Eric Boon b. Q1, 1922, North Witchford

[GDub71]

Hi all,

I've been on a 25 year quest to find out who my Grandfather was. My Dad didn't know his father. His parents met in 1946. Hi mum was in the ATS and his dad was an ex-tank sergeant who had fought through the War, possibly in North Africa, certainly in Western Europe. They were going to get married, but them my Gran found out he'd been seeing someone behind her back, so she called it off. She was pregnant though and my dad was to be adopted, but her parents decided that they would raise him in the village of Fordyce in the North East of Scotland. My dad's name is John Alexander Wilson. My Grandmother did not like to talk about my Grandfather at all having subsequently married someone else.

I've recently taken a DNA test with myFTDNA hoping to find some relatives on my Dad's paternal line. This seemed to be my best hope of finding out who my Grandfather was and where he came from. I have a full family tree apart from my paternal line and it is particularly frustrating as a genealogist to have this big gap which I need to fill.

Here's what I do know about my Grandfather:
•He was known as "Eric Boon"
•I'm told he was called Eric after a famous boxer called Eric Boon of that time
•My Gran reckoned he was quite closely related to the boxer, but the DNA testing doesn't seem to agree with that as a family to whom I believed might be related have a different DNA type altogether. They are (a bit distantly) related to the boxer.
•He was born circa 1921-22
•My Grandmother said he was from Leeds. Haven't found any evidence to support that though
•He was a tank sergeant in the War, apparently right through North Africa and Western Europe after that
•When my Grandmother met him in 1946 he was driving lorry transporters for the army
•She was in the ATS down South and got a lift up to the Bridge-of-Don barracks in Aberdeen from him
•She believed that he stayed in the army and went on to be a recruitment officer

The upshot of the DNA testing is that... well there are no Boon relatives for a start, which made me wonder, if my Grandfather was illegitimate, or perhaps his father was etc. Several years ago, I put together a list of all the Eric and John Boon/Boone births in England within the rough timeframe of his birth (1921-22) and one of those candidates was:

Eric. Boon b. Q1, 1922 at North Witchford. Mother's surname: Hobbs.

Unfortunately, I can't find an individual matching the description I have, mentioned anywhere in association with any armoured corps in WWII. Interestingly though, I did find a distant American (genetic) cousin who had some Hobbs ancestry. So, that make this guy a possible in my book.

If anyone can shed light on this matter, please do!

[rosie99]

Unfortunately, I can't find an individual matching the description I have, mentioned anywhere in association with any armoured corps in WWII.

WW2 service records are not generally found online as they are still with the MOD.
https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records

Maybe this is why you can't find anything 

[GDub71]

Hi,

Thanks, but I have made a couple of vain attempts to access military records, and they tend to be very tight on next-of-kin and so on. Unless I know who it is I'm definitely looking for, that's difficult, plus they want a date of death. My grandfather might still be alive, albeit he'd be 93-94. But, it's possible. I don't know if he subsequently married and had family. My real hope is that someone recognises the description of this person and can say, "Yes that sounds very much like my Uncle so-and-so", or something along those lines. Then I could delve further. It might come down to DNA testing in the end and I'm happy to go along with that, as I've already been tested and would be prepared to pay for someone else to be tested if I thought there was a good shot at us being closely related.

Graham

[rosie99]

Where was your grandmother based in 1946 when she was given a lift, maybe you can tie in your grandfather with his service in the same place.

[bedfordshire boy]

As Eric Boon the boxer was born in 1919 I doubt that your grandfather was named after him, although if he is the one born in N Witchford in 1922 he might be related and the name Eric ran in the family.

It's going to be difficult. It will be interesting see what the 1939 Register throws up when it's released later this year.

[bedfordshire boy]

The Eric Boon in North Witchford is the only Eric whose birth was registered in the Mar quarter 1922. There's only one death with a birth in the right time frame, in Canterbury in Aug 1998 whose birth date is shown as 9 Jul 1922, at variance with the birth registration, but I wouldn't rule him out.

I suppose Eric could have been his nickname as the boxer would have been well known at that time, and if so his real first name could have been anything.

[GDub71]

Thanks Bedfordshire boy. This is one of my prime candidates. As I say, it is hard to tell if he was actually called Eric or not. Eric Boon the boxer was World Champion in 1939, so it's a fair bet that anybody serving in the army in WWII who had the surname Boon would have been called Eric, purely because of his fame at that time. Then again of course, maybe he was actually called Eric, or his middle name may have been Eric!

[CarolA3]

Similar thread on Lancs board:  http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=727915.

[GDub71]

Yeah, I'm hoping one of these will trigger some response. These are my two most likely hits, but I could well be barking up the wrong tree. I just wish my Gran had given me a bit more to go on. I never understood why all the secrecy? Unless, of course she found out my Grandfather was already married.. in fact, that would make a lot of sense!