Still listed after death?

[Tidgy]

Hi,

Is it possible to still be listed in the British Telephone Book for two years after death?
A J Hankins from Surrey B.1886 - D.1961 is listed in the 1962 and 1963 records of the phone book. Maybe because his wife still lived there?

Tidgy

[MargP]

Hi

Yes, I believe that  the phone book were updated every year, but it was up to head of household to change it to there name, and that may take another year

Margp

[Tidgy]

Thank you Margp that is what I wondered.

[confused73]

A lot of wives prefer to keep their husbands name down for security after their husband has died.

[Jean McGurn]

I remember in the 1950's one of my sisters had a phone installed. After she left home we kept the phone and another sister paid the bills but the telephone directory still had it listed under the first sisters name.

So I suppose as long as the phone bill is paid the directory wouldn't get changed unless it was requested specifically.

[mshrmh]

IIRC the directories would follow the format of being J Smith for a man, but Mrs J Smith for a woman until rather later than these dates. Also being ex-directory was uncommon, so the newly widowed may well have preferred to leave the entry to avoid attracting unwelcome types of call.

I don't know when things changed to being standard of initials + surname for all - I did show the book to a widowed friend a few year's back who wasn't aware of the change & still had the entry in her late husband's initials (at that time he'd been dead at least 10 years).