What is Bert's surname?

[halcyon.64]

Hello,

I bought a grouping belonging to a Royal Field Artillery serviceman by the name of Bert. Among the items was a very poignant photo locket with a photo of a soldier one one side and that of a young child on the other which included a lock of their golden hair.

There were some RFA insignia and one of the cards also bore that insignia. The second card is addressed to a Mrs B something. I have considered Blomer, B. Comer and B. Conner and none seem to fit. Bert could just be Bert but could also be short for Albert, Herbert, Hubert.

I was wondering if anyone here could decipher the surname. The address is real - 39 Swaton Rd in Bow East, London. Is it possible to look for addresses without a surname in the census?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Best regards,
Kathryn.

[Ruskie]

What an amazing group of items, in excellent condition! Wonderful.

Although there seems to be only one o in the surname, The brain fills in the blanks and I can see Bloomer.

I think I would be looking for a likely family in the 1911 census. You can do address searches on FindMyPast.

[halcyon.64]

Thanks Ruskie. I posted this on the Great War Forum as well and someone there told me that the name of the family at that address in the 1911 census and in the voter's lists into the 1920's was Bradley. They had several children including a Rose.

Another person pointed out that a Rose M Bradley married a Herbert H Church in the Poplar district in the June 1915 quarter. Poplar and Bow East seem to be in the same general area.

Unfortunately, the writing on the postcard doesn't match that overly well.

[Crumblie]

The transcription of the 1911 Census on FindMyPast does say Bradley but I think it says Bratley, I cannot see a "d" but the writing is not good.

[Mike in Cumbria]

I first saw this as Bloomer too - based on nothing much.
Definitely not Bradley or Bratley though.

[halcyon.64]

Sadly, I have to agree. I originally thought Blomer and then wondered whether the writer had just connected the B initial to the next letter which I thought was 'C'. I think this is going to be another unsolvable one unfortunately but it is a lovely grouping as Ruskie pointed out. It will display well in our museum but it would have been nice to work out who Bert and the baby were.

Many thanks for everyone's comments.

[ShaunJ]

Rose Lillian Bradley was still unmarried and living at 39 Swaton Road in 1920 per the voters list.

[halcyon.64]

Thankyou for that. A person on the other forum wrote this: The PC in post #1 definitely looks to me like Blom*. 1911 census has a Blomer family in Knapp Rd. Which is a stone's throw from Swaton Rd. In fact they could be neighbours via their back gardens.

I guess Bert could have been sending postcards to his neighbours? However, it's circumstantial at best.

[Ruskie]

Thankyou for that. A person on the other forum wrote this: The PC in post #1 definitely looks to me like Blom*. 1911 census has a Blomer family in Knapp Rd. Which is a stone's throw from Swaton Rd. In fact they could be neighbours via their back gardens.

I guess Bert could have been sending postcards to his neighbours? However, it's circumstantial at best.

This might be worth looking into. I haven’t checked the address yet, but wondered if there was more than one family living at that address when Bert wrote the card.

Was there a Bert Bradley?

I think the two examples of “Bert” look to be written in different hands. After My earlier post I noticed a couple of Blomer families in 1911. I was not aware of this surname.

Have you checked for medal cards or WW1 service records (though not many survive) for a Bert, Albert or Herbert Blomer/Bloomer/ Bradley?