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Hi all - I was hoping I'd be able to find some support / assistance / ideas on solving a family mystery from you good people.

My grandfather does not know anything about his father's family.  When he was alive, he would never talk about them.  My grandfather has heard stories that they may have been killed in WWII bomb along with two sisters, but I've never been able to confirm that against the civilian deaths records.  This mystery has been rumbling on for some many years (Threads merged for previous discussion on this site), but a brief summary would go like this:

• Born: 18 February 1910 - Plaistow, Essex (26 Howards Road) in a St Elizabeth's Maternity Home often used by wayward mums.  No father on the birth certificate, mother's name is Caroline Childs listed as working as a domestic servant at 12 Quarry Street, Guildford.
• Baptised: 20 April 1910 - Plaistow, Essex (St Andrews Church), again, no father.  All signs point to illegitimacy.
• 1911 census / 1939 register: Oddly, no sign.
• Life events: Was in the Merchant Navy during WWII as a ship's cook.  Based in the North East.  Records that I've seen to date on this offer nothing of real interest.
• Marriage: 24 April 1943 to Mary Hughes (nee Keegan) in Sunderland, Co Durham.  Mother is listed as Caroline Childs and father as Henry John Childs.  I've been able to find no record of Henry John and I suspect this was made up to hide the illegitimacy.
• Death: 24 August 1982 in Hartlepool, Co Durham.
  

For a good while this was all this information I had, but I recently had my grandfather take a DNA test and it came back with several strong links to individuals with a common tie to a Childs family in Guildford.  Naturally I've done a fair bit of research around this family now and I'm yet to find any irrefutable candidates for Caroline.  This is where I'm hoping you can all help!

My strongest candidate is a Lilian Caroline Childs born 27 April 1979 in Guildford (died 26 January 1945), daughter of Charles Childs (1854-1919) and Caroline Tidy (1859-1943).  First, the positives for her being a good candidate:

• Aged 30 at time of birth - this seems reasonable.
• Baptised as Caroline Lilian Childs - so there's a precedent for her being called Caroline.
• Married a George Tunnicliffe Edwards (1876-1949) on 3 February 1904.  They were living apart in 1911 despite being married for 7 years, both showing no children.  In his WW1 service record it would later read that he is living separated from his wife, with his mother shown as his next of kin and paychecks being sent to his sister.  Interestingly, his medical record as part of his WW1 service record places him at 54 Quarry Street - Guildford, though there are two other addresses on there too that he's a 'resident' at, that of his mother and his sister.  This is either one heck of a red herring or a smoking gun!

And now for the downsides:

• She's living with her mother and sister in Guildford in 1911 - no sign of Edward Cyril.
• She's shown as being an elementary school teacher - which feels like quite a step up from a domestic servant in a year!
• She'd go on to live with her mum and sister until at least the mid 30s, still no sign of Edward Cyril.

In order for this to be her, the scenario feels like Lilian became pregnant, went to London to have the baby, potentially left Edward in a children's home and continued her life without him.  It might explain why Edward Cyril would later not want to talk about his parents and why he might invent a traumatic story so that he wouldn't have to talk about it...

I'm at my wits end.  Does anyone have any hints, tips, ideas, clues or local insights that they can share on this?  I'd love to be able to pin this down to finally tell my granddad what his father never could.  I just can't imagine not knowing who half of your family are!

Apologies for the long brain dump and thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Jamie

Tell me about it... 

Hi Everyone!

Until yesterday I had never seen a picture of my great grandfather John George Oxley Jones (b. 12/07/1900 in Sunderland but later living in Horden, Co Durham) but when I saw that he was dressed in an army uniform it posed so many questions. I never knew he was a military man and have never found any record of it to date. Does anyone know what his collar badge and other symbols might signify and if they could possibly help shed some light on his history in the Military.

In a later, but less clear, photo his rank seems to have increased to sergeant.

Thanks

Jamie

Sorry to dig this one up again but I recently got a hold of Edward Cyril's Seaman's Pouches. They were sadly rather uneventful and only showed his brief stint in the merchant navy between 1944-1945 rather than the longer period he spent in there earlier. Unfortunately, there were no hints at all as to his family or relatives from the contents of the pouch.

So the mystery is still unsolved. I still haven't been able to get any further forward to find out who his mother's family was so I appeal to those wiser than I once again to try and shed some fresh light on an old mystery. 

I am also inclined to eliminate the possibility of the Caroline Childs whom I brought up earlier as I found her married to Charles Harry Fisher in the 1911 census with no sign of Edward.