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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => London and Middlesex => Topic started by: nicdigby on Tuesday 30 June 20 16:12 BST (UK)
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Ill-fated marriage - Sydney Digby lived alone for much of his life and never spoke of his wife or child. I now have his Will in which he leaves them nothing.
Marriage Q2 1926 Kensington, London. Sydney James Digby married Mary Ann Curd. From England and Wales marriage registration index.
Baby Peggy Kathleen born Q4 1926 .....I am wondering if she got pregnant so they had to marry...the marriage could have been e.g in June for an October baby?
Can anyone help me to narrow down the dates please without having to order birth and marriage certificates?
Thank you!
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Correction - baby name was Peggy Kathleen Digby born Q4 1926 London
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Not without the precise dates on the certificates unfortunately, but you could well be correct that baby was under way.
Just thought if baby appears on the 1939 register her birth date will be shown.
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Was Mary Ann born 1903 to William & Margaret?
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Not without the precise dates on the certificates unfortunately, but you could well be correct that baby was under way.
Just thought if baby appears on the 1939 register her birth date will be shown.
Peggy Kathleen would have been 13 in 1939. They lived in North Kensington London- mary Ann is there with her parents but Peggy is not there. She's not living with her Dad or any of the rest of the siblings that I have found. I think she may well have been evacuated - were children evacuated by registry date? (29 Sept 1939)?
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Was Mary Ann born 1903 to William & Margaret?
Yes
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I thinks do Milliepede
I think Peggy remained single and died in 2016, supposition on my part at the moment
No I don't think you will find her on 1939 as yet but I stand to be corrected
Louisa Maud
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I thinks do Milliepede
I think Peggy remained single and died in 2016, supposition on my part at the moment
No I don't think you will find her on 1939 as yet but I stand to be corrected
Louisa Maud
Yes - she died under her maiden name in 2016 in London - that's what I have found, I've not been told it by anyone.
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Until you find her death online I don't think you can get her birth date unless it is on 1939 somewhere
She appears on various ER's with her mother and grandparents in Kensington and Chelsea area
Louisa Maud
OOPS, sorry repeated some of this info
There is also a family tree on Ancestry
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Until you find her death online I don't think you can get her birth date unless it is on 1939 somewhere
She appears on various ER's with her mother and grandparents in Kensington and Chelsea area
Louisa Maud
OOPS, sorry repeated some of this info
There is also a family tree on Ancestry
All I have found is this.
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Did you happen to find where Sydney James Digby went to?
Was there a divorce ?
Louisa Maud
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Did you happen to find where Sydney James Digby went to?
Was there a divorce ?
Louisa Maud
There was never a divorce that I can find. He lived in the family house with his adult siblings at Killarney Rd London SW18 for nearly the rest of his life. Had to find new lodgings last couple of years of his life and then died 1961. I have his Will and he leaves everything to his sister Elsie. Nothing to the wife or child but I can see the wife Mary Ann and child Peggy Kathleen were still alive when he died.
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Very sad
Louisa Maud
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Was he the Sidney James Digby required to pay Merle Oberon £5,000? He was the chauffeur of the car involved in an accident 1938.
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The Daily Mirror, May 3 1938, gives his address as "Killarney Road, Wandsworth".
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Was he the Sidney James Digby required to pay Merle Oberon £5,000? He was the chauffeur of the car involved in an accident 1938.
Welll you are amazing! Thanks so much for this. Yes it was his address. Nobody in the family knows anything about this.
Can anyone understand the last paragraph? Does this means that although the actress sued him, he was given more money himself by the insurer? He does refer to a sum given to him by an insurance company in his Will, so it makes sense.
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Wow, however was awarded that amount of money it was a HUGE amount
Louisa Maud
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I'm not sure he received it though - looks like he lost the case? This is the last newspaper mention of it I can find. What do you all think?
I've checked the Will again and the insurance thing was "if I am still employed by Godfrey Davis" so I think that is a separate life insurance he is referring to. Will made Jan 1961 and he died that same year.
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It was still going on in August 1942 ;D
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where / what source please?
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I'm using the newspapers on Findmypast. I typed in Sidney James Digby - nothing else - and got 62 hits between 1937 and 1942 on the Merle Oberon case, 9 of them from 1942. Many are versions from different newspapers throughout the country.
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Mary Ann Digby nee Curd is on the 1939 register with her parents and brother? Marital status - Married
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Five Years later
Chauffeur wins Merle Oberon Action
Publication date 6 August 1942
Nottingham Evening Post
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Mary Ann Digby nee Curd is on the 1939 register with her parents and brother? Marital status - Married
yes - not at the address where her husband was living separately
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I'm using the newspapers on Findmypast. I typed in Sidney James Digby - nothing else - and got 62 hits between 1937 and 1942 on the Merle Oberon case, 9 of them from 1942. Many are versions from different newspapers throughout the country.
I have a FindMyPast basic subs but it won't let me see the 62.
I have newspaper.com subs and the story went international. Not much detail though.
Does anyone know how to use newspapers.com properly please? If I put in Sidney James Digby it brings up any newspaper that has any of those words. If I put "Sidney James Digby" in quotation marks it brings up 3 in England. Yet FindMyPast brings up 62 (but doesn't let me actually view the details).
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Also - can anyone see if he was in WW2 at all? I can see he was conscripted into WW1 when he came of age in 1917 but cannot see anything for WW2. He would have been 39 by then.
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Maybe Newspapers.com don't have many of the UK newspapers for that time.
Here's one of the 1942 reports
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A bit small ;D so here it is in 2 parts
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Do you have a library membership?
If so I think you should be able to see The Times Digital archive online via GALE
It is well reported there too
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Until you find her death online I don't think you can get her birth date unless it is on 1939 somewhere
She appears on various ER's with her mother and grandparents in Kensington and Chelsea area
Louisa Maud
OOPS, sorry repeated some of this info
There is also a family tree on Ancestry
All I have found is this.
Have you seen this?
https://funeral-notices.co.uk/national/death-notices/notice/digby/4443870
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Also - can anyone see if he was in WW2 at all? I can see he was conscripted into WW1 when he came of age in 1917 but cannot see anything for WW2. He would have been 39 by then.
WW2 Service Records are still with the MOD, and are not available online.
There is a charge of £30 to see the records.
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Caution here I think ??
Peggy K Richardson married
Philip Digby 1947
Edmonton
So is the funeral notice referring to this Peggy born circa 1924, birth found Peggy K Richardson 1924, your Peggy K was born 1926
ER'S show your Peggy Digby at 245 Walmer Road W11
Can anyone else check this out please, as always I stand to be corrected
Louisa Maud
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Caution here I think ??
Peggy K Richardson married
Philip Digby 1947
Edmonton
So is the funeral notice referring to this Peggy born circa 1924, birth found Peggy K Richardson 1924, your Peggy K was born 1926
ER'S show your Peggy Digby at 245 Walmer Road W11
Can anyone else check this out please, as always I stand to be corrected
Louisa Maud
Ah I was going by the probate record showing the lady who died on 29 Nov 2016.
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Was he the Sidney James Digby required to pay Merle Oberon £5,000? He was the chauffeur of the car involved in an accident 1938.
There's a newspaper report of an accident taking place on 16 March 1937, and the Wikipedia article on Merle O said she had facial scarring as a result of a 1937 accident. Quite serious I would think for female actors of that era, who were probably employed mainly on their appearance.
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Hello.
Right, I'ver had the Will of Peggy Kathleen Digby come through.
It's the correct person as she leaves her money to her mother Mary Ann Digby and uncle William if she doesn't survive them. Mary Ann did indeed have a brother called William, as well as a father of the same first name.
The address on the Will is n17 Winterbourne House. Portland Rd, London W11.
If her mother and uncle don't survive her (which they didn't) she has split the money between five people, mainly living in W10 and W11, whom I have never heard of; so presumably her friends/support network.
I ordered up the Will and I've just gone into the find a will website and under my order it states that Peggy's date of death is 3 dec 2014.
Does this accurate date of death mean it is possible at all to know her actual birth date without ordered a copy of the birth certificate?
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Also - can anyone see if he was in WW2 at all? I can see he was conscripted into WW1 when he came of age in 1917 but cannot see anything for WW2. He would have been 39 by then.
WW2 Service Records are still with the MOD, and are not available online.
There is a charge of £30 to see the records.
Thank you
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Caution here I think ??
Peggy K Richardson married
Philip Digby 1947
Edmonton
So is the funeral notice referring to this Peggy born circa 1924, birth found Peggy K Richardson 1924, your Peggy K was born 1926
ER'S show your Peggy Digby at 245 Walmer Road W11
Can anyone else check this out please, as always I stand to be corrected
Louisa Maud
Ah I was going by the probate record showing the lady who died on 29 Nov 2016.
This is not the correct person, my Peggy was born surname Digby. I have now found her correct death date - 3 Dec 2014 - and am trying to find her exact birth date.
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Maybe Newspapers.com don't have many of the UK newspapers for that time.
Here's one of the 1942 reports
Thanks very much for this
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Where did you find her death?
Louisa Maud
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Caution here I think ??
Peggy K Richardson married
Philip Digby 1947
Edmonton
So is the funeral notice referring to this Peggy born circa 1924, birth found Peggy K Richardson 1924, your Peggy K was born 1926
ER'S show your Peggy Digby at 245 Walmer Road W11
Can anyone else check this out please, as always I stand to be corrected
Louisa Maud
Ah I was going by the probate record showing the lady who died on 29 Nov 2016.
This is not the correct person, my Peggy was born surname Digby. I have now found her correct death date - 3 Dec 2014 - and am trying to find her exact birth date.
So this is her probate entry
Peggy Kathleen Digby
Death date 03 Dec 2014
Probate date 08 Sep 2015
Registry Ipswich Suffolk
Grant and will
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This is not the correct person, my Peggy was born surname Digby. I have now found her correct death date - 3 Dec 2014 - and am trying to find her exact birth date.
I think the one who died in 2014 is the Peggy nee Richardson who married Philip Digby in 1947.
The will was probated in Ipswich,which points to a lady of that name living in Bishops Stortford with said husband.
How do you know who she left money to,if you've only just ordered the will?
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Right, I'ver had the Will of Peggy Kathleen Digby come through.
It's the correct person as she leaves her money to her mother Mary Ann Digby and uncle William if she doesn't survive them.
Mary Ann did indeed have a brother called William, as well as a father of the same first name.
The address on the Will is n17 Winterbourne House. Portland Rd, London W11.
If her mother and uncle don't survive her (which they didn't) she has split the money between five people, mainly living in W10 and W11, whom I have never heard of; so presumably her friends/support network.
I ordered up the Will and I've just gone into the find a will website and under my order it states that Peggy's date of death is 3 dec 2014.
Does this accurate date of death mean it is possible at all to know her actual birth date without ordered a copy of the birth certificate?
am trying to find her exact birth date.
As her death record hasn't been found giving her dob - I think you might have to obtain her birth certificate.
Peggy K DIGBY
Dec 1926 Kensington Volume 1A Page 188
Mother's maiden name CURD
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Thanks, I may well have to.
Can anyone find the month in 1926 of the marriage of Mary Ann Curd and Sydney James Digby please?
NB: family member confirms Sydney the chauffeur of Merle Oberon was indeed our Sydney. It looks like he changed the spelling to Sidney. She recalls that he would - in the 1950s - sometimes bring his work's car home for the night ahead of picking up a star in the morning. The car? A pink Rolls Royce !!
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Thanks so much to you for brining the Merle Oberon link up. I didn't know and my relatives had not mentioned it. As soon as I said Merle Oberon they both said "Oh!! Yes, I remember something or other about her and Sydney being her driver now...."
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Can anyone find the month in 1926 of the marriage of Mary Ann Curd and Sydney James Digby please?
It was registered in June,so could have happened in April, May or June.
If she was already pregnant it may well have taken place in a register office, you would need to purchase the cert (£11 from the GRO)
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Also - can anyone see if he was in WW2 at all? I can see he was conscripted into WW1 when he came of age in 1917 but cannot see anything for WW2. He would have been 39 by then.
WW2 Service Records are still with the MOD, and are not available online.
There is a charge of £30 to see the records.
Thank you. Is it £30 for each time I want to look at a person, or is £30 for me to able to look up multiple people?
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Why do you think he was in WW2 aged 39 ish
Louisa Maud
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Why do you think he was in WW2 aged 39 ish
Louisa Maud
I'm unsure. Would most men have been too old at 39 to be conscripted? forgive my lack of knowledge in this area.
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Also - can anyone see if he was in WW2 at all? I can see he was conscripted into WW1 when he came of age in 1917 but cannot see anything for WW2. He would have been 39 by then.
WW2 Service Records are still with the MOD, and are not available online.
There is a charge of £30 to see the records.
Thank you. Is it £30 for each time I want to look at a person, or is £30 for me to able to look up multiple people?
Unfortunately it's £30 per look-up!
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Sidney certainly rubbed shoulders with the stars....
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Sidney certainly rubbed shoulders with the stars....
Yes my aunt said he was known as chauffeur to the stars?!?!
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I am not going to re read all through this again for the risk of repeating someone else's info
This is the way I see it right now
I have looked at ER's again and it shows Peggy was living in Walmer Road up to about 2009, I have checked deaths up to 2018 online, nothing jumps out, but has anyone thought Peggy might still be alive she would be 96, not impossible, what do you think nicdigby
As always I stand to be corrected
Louisa Maud
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I have looked at ER's again and it shows Peggy was living in Walmer Road up to about 2009, I have checked deaths up to 2018 online, nothing jumps out, but has anyone thought Peggy might still be alive she would be 96, not impossible,
what do you think nicdigby
That is certainly a possibility LM - nicdigby posted saying "the Will PKD has come through" and says it mentions her mother Mary Ann Digby & Uncle William - see reply 34 ???
Her address n17 Winterbourne House. Portland Rd, London W11
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But does he have a date for her death, I am sure it would be recorded online somewhere, feel as if I am going round in circles
Louisa Maud
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But does he have a date for her death, I am sure it would be recorded online somewhere, feel as if I am going round in circles
Quote for nicdigby reply 34 "I ordered up the Will and I've just gone into the find a will website and under my order it states that Peggy's date of death is 3 dec 2014"
I did a search of 192 doesn’t show whole address (you need to pay to view) - could this be PKD from
n17 Winterbourne House. Portland Rd, London W11 ???
London W11
P Digby (no middle name)
ER 2002-09,2015
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But does he have a date for her death, I am sure it would be recorded online somewhere, feel as if I am going round in circles
Quote for nicdigby reply 34 "I ordered up the Will and I've just gone into the find a will website and under my order it states that Peggy's date of death is 3 dec 2014"
I did a search of 192 doesn’t show whole address (you need to pay to view) - could this be PKD from
n17 Winterbourne House. Portland Rd, London W11 ???
London W11
P Digby (no middle name)
ER 2002-09,2015
Current electoral rolls show that as being PKD at Walmer Road W11 from 2002-20015.
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I am a fully paid up member of ANCESTRY and unless I am doing something really stupid I have searched deaths using following information
birth 1924 plus or minus 2 years either way
deaths 2014 plus or minus 5 years either way,
nothing jumps out at me
Louisa Maud
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I am a fully paid up member of ANCESTRY and unless I am doing something really stupid I have searched deaths using following information
birth 1924 plus or minus 2 years either way
deaths 2014 plus or minus 5 years either way,
nothing jumps out at me
Louisa Maud
its on GRO as
DIGBY PEGY (sic) KATHLEEN DOR Q4/2014 in Kensington And Chelsea (1239-1c) Entry number 511216501
Year of birth 1926
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its on GRO as
DIGBY PEGY (sic) KATHLEEN DOR Q4/2014 in Kensington And Chelsea (1239-1c) Entry number 511216501
Year of birth 1926
Well no wonder none of us can find her as PEGGY !!!
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its on GRO as
DIGBY PEGY (sic) KATHLEEN DOR Q4/2014 in Kensington And Chelsea (1239-1c)
Entry number 511216501
Year of birth 1926
Well no wonder none of us can find her as PEGGY !!!
Well found Mckha489
Just to add the death entry for the other PKD (same name)
is there recorded Q4/2016 in Essex and she was born 1924
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I give in now !!
Louisa Maud
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Peggy may have been a honeymoon baby, not that it matters but nic suggested her mother may have been pregnant at marriage
Unfortunately there are no baptisms up to 1926 ish online as far as I know
Louisa Maud