Marriage Annulment

[chempat]

If she believed that she was married to him, and that he was KIA, then she would expect a widow's war pension?

[BushInn1746]

Is there somewhere I can locate information on the annulment of my father's first marriage. His father was a solicitor and would have done this himself. The marriage took place in England just before he was shipped overseas (1940's) and I think the annulment was done in Scotland.

Hello

Try the General Register Office (GRO) for Births, Deaths and Marriages in England and Wales.

https://www.gov.uk/general-register-office


England and Wales GRO does say ...
"If a marriage was never legally valid, the law says that it never existed.

However, you may need legal paperwork (a ‘decree of nullity’) to prove this - for example if you want to get married again."

https://www.gov.uk/how-to-annul-marriage

Mark

[RJ_Paton]

The marriage took place in England at the start of WW2 The bride was English the Groom ( my father Scottish) My father than went off to war in France and as I understand it, he returned to Scotland where his father (my grandfather than had the marriage annuled or made void. My father then met and married my mother in Scotland 1947. I then came along in 48 and we left Scotland and arrived in Australia 49. Meanwhile the English wife from what I was told believed my father was missing in action and wasn't told of the annulment.
Thank you to all who have made suggestions for me to search but to be honest I am still confused, do I search English or Scottish records

Do you have the original Marriage Certificate or copies of any other legal paperwork ?

Even given that your father and grandfather were based in Scotland and you suspect/believe that the actions were started here then you need to start with the original marriage record. If the proceedings were carried out in Scotland the Court of Session was the Court that dealt with Divorce and Annulments at that time - although some form of record would have been sent to the original registration area for the marriage..

Although it is possible that paperwork was sent from the Court to the last known address of the first wife and because of the upheaval of the war never served upon her this could have led to her ignorance of the procedures but the comment that she was left to believe he was KIA has me puzzled - How do you know this ? It tends to imply that there was some contact between her and someone in your family (grandfather?) who falsely led her to believe that.

If she believed that she was married to him, and that he was KIA, then she would expect a widow's war pension?

I agree ....

[MonicaL]

I don't believe a marriage can be annulled without the other party being informed and given the opportunity to comment/defend themselves    If they chose not to, the proceedings could continue in their absence. I believe this is the situation in both civil legal and canon law.

Monica

[RJ_Paton]

I don't believe a marriage can be annulled without the other party being informed and given the opportunity to comment/defend themselves    If they chose not to, the proceedings could continue in their absence. I believe this is the situation in both civil legal and canon law.

Monica

Service of Court documents is a strange area and in certain cases does not actually require the person named to be in possession of them - in some examples delivery to the recorded residence is sufficient even if the building is no longer there. (in others only the named person may be handed them)

Unfortunately in this case we have so little information to go on - it is possible that we have either a  "family story"  wilting before the facts or simply not enough facts to form a coherant picture 

[BushInn1746]

The marriage took place in England at the start of WW2 The bride was English the Groom ( my father Scottish) My father than went off to war in France and as I understand it, he returned to Scotland where his father (my grandfather than had the marriage annuled or made void. My father then met and married my mother in Scotland 1947. I then came along in 48 and we left Scotland and arrived in Australia 49. Meanwhile the English wife from what I was told believed my father was missing in action and wasn't told of the annulment.
Thank you to all who have made suggestions for me to search but to be honest I am still confused, do I search English or Scottish records

Hello

When your Father remarried (second marriage you say in Scotland) have you actually seen for yourself the wording on his Official Marriage Certificate (or official Copy you have obtained) as to how his first Marriage ended or reference to Marital status?

 ... Missing in Action ...

You have conflicting family versions?

In any research you need the official document/s the official Second Marriage Certificate to start from, not conflicting information from family members.

Do you know what your Birth Certificate says?

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Added
Twenty five years ago I went chasing off to London (200 mile round trip) with my Grandfather's names given me by my Father, returned with my notes and photo of Memorial and my Dad said he is not your Grandfather.

So I said to Dad, I want to see your Birth Certificate and my Grandfather officially had two more middle names!

One lesson learnt, is obtain and also check all paperwork yourself of your nearest and dearest.

Mark

[MonicaL]

As Mark mentions, have you seen the actual cert? It should show the status of your father at that time (bachelor, widower, divorced etc).

Before hunting for details on his first marriage and annulment, I would confirm the details yourself of the second marriage to your mother. Possibility always that events got confused over the years...

I think the 2nd marriage was in Scotland? If so, easy enough to find on the index before you order. Your birth certificate should also include date and place of your parents' marriage if you were born in Scotland www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

Monica