how do I research after 1911??

[Emma. S.]

My grandfather was born in George street Bury Lancashire 1911 and died in 1977.  I have his birth certificate and thats about it!!
He was aparently married but i don't know when or who to!! (He was not married to my grandmother) I would like to know about his life before he met my grandmother in about 1945.
Is this possible or will i have to wait until 1920/ 1930 census comes out???!!!!!!!!
Any ideas and suggestions would be pleased to hear from you
Emma

[trystan]

Emma,

I'm not sure if this helps a bit:

Click to See Map, George Street, Bury

and:

This map shows it in relation to the churches

You see George street is bang in the middle of a few of the Churches in Bury. As I live in Bury though, my hunch is that he would have gone to St Thomas or St George's Church. (those are the two on the right). There is also an United Reformed Church very close (by that roundabout) which isn't shown on the map.

Perhaps look at the Church records for a baptism, or Banns of marriage?

Also " www.BMDindex.co.uk provides a fully searchable electronic version of the index to civil Birth, Marriage and Death records for England and Wales. The current index contains over 150 million events. We have complete birth records from 1880 plus some back to 1865. Also complete BMD data from 1984 onwards. We will be adding further data for all events back to 1837."

Trystan

[Emma. S.]

Thank you for the maps, good to see the area.
I have been through about 18 years of marriage indexes!!!!!! Found a few possibilities, ordered one which arrived today but turns out def not him (wrong age and wrong father)
Just wondering whether to order any more of the possibiliites or just leave it, suppose i should have got them to check for the fathers name!! I was just so convinced. If you order a certificate and get the records place to do a check, will they still charge £7 if you have the wrong certificate??
Emma

[celia]

Hi Emma

The records department wont do checks first to see if you have  ordered the right certificate. What happens is you send your cheque plus the information. In your case you want a birth certificate. so you have to give the name of the father or Mother. If your information is not the same as the information on a birth registration for the same date. They normally inform you of this and ask if you still want it. Mine do, they say they don't like to waste our money.I know it sounds daft we want a B/C to find the father but you have to know his name before you can have one.if we new that we wouldn't need a B/C would we::)So don't order anymore or you could end up with useless B/C

Celia

[Dolgellau]

Hello Emma

Two things that might be useful

Post a message giving as much detail as you have about your grandfather on all the message boards and mailing lists that cover Bury and on the surname lists and boards for his surname.

Send a letter to local newspapers that cover the Bury area asking if anybody knew him or his family.

[Emma. S.]

Thank you for your suggestions, I shall keep on searching! I have just been grilling my mother and she remembers that he possibly worked for Boosey and Hawkes a music publishers in London Regent Street!!!!!!
Does anyone know anything about Boosey & Hawkes or know anyone who used to work there in 1930's??!!!!!! His name was JOHN DIGGLE.
 

[Dolgellau]

Boosey and Hawkes are still going:

www.boosey.com/

It might be worth contacting them to see if they have any company archives with staff details.

[Emma. S.]

THANK YOU FOR IDEA I SHALL GIVE THAT A TRY! HOW HE WENT FROM LIVING IN BURY TO WORKING IN A MUSIC PUBLISHERS IN LONDON, I DOUBT ILL EVER KNOW!! 

[Roger Griffiths]

I find searching forwards in time is much more difficult than backwards in time. I too have applied for certificates that proved to be the wrong ones.

If one has clues like Boosey and Hawkes, or anything else, it's well worthwhile doing a Google search. Many institutions have personnel records going back many years.

For instance, being at a loose end last night, I did a Google on a relation, Sir John Garling Hurley. I found nothing, despite him being a former Chairman of Berlei and other companies and being in previous Who's Who in Australia. I then did Garling and turned up a family history website with him and my grandmothers sister, his wife.

Roger