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Hi everyone,

I wondered if anyone had any information on how to research boys who moved through the following London Orphanages. I have already contacted Daughters of Charity.

Did boys have to be from a Catholic family to enter into these orphanages?

Also, does anyone know with local knowledge know if there was a Public School very nearby any of them?

The orphanages are:
St Vincent's Catholic Orphanage (think this was Mill Hill?)
Wiseman House Hostel, Shernall Street, Walthamstow
St George's Roman Catholic School on Raglan Road (formerly Shernhall Place)

Thanks very much for any information.
Alison x

Hi everyone,

I just made a chance discovery! Logged on to Ancestry for the first time in ten years and stumbled upon what I think is my elusive grandad on a ship to South Africa!

I have all the details but no subscription. I was wondering if anyone with a subscription would be kind enough to view the image for me please?

I searched for Desmond Salter born 1918 London. Towards the bottom of the results page is an entry for Mr D Salter on a ship to south africa in 1934.

Many thanks if anyone can look this up!

Alison

Hi everyone,

I am a returning researcher after 12 years away from it!

I have a strong desire to finish one piece of the jigsaw (see my post on London board!)

I have a strong hunch that my grandad who was illegitemate was born to a foreign dad - it was the end of the WW1 and many people over the years have commented that both my dad and I have a non British look about us. I would like to do a DNA test to see if I can get any clues as to where my heritage lies abroad. I could be totally barking up the wrong tree here...but I have a strong suspicion towards Eastern Europe/Russia OR Japan but probably the former. I have tried to research this online but it's a minefield. Has anyone got any ideas where to start.

I am female and the only offspring of my dad. My dad is dead. My dad's half brother and sister are alive (although their own dad was Hungarian!!) I have a baby son - don't know if that helps? But HIS dad is 1/4 Czech!

Can someone please point me in the right direction on what kind of test I need - I would like a pointer to a country if possible??

Any ideas welcome!

Many thanks

Alison xxx

Hi everyone,

Many years ago -about ten years really - I frequented this site on a daily basis. I lived here from getting home from work until going to bed! My dad died in 2010 and I suddenly felt that I should be dwelling among the living more than the dead. Recently I have had my first child and something inside of me is calling me to get back to it. You see, Family History was my obsessive hobby back then and I traced my family tree back to the 1700s, except one line...

This line is the only unfinished chapter in my ancestry. Back in 2008 or so when I stopped researching, there were probably limited resources compared to today. I do not have the time to complete this chink in the jigsaw, but would be very very grateful if anyone could help me with this...

My family name is Salter. My dad was Stephen Desmond Salter. His dad Desmond Jervis Salter (although he changed his name to Robert Desney in later life as he was estranged to my dad). I now have all details about his life...in profusion.

Desmond was born 4 Dec 1918 Mill Hill London at Fulham Road Infirmary (369 Fulham Road) in CHelsea. He was illegitemate but his mother was Ethel Salter. She was a munitions worker in 1918 and her normal residence was 5 Marville Road, Fulham. I believe she would have been demobbed in 1919.
He was brought up in a catholic orphanage in Mill Hill. I have lots of information on the orphanges he lived in and his life thereafter - marriages, navy records and RAF etc

But I would dearly love to finish this jigsaw with the last piece. I would love to find a picture of Desmond if anyone has any ideas where one might be lurking. Who was Desmond's father and also who was Ethel and her line back in time? I think she was born in 1895.

I am hoping there are easier methods to find out this information now than ten years ago. I would be interested in anyone who can help for free on here or indeed, anyone who can recommend a 'paid' researcher.

I should also ass that I have an intuitive hunch - and I am a very intuitive person lol - that Desmond was not British (end of the war etc)...I have a hunch towards Eastern European/Russia/Japan...just in case anyone sees any connections to those countries along the way!

Many thanks
Alison xxx

Hi, just wanted to share a find with you all!
Sadly, my Dad has just died and I have found lots and lots of tapes of my Dad's Mum speaking...I'm talking like over 100 double sided tapes from the 80s mostly! Boxes of them...I always knew Dad had them - I used to hear dad listening to them in secret as a little girl. he used to switch them off when I walked in the room. She left my Dad as a baby (and so did his dad) and she emigrated to States never to return. Dad was brought up by his Grandparents...needless to say Dad and his Mum never had that much to do with one another -the tapes started in the 80s as a cheap way of keeping in touch i think over the Atlantic. Anyway, i've got quite a few hundred hours of listening...so far there doesnt seem to be much personal stuff - its more just about her life...she wasnt a pleasant woman by all accounts and the tapes seem to be verifying it. i think she lived with a lot of guilt and the tapes display that clearly! So far, she seems to have slagged off everyone she knows...but heres hoping theres something more personal concerning my family at some point!

Alison