken before his discharge from the RMA: no detail in the picture helps us to date it, as far as I can see. As to William Thomas Cooper - my guess would be that he was simply a lodger. Portsmouth would have had quite a sizeable service population, some of whom did not live in barracks. It's even possible that Cooper was in the same outfit as Fred. Not a relative, though, I think.

[antiquesam]

I would have said he was in his early forties in the photograph, and I'm not convinced it was taken in Wimborne Rd. because the houses face due south and the gardens get very little sun, being mostly masked by the house. I see he was born in Whitworth Lancashire the youngest of lots of siblings, but can't find a marriage or a death. I suppose he could have died anywhere in the UK during wartime. I sorry I'm getting involved in your project.

[yelkcub]

Please don't worry about taking an interest in my search - as with many family history mysteries, all help is valued. Yes, Fred was born in Whitworth where his father was a small farmer; he wasn't quite the youngest, born in 1888, as my grandmother came along in 1895, and there was another boy who died in childhood. He was married to Isabella first quarter of 1919, having served through WW1, mostly at sea patrolling the northern approaches. His service record is impeccable. Towards the end of his military career he was based in Portsmouth, his discharge papers (1941) giving the Wimbourne Road address. It is possible that he died elsewhere in the UK, though I can't find a likely candidate anywhere in FreeBMD.
What you say about the orientation of the Wimbourne Road house is interesting, based on your local knowledge. Perhaps the picture was taken at a previous address (I think I agree with you, that he was in his mid-forties when the photo was taken - so perhaps towards the end of the 1930s). I had forgotten that the electoral registers were suspended during WW2 - shame, as they might have helped us be more precise about likely date of death.