RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Cambridgeshire => Topic started by: Special Needs Girl on Sunday 09 September 18 23:09 BST (UK)
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Ronald grew up in the Harvey Goodwin Children's Home.
He was christened in the Holy Sepchure Church, commonly known as The Round Church, in 1940 when he was 9 years of age.
He took on an apprentice when he left school at about the age or fourteen or fifteen, so around 1945/6.
Does anyone know where he could have done his apprenticeship in that area?
It is believed that the company is still in existance.
Thank you.
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Did he marry & if so what was his occ?
It may be a clue to what his apprenticeship was & the address on his marriage may be near to where he done his apprenticeship?
Witnesses to the marriage may be a help too?
Maybe a friend from work (in the same trade) rather than family?
Annie
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The Children's Home is the last known place for Ronald....... , Annie.
We are trying to trace him from the home.
All we know is that he entered into an apprenticeship. What the apprenticeship was in we have no idea hence the question about companies that were in the area of the Home and are still in existence.
We do know that he wasn't one of the children in a Children's Home who was sent to Australia, Canada etc. for a so called "better life".
All searches for him have drawn a blank so whether he has changed his surname or not can be a possibility however using the name of his father, which is given on his baptism entry (no father named on his birth certificate), again nothing can be found.
An article to the Cambridge Newspaper has been sent but unfortunately that has not resulted in any responses hence my now asking for help on here.
Thanks
SNG
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According to my emails others have replied to my original post.
Unfortunately when I click on the email link I am being informed that there is an "error".
Consequently I cannot see the replies others have made. I've also noticed that they do not appear after Annie's reply.
I did have trouble posting my message last night so whether this is why I cannot find the replies I have no idea.
Apologies for not commenting on your posts. Please could I ask you to repost them.
SNG
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Can you confirm that this person is now deceased as Rootschat has a “no living persons” policy and you have given a surname for him in your reply above. Annie is Rosinish
What is your interest in Ronald? Is he connected to another of your ancestors?
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I deliberately haven't given a surname CarolW because we have no idea if Ronald is alive or dead.
I am asking on behalf of someone in Australia who I have been helping.
Her father was sent to Australia under the "better life" in the late 1940s.
She is trying to find his half brother.
I am trying to eliminate companies in the area hence my asking about companies that were around in the late 1940s and are still trading now in the 21st century.
Thanks
SNG
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Ahh! I see you have now put spaces etc between Ronald and Annie. I thought it was an odd surname ;D
As he was a teenager by the 1940’s and wasn’t adopted - I think it’s probably unlikely he would change his name. If no death is showing - he may still be alive if still in this country.
Is his half brother younger or older than him?
Would you be prepared to pm me his full details and I’ll see if I can come up with anything off board?
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Hi SNG
The error messages are caused because you seem to have started 2 similar/identical topics which were merged into one. After a merger one set of numbers becomes obsolete which would have been after you received an earlier email that there was a reply.
It is unlikely the moderator doing the merge would have removed any information that is not here now.
Dawn
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Thanks Dawn.
I had trouble posting my message last night. My ipad went off at one time so maybe the message did go through then hence the slightly different wording.
My apologies for the error and thank you for explaining what has happened.
Pam
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Fingers crossed you get more information.
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Thanks Dawn.
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Hi Pam,
It may be an idea to list all the avenues you've already exhausted which will save others giving you the same 'tips'?
Have you managed to find out any info. from the Harvey Goodwin Home, do any survive?
Have you established which schools (primary/secondary) the siblings attended & what are the yrs of their births including Ronalds' to give an idea of where in the family he was i.e. eldest, youngest or ?
Annie
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Do you know what happened to Ronalds birth parents or any other siblings ? Did you find them on 1939 register .
Maybe if he kept in touch it would be worth looking at their death certificates or wills to see if he ended up in a different town ...
Good luck with this search .
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Birth parents are both on the 1939 register. Father married in 1938 and Mother married in 1944.
No children to fathers marriage and one child to mothers marriage. Birth father died 1999 but no mention of son in his will.
Child from second marriage only became aware that mother had another child shortly before mother died and has no other info about him.
From what OP has told me by pm every available avenue has already been investigated and the last hope is the apprenticeship angle.
Although unlikely - a change of name cannot be ruled out and nor can emigration. All deaths with his birthdate have been checked out
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Although unlikely - a change of name cannot be ruled out and nor can emigration. All deaths with his birthdate have been checked out
Carole & Pam,
I would like to add, if Ronald died e.g. on holiday or in a place he may have been visiting, he may not have had ID with him i.e. may not have been 'formally identified' & equally if he'd moved, emigrated or such like?
If any of the above applied, there would be no DC with his name without any form of ID.
This seems a sad story Pam, do you know if the siblings were ever in touch after emigration?
Annie
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Yes Annie, we have thought of that.
Overseas that have records have been checked. Obviously there are some countries that do not have any but ......
The intermediary has had access to the NHS records and says that she can't find him on there after a certain date. This is why it is thought that he had changed his surname at least.
Unfortunately the siblings did not all meet. The one sent to Australia didn't even tell his family of his early life until the very end of his. He was not aware of his siblings.
All the children (cousins) of the siblings have met and are in correspondence. All trying to find Ronald.
Regarding emigration, no records have been found to indicate this.
(I offered to help because my grandfather's twin brother disappeared. They had also been put in a children's home but their parents had both died.)
Between us we have managed to come up with ideas etc. and then follow the ideas.
Unfortunately we have not been lucky yet. Me being in the uK helps a lot because I have access to records here.
I have been researching FH for a good number of years so she values my expertise.
Thanks everyone for all your help. All ideas have been gratefully accepted.
Best wishes
Pam
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Such a sad story ..I hope you find him
You are allowed to post his deceased parents names ...which would help us
Have you tried looking for him or his descendants on any social media sites
Genes Reunited has quite a good section for looking for living people ...
Its nice that the other nephewsnieces are now in contact
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Yes Brigidmac we have searched on social media sites, extensively.
If he were alive today he would be 87 years of age. Most people of that age do not use Facebook etc. so we have been relying on younger people to ask grand parents etc.
Every Pottinger, his mother's maiden name, has been contacted if they are on FB, Genes Reunited, ancestry etc etc.
Also the surname of the name given as his parents. We found the nephew of him and he was absolutely astounded to hear that his beloved uncle had had a child never mind a relationship with a woman prior to marrying his beloved aunt.
He has been asked to do a DNA test so that if / when Ronald / descendants are found the match can be confirmed or denied.
We are trying to locate the place of work after leaving school in the hope of finding others who worked there. Then of course trying to make contact.
Thanks
Pam
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As he was baptised aged 9 he was unlikely to have changed his first name in later life but may have gone by his middle name ....
His father was named as Cyril Raven so he might have used that as his surname later too .
Would any living RAVEN half siblings or cousins have information ?
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I have seen the Facebook search on page about Australia and UK angels
but couldn't add a comment .
That's the type of page I meant but Ronalds family wouldn't necessarily think to look at a Australian site if he didn't know about his siblings. .I suppowe you also posted on a general adoptees site did you try with the name Desmond
Just wondering was father named on baptism the adoptive father ? Is this the beloved uncle you refered to post 17 # in which case you may need to tell the nephew they didn't have child pre wedding but adopted 1 after ..
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Hi
No - the person named on baptism was biological father who was single at that time as was biological mother. See earlier reply re: respective marriage dates. Biological father had no children from his marriage. Nephew is from his family and was executor of his will
Searches have been made under all combination of christian names and surnames without success
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Extensive searches have been made Brigidmac.
Many people, with Ronald's surname at time of being placed in the Children's Home, have been contacted via social media and snail mail.
I subscribe to FindMyPast so have access to electoral registers.
Even the telephone directories on ancestry have been searched extensively.
Everything has been cross checked to when there have been possible names.
Since finding the name listed as Ronald's father, snail mail and social media has been used.
Consequently further information has been provided but unfortunately it has not led to finding anything about him.
I only tend to resort to message boards after all researching is providing nothing.
Yes "Desmond" has been extensively searched too as has leaving out surnames totally.
Ronald was not adopted. He grew up in a Children's Home from the age of 9 years. He spent all the war years there too.
One of his siblings was blind and put in a residential home for blind children.
Ronald would have known about him.
However Ronald would not have known about the sibling who was put in a children's home straight away, adopted and given a new name then put back in an orphanage only to be shipped to Australia.
We know he was given an apprenticeship on leaving school and it is which company that was around in about 1945ish and is still around today that I originally asked.
Ronald would probably had to complete National Service but unless a death certificate can be produced, no records will be released.
Unfortunately anyone who would have served with him or worked with him would be in their 80s or even older and are unlikely to be reading social media or sites like this.
It would be their children / grandchildren / other family members who would be reading the articles however unless they know their parent's / grand parent's / uncle's earlier life would not even link the stories.
Indeed my mother did not know about her own father's life after his parents died in the early 1900s until I started researching.
Many people are in this same situation.
Someone must know something about Ronald and so searches will continue along with other questions. It is those questions that answers are needed.
Pam