Relieving Officer Exeter Devon

[Mary Jane Craig]

My grandparents were married in a registry office in Exeter Devon in 1919. They both gave addresses as follows:

6 Park Lane, Longbrook, Exeter, Devon (Her) No profession given aged 19.
London Hotel, Exmouth (Him) Garage Clerk aged 23

The witnesses were G Bouch and W Bouch

Aubry R Foote was the Registar
Arthur Small the Superintendent Registrar.

Now here is my question..... when I searched for any relationship between my grandparents and the witnesses, W Bouch came up as Relieving officer.

I've done some searching and apparently that was a name given to people who worked within the Poor Law system. If my grandparents both gave an address, why would the Poor Law been evoked in their marriage? My grandfather had been living in Ireland in 1911 and as far as I know he was born there. My grandmother was born in Gloucestershire and her father had moved them to Devon where he died in 1911. The last I heard of that family the mother (my great grandmother)  was working as a housekeeper in a big house in Devon with her youngest child. Any ideas?

[CaroleW]

Have you considered they were just friends of the family?  They could also be recurrent witnesses on other marriages

Is this the same couple?

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XW97-91C

Georgina was nee Armitage

[Mary Jane Craig]

Yes, I think so. I suppose they could be friends but they were lot older than them.

[osprey]

With church marriages, you quite often find that one of the witnesses was the parish clerk. Perhaps this is the register office equivalent, quick search around for a witness so it's someone working in the same building.

 

[Mary Jane Craig]

That’s a good point. Thanks