Cohu Family

[Raex83]

Good Morning ,

I am hoping there may be someone on here that can help , my maternal Great Grandmother was Reta May Cohu her parents Were Walter and Ada Cohu, She was born in St Peters Port and was evacuated with her daughter Sheila May Cohu, i think she was pregnant also at the time with my great uncle Stephen , She passed in 1944 in Halifax leaving my great uncle to be raised in a children's home and my grandmother was adopted , I am not entirely sure if it was a legal adoption or if the family my grandmother were living / staying with with just kept her , She had a brother Walter his name is listed on on her death certificate but i have discovered that she was buried in shelf and that it was the council who paid for her funeral not any family members ,My grandmother Sheila died at 27 and my own mother at 44 so absolutely nothing is know about the family i didn't even know that the family came from Guernsey until about 6 months ago i am looking to see if they may be any living relatives of the family or if any one has any family information i would love to know more about my family roots,

thank you for taking the time to read this

[CaroleW]

Welcome to Rootschat

There is this baptism for starters

Walter Harold Cohu b 28.11.1906 St Pierre Port Guernsey father Walter Cohu and mother Ada Louisa Tolcher.  Walter Harold died Guernsey 22.5.1964.  His wife was Ivy Maud Barrett b 1916 Kent died 1963 Guernsey. 

Son Roger Harold b 1948 died 2009 Guernsey
Son Peter Martin b 1950 died 2012 Guernsey

There is a tree on Ancestry showing Rita May was born to the same parents as Walter Harold on 28.5.1923 and died 30.5.1944 in Halifax Yorks

Her daughter Sheila May was b Guernsey 1939 and died 1967 Littleborough so Rita was only 16 when she gave birth

Sheila married in Burnley 1958 to Keith Lawson.  Keith died 2008 but there were several children born to that marriage whose details cannot be given here

[CaroleW]

Another tree shows Walter & Rita had other siblings

Reginald George b 1908 died 1910
Ivy Muriel b 1914 died 1919
Elsie Maud b 1910 - nothing else known but she is on the 1911 census

Both Walter & Ada were b Guernsey

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WS-RSR1

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4BCT-SZM

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X91F-GZG

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7JW-4GP

Tolcher

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4BZT-ZT2
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X91N-4RV

Service record for Walter senior

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVB2-L98T

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVB2-L9TX

[Raex83]

Thank you very much for the details of her brother , he was the one who registered Rita’s death I have found out in the last few days that Rita was given a council funeral which has thrown up a few more questions as her family clearly knew where she was when she died, my mum was one of the children of the marriage between Sheila and Kenneth , i will use all this information to dig a little deeper thank you very much again

Thank you

[CaroleW]

The uncle you mention was born June qtr 1944 and Rita died May 1944 so her death may possibly have been connected to childbirth.  Strange he was born Lancashire but Rita died Yorkshire

[benfromshelf]

Hello, I found the following entry in the Bethel Chapel (Shelf) burial register:   

No. 4414   
Rita May COHU
Shelf Sanatorium   
Buried 02/06/1944 aged 21yrs   
Grave No. G57   
Notes: Channel Is. Refugee

Shelf Sanatorium was an isolation hospital for patients with consumption.