Finding out who a navy relative is

[Silverhawk]

I have an airmail letter using a foldout format that was in use by naval personnel. It's addressed to my nana under her maiden name, I expect the sender didn't know she'd been married for a few months by then. The sender has the same surname, so I surmised they're family of some sort, the letter certainly has that feel about it and mentions one of her brothers. But it can't be another brother as her brother with that name died in infancy. All I really have to go off is what looks like a service number, the name of a ship and the date (in 1945). Is there any way of finding out exactly who this was and how they were related?

I'm not sure how much direct info to give out here in case the sender is actually still alive (unlikely if the sender was of similar age to my nana, but not impossible).

[martin hooper]

If the person joined the Royal Navy before 1939 you could probably find him by searching on ancestry or findmypast. They both have RN service records.

Martin

[Milliepede]

Could be a cousin with the same surname so from her fathers side. 

Have you researched your great grandparents family?  As you have his name that might be a good place to start with his father and if that person had a brother who fathered your nana making them cousins.

You could post the name of your nana and her parents so people could investigate this possibility.

Hope that made sense 

[Silverhawk]

If the person joined the Royal Navy before 1939 you could probably find him by searching on ancestry or findmypast. They both have RN service records.

No idea how old he is or how long he was in the navy before sending that letter.

Could be a cousin with the same surname so from her fathers side. 

Have you researched your great grandparents family?  As you have his name that might be a good place to start with his father and if that person had a brother who fathered your nana making them cousins.

You could post the name of your nana and her parents so people could investigate this possibility.

Hope that made sense 

I know nothing about this person save what he wrote on the letter. Without knowing how old he is or where he's from, I wouldn't even like to guess at who his father might be.

My nana's family is Hetherington (sometimes spelled Heatherington). Her father was born pre-registration in south-east Ireland. I get the impression that my nana was an unexpected child as they'd had kids every couple of years up until the brother closest to her in age, but then a stretch of 5 years before she arrived in 1915. Her mother was in her mid 40s, her father a decade older than that. I've had a lot of trouble finding out info on my Irish side, especially in the timeframe involved. Great-grandfather's name was John Hetherington, christened 12th March 1860 in Castlecomer, Kilkenny and the family resided in nearby Aughamucky.