Incorrect Marriage Certificate

[kathleencyork]

Hi,
Wondering if someone could shed some light on something for me….
I have a marriage certificate from 1940 which shows the male’s name with no mention of a name change and shows him as a bachelor when he was actually previously divorced. Also shows his father’s name as his own name. Female is shown as a spinster.
For the same couple there is a certificate issued in 1944 which mentions his change of name and  that he was previously divorced. His father’s name is correct on this certificate. Female is shown as a spinster again.
Do you think this certificate replaced the first, or that their first marriage was invalid or that they divorced and remarried?
Thanks
Kathleen

[Girl Guide]

Hhmm, bit of guesswork on my part here.

The female is shown as a spinster on both marriage certificates.  That would not suggest to me that their first marriage was dissolved and they married again. 

It could be that when the first marriage took place incorrect information was provided.  This incorrect information was discovered thereby making the marriage invalid and they married again with the correct information.

Were the ages consistent?  Say the man was 35 so should be 39 on the second occasion.  The same should apply to the female, four years older than the first time.

I'm not an expert on this sort of problem, Anthony MM is the one who would know more about this.

[kathleencyork]

Girl Guide,
Yes the ages are consistent.  The male’s occupation is different but I don’t think that’s relevant?
Thanks
K

[CaroleW]

It's likely the couple are now deceased - is that correct?

If so - you can post full details of both marriages which may help us to see an explanation

[Girl Guide]

1940 was during the war.  Was the male a soldier, sailor or airman?  I not sure of this, but I think if you were in the services you required permission to marry. 

How different were the occupations of the male between the marriages?

Have you found either of them on the 1939 Register?  If so what information is there regarding them?  Consistent with what appears on the marriage certificates?

[AntonyMMM]

It could be that when the first marriage took place incorrect information was provided.  This incorrect information was discovered thereby making the marriage invalid and they married again with the correct information.

Incorrect information wouldn't necessarily invalidate the marriage - but it really depends which bit of information it is.

The change to being divorced on the second record would suggest that the groom may not have been free to marry on the first occasion, which would certainly invalidate that marriage, and be an offence of bigamy potentially.

But to be certain, you would need to look for his original marriage record and then a divorce record probably between these two marriages in 1940 and 1944, and I would also look at newspapers to see if there was a charge of bigamy against him. Not surprisingly, there was a huge spike in bigamy cases during, and just after, WW2, as there had been, although not quite so large, in WW1.

I have a similar example I use in talks I give on marriage - a couple who married during WW2, both claiming to be widowed (they weren't), but then married again 10 years later, and in front of the same registrar, by which time they both had actually obtained their divorces.