Hi all,
Thankyou so much for this. I'm amazed at everything you've found. All of the evidence, especially the workhouse record of what looks like his birth, matches my Grandfathers known birthdate and birthplace, his mothers name (Rose) as per his Census record, AND the fact that the same Rose then married a William Barrett (which i know was definitely his father's name, as this was on his marriage certificate). This all very much points to him being born illegitimate as John Alfred French (which we never knew), and explains why we've never been able to find his birth record, under his adult name.
A special mention of thanks to DaisyPetal who actually suggested this as a possibility 10 years ago, and i admittedly discounted it at the time, as I couldn't see the link. However, with the 1921 Census revealing the Mothers name as Rose, and there being a record of a Rose French marrying a William Herbert, it seems the weight of evidence, especially with all records being recorded in Poplar, is now too much to be coincidence, and means this is almost certainly my Grandad!!
My Grandad never talked much about his family, and my mum said the only person she or her mum ever met of his family was a sister (probably his half sister from his dad's first marriage). It also seems possible his dad either wasn't his real dad, or there was an affair whilst his father William was still married, and he was born as a result of it.
I guess we'll never know for sure, but if his father wasn't real father, it would explain why he never talked much about his family, as his father, along with the 2 previous children wouldn't have been his real family. So that kind of fits with what little we know.
I told my mum today and explained everything you've helped uncover, and she was really interested and also agrees, it all does seem to add up, and explains why we could never find his birth record.
She wants to do a DNA test now to see if we can find any closer links to possible relatives. I've done one already and there's a few possible's, but they're a bit too distant to establish any connections.
Thank you all again so much. I'll go over everything you've found and get this added to my tree