I am waiting for my uncle's birth cert (1934) to see what it says about his parents.
trish18 found a death notice in the London Times for Archibald Richardson stating he died 25 April 1930 in Ceylon.
(note - all people named in this post are deceased)The certificate arrived this morning. Feverishly, I opened the envelope, unfolded the precious document and found......
John Anthony Richardson, born 25 Jun 1934 St Monica's, Sutton Rd, Seaford, East Sussex
father: Archibald John Richardson, tea planter (deceased), of Ivaholm(?), Promenade, Peacehaven
mother: Joan Margot Richardson, formerly James, of Ivaholm(?), Promenade, Peacehaven
So if Archibald died on 25 April 1930 the pregnancy must have lasted a minimum of 50 months (or 217 weeks)!
Perhaps I should call a paranormal investigator to see if Archibald's ghost was haunting Peacehaven in 1934!
Archibald has only been found on three records -
1) birth certificate for Jeremy 1929; 2) death notice in The Times 1930; 3) birth certificate for John 1934.
Clearly 2 and 3 cannot both be correct.
So, did Archibald ever exist outside of Joan's imagination?
Did she invent Archibald in 1929 to avoid the embarrassment of registering an illegitimate child?
Did she write the 1930 death notice to stop people asking "where is your husband? Why aren't you with him?"
Was she sent away quietly to the south coast in 1934 to hide her pregnancy?
Did she revive Archibald in 1934 to avoid the embarrassment of registering an illegitimate child?
There is a part of John's birth registration which puzzles me. The birth was on 25 June, the informant column states "as per Declaration dated 7th August" and the registration date was 10 September. Does this suggest that Joan left Seaford before registering the birth (or perhaps was to ill to visit the register office), made a declaration (to a solicitor or notary public) and sent it to the registrar?
