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Debra,

Thanks for the tip. He served 15 Feb 1916 to 2 May 1919 on various RN postings as a stoker.

Before she died my mother told me she was a bridesmaid in 1916 at the wedding of her aunt Louisa Burden (b. abt 1878, Charlton Marshall) in the New Forest (NF). She described the NF cottage in Cadnam which has since proved accurate. However, I've just found the marriage between Louisa Burden and Robert James Lanham (b. 23 Aug 1890, Copythorne, HAM) was registered at the Midhurst centre (Sussex) in the first quarter of 1921. Louisa's sister Elizabeth was living in Petworth (Sussex) so the marriage registration is plausible.

I've never found Louisa's wedding in 1916 in the New Forest, but there are some signs she and her husband were Roman Catholics. Is it at all possible that the NF wedding took place, but wasn't registered at the time, and was only registered in 1921 in Sussex when Louisa went to see her sister? Is that disparity between wedding and registration centre allowed ? Might Louisa have had a church wedding in 1916 and a civil marriage in 1921. Or do I have to accept my mother simply misremembered ?

I've been doing family history research for 30 years and never come across this kind of puzzle. I'd be grateful if local researchers could help solve it.

Hi Jan

Sorry, I didn't realise that limit existed.

However, you've now got my website address, and on it there's a contact page for you to email me directly.

Chaltis

Note that the melocki site has a search facility so you can simply look for a name. It won't cater for spelling differences but it's a start.