(Alice) Muriel Mullenger, born 7th July 1913

[Nadine44]

Thank you Pat. 
I had a look through the ERs ... and was very surprised to find there were two families with German (or German-sounding) names in Draycott Avenue in 1930; LENTZ at No. 55 and DE WALTERSTORFF at No. 21 ... there was no-one called Mullenger/Mullinger though. 
I hope to have a little time over the Christmas period to see if there were other London events reported in the Lancashire Daily Post or whether the 'Girl Bather Robbed' was a one-off, in which case there must have been a reason why it was reported in a Northern newspaper.
I have taken your advice and put a (fairly basic) tree on Ancestry and wait to see whether anyone shows any interest. 

[Nadine44]

Well, it's been quite a journey!

I went over all the info I had collated with a fine tooth comb and took the plunge and ordered the marriage certificate for Muriel and Mr. Burrell (a marriage that I had previously ruled out).  Well, it turns our that 'my' Muriel did indeed marry one Victor Julian BURRELL in 1936.  They later divorced and Muriel married Albert Charles CRUTTENDEN in 1946. 

This is where I have hit a brick wall; when Muriel married her final husband Cyril Frederick James SMITH in 1975, her surname was HOWARTH.  I can find no record of Muriel (Alice Muriel Cruttenden as her name would have been) marrying a Mr HOWARTH.

The 1939 Register records Muriel with all five of her surnames; MULLENGER, BURRELL, CRUTTENDEN, HOWARTH and SMITH.  I have certificates that prove beyond any doubt that all marriages involve 'my' Muriel, with the exception of Howarth as that certificate has yet to be found)

At the time of her (fourth) marriage to CFJ SMITH in Exmouth, Devon in 1975 Muriel described herself as a widow,  Both Muriel and CFJ Smith were living (separately, not together) in Exmouth at the time of their marriage.
At the time of her death (in Exeter, Devon) in April 1980, Muriel's usual address, as show on her death certificate, was Des Salines, MAJORCA. 
Given this overseas connection, I wondered whether Muriel married Mr Howarth in another country, but my exhaustive enquiries and trawls through info on the www, Ancestry, FindMyPast, etc have revealed NOTHING!!!
If anyone can shed any light on Muriel's marriage to Mr Howarth (or has any info on any of her marriages), I'd love to hear.
N/17-12-2018

[chempat]

Any children from any of the marriages?  A will?

[avm228]

You probably already know this, but it looks as though her second husband Albert Charles Cruttenden (b 1901) died in Hastings on 1 July 1969.

Home address at the time: 46 Hughenden Rd, Hastings.

[chempat]

Have you managed to search any ER's in Exmouth in e.g. 1974, 1973, 1972, for evidence of Mr Howarth?

[Nadine44]

You probably already know this, but it looks as though her second husband Albert Charles Cruttenden (b 1901) died in Hastings on 1 July 1969.

Home address at the time: 46 Hughenden Rd, Hastings.

Yes - thanks anyway for the info.  I sent for ACC's death certificate but found the informant was not Muriel but  his daughter from his first marriage who died some years ago.

[Nadine44]

Have you managed to search any ER's in Exmouth in e.g. 1974, 1973, 1972, for evidence of Mr Howarth?

Hello again Chempat.  Thanks for your input.
So far as I can tell, Muriel had no children with any of her husbands, nor unfortunately did she leave a will.  I purchased a copy of a will for a lady of the same name (Alice Muriel Smith) who happened to die in Devon around the same time, but the will proved that this lady was certainly not related to me!

Interestingly, Muriel's death certificate states her occupation as "Retired Proprietress - Television Rental"
Kelly's Directory for Bournemouth/Poole 1973-74 lists a Television Rental firm "Howarth, Cyril & Son Ltd, 251 Holdenhurst Road.
and also Mrs A M Howarth, 161 Lower Blandford Road, Broadstone, Dorset
There is a 1976 Telephone Directory entry for Mrs M Howarth, 60 Westcliff road, Bournemouth.
I have found many references to persons with the surname Howarth, but nothing showing Muriel Howarth living with a Mr Howarth!
I shall keep digging as and when i have teh time!

[bugbear]

I'd missed the "tick" on this thread and was having a look.

The most obvious "high grade" data is the exact date of birth for our target.

The only resources searchable by this are (recent) death registrations, and the 1939 register.

I searched 1939, and there are only 8 Muriels with that DOB. Easy!

But then I realised that the 1939 wasn't available when this thread started...

But quite instructive on how wonderful present-day resources are.

 BugBear

[Nadine44]

As I'm still searching for evidence of the marriage of Muriel and Mr Howarth, I thought I'd re-post in the hope that someone, somewhere, may know something!  Thank you for reading this.  N/26-1-2020

Well, it's been quite a journey!

I went over all the info I had collated with a fine tooth comb and took the plunge and ordered the marriage certificate for Muriel and Mr. Burrell (a marriage that I had previously ruled out).  Well, it turns our that 'my' Muriel did indeed marry one Victor Julian BURRELL in 1936.  They later divorced and Muriel married Albert Charles CRUTTENDEN in 1946. 

This is where I have hit a brick wall; when Muriel married her final husband Cyril Frederick James SMITH in 1975, her surname was HOWARTH.  I can find no record of Muriel (Alice Muriel Cruttenden as her name would have been) marrying a Mr HOWARTH.

The 1939 Register records Muriel with all five of her surnames; MULLENGER, BURRELL, CRUTTENDEN, HOWARTH and SMITH.  I have certificates that prove beyond any doubt that all marriages involve 'my' Muriel, with the exception of Howarth as that certificate has yet to be found)

At the time of her (fourth) marriage to CFJ SMITH in Exmouth, Devon in 1975 Muriel described herself as a widow,  Both Muriel and CFJ Smith were living (separately, not together) in Exmouth at the time of their marriage.
At the time of her death (in Exeter, Devon) in April 1980, Muriel's usual address, as show on her death certificate, was Des Salines, MAJORCA. 
Given this overseas connection, I wondered whether Muriel married Mr Howarth in another country, but my exhaustive enquiries and trawls through info on the www, Ancestry, FindMyPast, etc have revealed NOTHING!!!
If anyone can shed any light on Muriel's marriage to Mr Howarth (or has any info on any of her marriages), I'd love to hear.
N/26-1-2020