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Hello there.
Brilliant finds there folks.
So - it seems my doubts were unfounded. Nearly didn't put it.
What a couple! Not boring anyway. I wonder if they cooked this up between them after they decided to go their separate ways?
jan

I think this is the first of the dodgy marriages:

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Dec 1905
CLEWES William John Oswestry 6a 1424
WILSON Sarah Elizabeth Oswestry 6a 1424
(Eliminated another couple on this page as they are together in 1911)

Then this under his alias:

Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Jun 1908
SMITH William John Stoke T 6b 418
SNAPE Sarah Elizabeth Stoke T 6b 418

followed by:

Surname First name(s) Spouse District Vol Page
Marriages Sep 1918
Clewes William J Morrant Romford 4a 1217
MORRANT Mary J Clewes Romford 4a 1217

I'm not sure which of his wives called Sarah Elizabeth brought this action:

Record Summary
Scope and content
Divorce Court File: 7627. Appellant: Sarah Elizabeth Clewes.
Respondent: William John Clewes.
Type: Wife's petition for divorce [wd].
Covering dates 1919
Held by The National Archives, Kew
Legal status Public Record(s)
Language English

Clews remarried Mary in 1921:

Surname First name(s) Spouse District Vol Page
Marriages Dec 1921
Clewes William J Morrant Romford 4a 1169
Morrant Mary J Clewes Romford 4a 1169

BUT - if this really IS the same William John Clewes then he was still legally married to Edith Lilian Bromley as he married her first. Would also make her a bigamist.

There were two chaps of the same name and similar age:

Births Dec 1883
Clews William John Foleshill 6d 469

Births Mar 1886
CLEWS William John Atcham 6a 686

I think I've found the oldest one in 1911 with his wife Lily, married in 1910. Also, found his service record which confirms wife and children and doesn't indicate any wrongdoing.

Also this service record:

British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
Name: William John Clews
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1886
Age at enlistment: 29
Residence: 77 Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury
Document Year: 1915
Regimental Number: 85623
Regiment Name: Royal Regiment of Artillery (Rga??)
Number of images: 3

When he enlisted he still says his wife is Edith Lilian Bromley, married 27/04/1903 Nantwich RO. Only child mentioned is William John born 30/10/1903 Crewe.

Looks like William John and Edith Lilian had a few children:

England, Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000

name: Lilian Doris Clews
event: Christening
event date: 29 Apr 1906
event place: Christ Church, Crewe, Cheshire, England
gender: Female
father: William John Clews
mother: Edith Lilian Clews


name: Beatrice Gladys Clews
event: Christening
event date: 15 Jan 1905
event place: Christ Church, Crewe, Cheshire, England
gender: Female
father: William John Clews
mother: Edith Lilian Clews

name: Arthur Reginald Stanley Clews
event: Christening
event date: 09 Aug 1908
event place: Christ Church, Crewe, Cheshire, England
gender: Male
father: William John Clews
mother: Edith Lilian Clews

name: William Charles Clews
event: Christening
event date: 15 Dec 1903
event place: Christ Church, Crewe, Cheshire, England
gender: Male
father: William Clews
mother: Edith Clews

Hi to one and all thanks for the info in the WW1 records for william john clews 1915 it states his wife as edith lillian clews formerley bromley address 77 abbey forgate shrewsbury regards eddie

Hi thanks for info still trying to find ediths parents regards eddie

Ive spent ages going through Births and can not find a edith lillian e clews any where so you coul be right abt the bigamist theory

Hi Eddie, Edith Bromley was most definitely married to both William John Clews and Edwin Hipkiss, both at the same time - Edwin's WW1 service records most clearly give her details - I'll send you a copy.

Whether or not the bigamy cases about William John Clews are "your" man or another of the same name is not 100% clear, you'd need to buy some certificates to determine that.

I can't see Edith for certain on census returns, so you might need her birth cert:

Births Jun 1885 (>99%)
Bromley Edith Lilian Atcham 6a 671

Jan

Never in the world!!

England, Marriages, 1538–1973

groom's name: Joseph Walter Smith
groom's birth date:
groom's birthplace:
groom's age:
bride's name: Edith Lilian Bromley
bride's birth date:
bride's birthplace:
bride's age:
marriage date: 27 Jul 1902
marriage place: St. Michael'S, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
groom's father's name:
groom's mother's name:
bride's father's name:
bride's mother's name:
groom's race:
groom's marital status:
groom's previous wife's name:
bride's race:
bride's marital status:
bride's previous husband's name:
indexing project (batch) number: I03053-8
system origin: England-EASy
source film number: 1702206
reference number: item 5 p 90

Source Citation
"England, Marriages, 1538–1973 ," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NN7J-1M4 : accessed 10 June 2012), Edith Lilian Bromley, 1902.

** I can't find this marriage on FreeBMD

Good grief - is there no end to this woman's story!! I have never seen anything like it.
Brilliant find!
EDIT no sign on Freebmd though, strangely.
Jan

Thing is Jan - I can't find that marriage in the indexes so perhaps it didn't go ahead?

I don't think they did marry do you? Seems a bit odd that there is a parish record though. If it was annulled for some reason, would the record still be shown on the index?

Looks like Joseph married later:

Marriages Jun 1908 (>99%)
EDWARDS Edith May Atcham 6a 1455
Smith Joseph Walter Atcham 6a 1455

Jan

Going back to Edith and William's children, I wonder why neither mentioned on census or army records that they'd had children die?

England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index: 1837-1915

Name: Beatrice Gladys Clews
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1905
Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1905
Age at Death: 0
Registration district: Nantwich
Inferred County: Cheshire
Volume: 8a
Page: 193

Name: Arthur Reginald S Clews
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1908
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1908
Age at Death: 0
Registration district: Nantwich
Inferred County: Cheshire
Volume: 8a
Page: 199

on william johnclews armey records its strange that he listed son as william john it should be william charles