Peter Alan Weston Stevens - At a loss

[AndreaWil]

Hello everyone,

I'm still relatively new to family history so would very much appreciate some help tracing my Gran's  cousin Peter Alan Weston Stevens.  I don't seem to be able to find any trace of him at all from the day he was born until his death.

What I know so far is:
Born - 2nd Dec 1922 in Hammersmith (18 Hilary Road to be exact which just looks like a private residence)
His mother was Henrietta Stevens (b. 1898 in Godstone, Surrey) who listed herself as a Children's Companion on his birth certificate;
Henrietta was not and never was as far as we know married;
There is no father listed and the few family stories we have about him to suggest he was illegitimate but that his father had money;
Shortly after his birth Henrietta moved to Clapham Junction as she registered his birth from 75 Maysoule Road in 11th Jan 1923.  I've checked the electoral rolls for this address in the years preceding and following this and can't find any trace of her or of any relatives;
I lose both mother and son until Henrietta's death in Croydon on 7th April 1937;
She was at this time a domestic housekeeper at 27 Upfield in Croydon but again I haven't been successful finding them on the ER;
Her death was registered by her eldest sister - Alice Lintott of Midhurst, Sussex - but there is no record of her child living with her or any other siblings in the Godstone / Surrey area;
The next record we have for Peter is a probate notice in 1951 stating that he had died 'on or after 3rd Dec 1948 in a place unknown' but had been based in Tripoli, Tripolitania, North Africa;
There's also a handwritten Andrew's Index Card with similar information on 9th May 1951.

I really am stumped and feel I must be missing something very obvious as a beginner but I have looked for him on the 1939 census by name, I've searched by birthday in case he changed his name, I've checked the residences of known relatives, can't seem to find on leaving the country at all and haven't found any service or school records for him.

I'm assuming the middle name 'Weston' might have something to do with his father so I've searched on that too.

Also, I can't find any actual record of his death. He doesn't appear on the GRO and I've searched deaths abroad and haven't found him.  Is it possible that someone can not have a formal death certificate even if this is granted sometime after an assumed death?

I'm sure this is user error but I'm not sure where to go next. 

My Gran and great uncle are still alive and it would be nice to find out what happened to their mysterious cousin.

Andrea 

[rosie17]

Hi and welcome to Rootschat there is this probate record dated 9 May 1951 London
Peter Alan Weston Stevens of 5,Via .G.Ugolini Tripoli North Africa  ..died or of since 3 December 1948 ..at some place unknown ..Administration to H M Treasury Solicitor Effects £925.16 s 3d

Rosie

[CaroleW]

Welcome to Rootschat

I notice the administration entry shows his effects were in England which may provide some info if you could find their whereabouts.   I haven’t a clue if that type of info is available or where it could be found. 

Have you tried contacting the MoD to see if he has a WW2 record?

[rosie17]

Deleted just noticed you already had this information 

Rosie

[mckha489]

Surely for the treasury to be able to administer the estate they must have had to have him declared dead.  So I wonder if it is worth buying the administration papers. £10 from https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

I believe they don’t usually tell you much, but it seems to me in this case they might,

Does anyone in the family know where he went to school? He was only 14/15 when his mother died.

[mckha489]

Have you looked in The Gazette?

[Ruskie]

Welcome to rootschat Andrea. 

Peter would not appear on the 1939 register if he was enlisted in the forces, but presume he would be too young. He would be "blanked out" anyway as he was born in 1922 and names are not "unblanked" until 100 years after birth unless someone proves they are deceased.

The "Alan Weston" middle names do look like they might be a very unsubtle clue don't they?  if illegitimate the father's name is not put on the birth certificate unless he is present, so maybe this is Henrietta's way to tell.

Unfortunately there are still three years until the 1921 census is released but with luck this might help you fill in some blanks and tell you where Henrietta was employed.

Hi and welcome to Rootschat there is this probate record dated 9 May 1951 London
Peter Alan Weston Stevens of 5,Via .G.Ugolini Tripoli North America ..died or of since 3 December 1948 ..at some place unknown ..Administration to H M Treasury Solicitor Effects £925.16 s 3d

Rosie

Where is Tripoli? I thought it was in North Africa.  If it was, could his death there in 1948 be related to war time service? As suggested by others, it might be worth contacting the MOD to request his a service record. There can be a bit of a wait for this and there is a cost of £30.

[rosie17]

Have amended post Ruskie thought I had put North Africa 

Rosie

[AndreaWil]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions and for taking the time to come back to me.

At least knowing he would not be of age explains why I can't find him on the 1939 register which is something.

Unfortunately nobody in my immediate family knows anything about Peter other than the fact that they thought a father was somewhere on the scene providing funding. Henrietta used to send his old cloths to South Wales for her brother (my great grandfather) and his family which is how we have come by a picture of him when he was nearly 2.  We were quite pleased by that because we had been worried that he may have been adopted but it does seem he stayed with his mother.

I will take you advice and apply to MoD to see if they have any record of him. I wasn't aware i could do that so thank you!

I did try the gazette with his full name but that just pulled up everybody with any one of his many names.  I'm tempted to have another go with the address on the probate listing to see if anything comes of that.

I will also get hold the full probate records too :-)

I will persist! I would like to know what happened to him and how he came to disappear in Libya.

Thank you all for welcoming me :-)