Grasping at Straws looking for Reginald John Clarke Willey

[percy porter]

As I am not sure were he went after demob from the army -he joined the 1/1st Kings African Rifles from the Ox and Bucks LI at the start of the war- I am not sure were to start. It is believed he returned to Southern (NOT South, he could have gone anywere on that continent) Africa after the war and he has just disappeared.

We have all his service details but MOD won't release them as he could still be alive and without proof of death are not able to help the family with details of his army career.  This is by way of just an initial inquiry to see if it is worth while persuing any available avenues with the limited information we have or wether I am merely waisting my time.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Alan NZ

[EmPea]

Hi Alan

In the Pretoria Archives there is a file:

DEPOT     TAB                                                                   
SOURCE    WLD                                                                   
REFERENCE 2293/1976                                                             
DESCRIPTION          ILLIQUID CASE. DIVORCE. SUSANNA WILLEY (BORN SCHOLTZ) VERSUS SEAN        REGINALD JOHN CLARKE WILLEY.
STARTING  19760000                                                             
ENDING    19760000

I wonder if this could be him?

Regards
Moira

[percy porter]

Hi Moira thank for that quick response, I think it must be him as his last Christian name "Clarke" is his mothers maiden name.
I am making these inquiries on behalf of his daughter who has not heard of him since the war. I have e-mailed her, she is in the UK and will see what response I get if I haven't heard by tonight (NZ) I will give her a ring. She believes he was released from he army in 1950 as a Major but apparently a sister seems to think he was a Lt Colonel, it was however no uncommon for officers to be discharged a rank above there regular substantive rank in those days.

If that is him is there likely to be anything useful in those records and are they publicly available.

Alan NZ

[EmPea]

Hi Alan

Yes, they are publically available and can be ordered via eGSSA who will photograph the contents of the file and e-mail it to you.

Divorce files contain all the documents relating to the divorce - the Paintiff's Declaration, Settlement Agreement, any Affidavits, correspondence, etc from the parties as well as the original Marriage Certificate.  Any children of the marriage will also be detailed in the documentation.

Regards
Moira

[percy porter]

Thanks Moira, it would appear to be quite a pricey exercise, I would assume there will be quite a large amount of documentation. Is it possible to determine how many pages there are before ordering or do you just have to take a chance?

Alan NZ

[EmPea]

Hi Alan

Yes you can specify what you want from the file.  They will not look for information for you - ie do any research - but will take pics of any of the docs you request.

Some of the documents are titled :
Plaintiff's Declaration
Defendant's Plea
Plea in Reconvention (I would not order this)
Power of Attorney (I would not order this)
Consent Paper
Order for Restitution of Conjugal Rights (I would not order this)
Return of Service (I would not order this)
Ante Nuptial Contract
Marriage Certificate
Judgement (I would not order this)

Did you get as far as the prices when you looked at the site?  If not, then the prices are R12 Handling Fee, R12 First Page and R4 for each additional page.  I know it says R12 for the first page of each document but I have never been charged like that - all subsequent pages from the file were charged at R4 per page.

I have had a few files photographed and the number of pages has ranged from 8 pages (R31 or $15), 12 pages (R35 or $19), 21 pages (R44 or $28) and 47 pages (R70 or $54).

Regards
Moira

[percy porter]

Thanks again Moira, yes I did have a quick look at the site, however it was quite late last night and must confess to not being at my best after dark. My thinking process seems to go into neutral around dinner time*
I have passed the information on to my friend in the UK and she is quite enthused with what you have supplied and if I don't hear from her before this evening I will give her a call tonight. She is a longtime family friend and we haven't spoken to her for a while so it will be worth while making the call as we have a "gathering" this afternoon.

Regards

Alan NZ

*there are those near and dear to me who suggest this is a 24 hour a day affliction!

[EmPea]

Pleasure Alan

Good luck and let us know what transpires.

Regards
Moira

[percy porter]

I certainly will do this search has been going on by me with limited success now for about 7 years and by his daughter for considerably longer. She is really over the moon by this new piece of information. I'll certainly keep you posted

Alan NZ