Help need finding recipient of old postcard.

[wardyfam]

Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone can help me by informing me how to go about finding the recipient of an old postcard of a soldier dated 1917.
I have been trying to help someone who has acquired this postcard and who is trying to find the person who received it. This person could well be a relative (daughter or granddaughter) of the sender as they have the same surname, and live at the senders address.
I am unsure whether the sender would have been on active duty in WW1 as he was then approx 59 years of age. The 1901 census states he owned his own Coal Merchants business which I presume he might have still owned in 1917...although I have no proof of this.

The house and road that the postcard was sent to in West Ealing London are still there, as I have found them on the Royal Mail website, which has a map, and the post code for it.
We can't glean information from the Electoral Roll as there were no Registrations for the years 1916-17 due to the war, so that was no help, and we are unsure whether it would provide an answer anyway due to the 100 year privacy laws.

Is there any other way we could find out who was living in this house in the year 1917?

We would both be very grateful...thanks.
Pat x

[Necromancer]

maybe an Absent Voters List if it survives ?


Or Ratepayers records for the Borough ?

[las camelias]

You can look at the electoral roles at the County Archives.  I've looked at them at my County Archives several times - they don't fall under the privacy for 100 years thingy. 

So far as I know, there were no roles 1914 to 1918 inclusive, so it might be worth looking at the 1919 as the same family might have still be there in 1919

LC

[stanmapstone]

No electoral registers were published in the years 1916 and 1917
Stan

[JillJ]

If he was a coal merchant he could be listed in Trade Directories.

Jill

[aghadowey]

If the address is still there you could try writing a letter addressed 'Current Occupant' and enclose a photocopy of the post card to help explain what you are looking for. The present occupant may be related or know of someone in the neighbourhood who could help.

[wardyfam]

Thanks for your wonderful help...I'm looking in the trade directories right now, but I'm having problems finding the County Archives. I haven't done these sort of searches before so am having problems finding where to go to search. Any help there would be appreciated...the area we are searching is 'west' Ealing London.

I have suggested that he writes to the present occupier, and have found the post code for the house and road on the Royal Mail website which I have passed on.

Thanks again.

[celia]

Hi Wardyfam
The London directories named Historical directories on the net( an not compleat there are many hundreds) will be in any large library with a reference room in the area you are interested in.The only thing is during both wars the books were not printed  nor was anything else that wasn't priority like newspapers.You never know though a local printer might have filled the gaps,for the area for postal reasons. Ours did you could try tracking back before the war though they could have been at the addres for years.

Celia

[ShaunJ]

Pat,

You could try posting the address here - some of us have old trade directories.