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That couple I was looking at ... oddments ...

Births Mar 1900
Thompson Alfred William J W. Ham 4a 66

Births Jun 1900 ?
Neal Lilian Maud Stepney 1c 392

Alfred W J Thompson + Lilian M Neal Jul-Aug-Sep 1919 Lewisham Kent

Alfred W J Thompson + Lilian M Neal Jul-Aug-Sep 1923 East Stonehouse Devon


only the one apparent birth to the marriage.

And it looks like Alfred married again ... there is no other AWJT birth to account for the marriage:

Marriages Jun 1943
Connolly Patricia M Thompson Poplar 1c
Thompson Alfred W J Connolly Poplar 1c 404
- mistranscribed as Albert by Ancestry

with a birth in 1946 possibly. PMC probably born 1920 Poplar.

Can't find a death for either one ...


Just thinking that this sort of background could account for not knowing one's father's name accurately.

It's also possible that Ronald simply lied about his age if he hadn't told your mum he was older than her.


-edit-

Hm - this seems to be the AWJT who married in 1943:

Name: Alfred William J Thompson
Birth Date: 25 Jan 1920
Death Registration Month/Year: Mar 1988
Age at death (estimated): 68
Registration district: Hackney
Inferred County: London
Volume: 12
Page: 1374

but ... there is no birth to match. Two Alfred Ws in Q1 1920 (no Alfred J):

Alfred H W Thompson Jan Feb Mar 1920 W Ham mother Hogg
Alfred W Thompson Apr May Jun 1920 Lambeth mother Gibson


I'm still really curious about this one.

Unfortunately none of us ever spoke about my father to my mother. She neither offered any information, I suppose on the basis that we never asked. pretty much the same now,in as much that my elder brother knows I am looking but doesn't know or is not saying much either.

Any thoughts about Eric RJ?

It's just that his parents are a little odd that makes me think about him, there having to be some reason why the info on your parents' marriage certificate (age, father's name) just doesn't pan out.

I see bogus names around every corner, as everyone here can tell you, having such a plethora of them in my own families. ;)

Don't know what to think about Eric RJ at the moment, my head is spinning, can't understand why as you say, things just don't pan out.

Don't know what to think about Eric RJ at the moment, my head is spinning, can't understand why as you say, things just don't pan out.

Well, next thing to do would be to get yet another birth certificate. ;)

I just can't find any record of that ERJT after the 1923 birth.

edit -- ruling out this death probably because the birthdate is slightly off and it's a perfect match for the birth below:

Name: Eric John Thompson
Birth Date: 2 Jun 1923
Death Registration Month/Year: Jul 2004
Age at death (estimated): 81
Registration district: Teignbridge
Inferred County: Devon
Register number: 25DA
District and Subdistrict: 413/1A
Entry Number: 283

Eric J Thompson Apr May Jun 1923 Ipswich


Having the exact dob for the ERJT would make it possible to match / rule out deaths.

Nobody seems to have commented on the Burton-on Trent marriage found by Sheila
Ronald J Thompson b 1927 Sep Q Cardiff (MMS Owen)
Marriage John H Thompson to Emmie Elizabeth H Owen 1924 Burton-on Trent
Emmie Elizabeth H Thompson B 1903 Burton died 1987 Dudley

I think I assumed that Philip had ruled out the birth since he'd got every conceivable birth certificate and father's name didn't match ...

edit -- the Burton-on-Trent couple seems to have had a child in that district in 1929.

Conversely, there is a Thompson-Owen marriage that might better account for the Cardiff birth:

Samuel W Thompson + Hannah J Owen Oct-Nov-Dec 1922 Bangor


But Philip likely has the Cardiff birth cert so he can tell us! ;)

Oh, Philip did, bottom of p. 1:

"To be honest, of all the birth certificates I have obtained there was a Ronald John Thompson Born 22nd June 1927 30a Cowbridge road, Cardiff.
Only thing wrong with this one, like all the other 30 b/certificates his fathers name does not match the name of John Henry that was on his marriage cert when he married my mother. The fathers name on the birth cert reads Harold Thompson."

possibly:

Gwladys G P Owen + Harold Thompson Oct-Nov-Dec 1925 Southwark Surrey

Do none of you remember when his birth date was? Approximate time of year? Scribbled down in a birthday book? Star sign? Even which month?
Sorry, but something?

Remember, the eldest was 8 at the time of the divorce, Philip was pre-school age, so if there was no contact after the divorce, as it seems, it wouldn't be surprising if there were no memories.

(Philip's mum remarried very soon after.)

Sorry guys, no memories, no photos, nothing at all!.
The only information I have is the information given on certificates etc, i.e my birth cert, mother/fathers marriage cert, divorce papers with names and addresses.
My thoughts were to match my fathers name given on my birthcert and his marriage cert (Ronald John Thompson) to his fathers name John Henry Thompson(deceased) given on his marriage(Ronald Johns) cert and work from there.
Once again to refresh, married 14th December 1948 aged 21 years to Patricia Mary Flook aged 22 years (03/01/1926) I have got every birth cert from 15th December 1926 to the 13th December 1927 for the Ronald John/Ronald/and Ronald Thompsons and none match with his fathers name so you can see how I am struggling.

Have you tried looking for your father's Merchant seaman records?
That might have a birthdate.
I know we searched in Southampton city centre and found cards which detailed the ships they served on.
Big bonus for us was a small photo on the reverse of the card.
I've no idea of dates covered or how much detail is on each one, - some contain more than others on the postcard size record.

Gwyn

Have you considered possibilities like

http://www.findmypast.co.uk/passengerListPersonSearchStart.action

THOMPSON R J 1927 M 1959 London Australia Sydney
THOMPSON Ronald 1924 M 1953 Liverpool Canada Montreal
THOMPSON Ronald 1927 M 1954 Southampton Canada Montreal
THOMPSON Ronald 1927 M 1956 Southampton Canada Montreal
THOMPSON Ronald 1924 M 1956 Southampton China Hong Kong
THOMPSON Ronald Adult M 1957 Southampton Canada Quebec
THOMPSON Ronald 1926 M 1959 London Australia Fremantle
THOMPSON Ronald 1924 M 1960 London CARD
(plus who knows how many Rs ...)

He was a merchant seaman, after all. He may have left and not come back.

?


The other suggestion -- have you seen the records of your parents' divorce? That might be a good idea; it could tell you, for instance, how long they had been separated, or, if your mother was the petitioner, whether a corespondent was named.



Heh, I see we were thinking on similar lines as I was searching around ...

I am having problems in working out how to access my thread apart from using the reply option, but I am still trying and I appreciate all your efforts and messages and ask for you to keep trying for me please. Thankyou.

Hi Philip

I have been watching this unfold and a lot of good suggestions have been made.
Do any of your siblings have names that are related to your maternal grandparents? I ask this in the event that they can be ruled out. Do any of your siblings have second names that are surnames? If so they could possibly be your father's mothers maiden name. You don't have to post them if they do, you can contact me by message, by clicking on my name. There may be no relevance to any of the questions I ask, but better to rule out.

Regards

Catherine

I can't think of anything else anybody else could keep trying for you, Philip.

If you want to check out the departing passenger records and don't subscribe to FMP you could ask whether someone could do that, although it's a bit of a large undertaking. (I don't subscribe.) FMP may have a free trial offer you could use, to do that.

Nobody else is going to get your parents' divorce records, for instance. That's something you would have to do from the court where the proceeding took place, or wherever such records might be archived.

I have the rcords of my parents divorce, and unfortunately no clues on them either. My mother was the petitioner but no correspondent named.

None of my siblings have second names that are surnames nor do they match to maternal grandparents.

I went on F M P last evening and paid for some credits only for the site to give me the wrong information I asked for and gobbled up my credits in one go. Just have to keep plugging away, may get a lucky break one day.
Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and messages.

Philip,

Can you list the names of the witnesses?

Rose

I have just been on the nationl archives for merchant seamen records and found the record for Thompson R J Born Cardiff 22/01/1927.
Closest yet. Checking this one out.