Genealogy Chat

Keith ................


on ancestry .................


that's the only site where I have a sub other than my cheapie Standard membership on here.

I now realise that I am still missing a couple of sailings (at least?) for Arthur William Parr 1895 between the UK and the Argentine, let alone the details and the fellow passengers.

Robert Wells was kind enough to create a summary for me a while back, which I have now updated to highlight the gaps, sorry about the formatting, hope it's readable:

Arthur William Parr From To Ship Name
8 January 1920 London -> Buenos Aires Highland Piper
no record of a return sailing
12th February 1925 London Buenos Aires Highland Loch
5th October 1928 Buenos Aires Liverpool Highland Loch
30th November 1928 Southampton Buenos Aires Almanzora
10th April 1934 Buenos Aires Southampton Arlanza
11th May 1935 London Buenos Aires Highland Monarch
22nd May 1939 assume Buenos Aires? Southampton Almanzora
7th October 1939 London Buenos Aires Highland Patriot
no record of a return sailing
17th May 1945 London Buenos Aires Deseado
ABT 26 October 1945 Buenos Aires -> UK Rippingham Grange

I wonder whether anyone might be able to find any of the missing records please?

Records for arrivals in UK are only on Ancestry

Try a 14-day free trial to enable access

could this be him in 1924, with his names reversed?



UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 about William Arthur Parr

Name: William Arthur Parr
Birth Date: abt 1904
Age: 24
Port of Departure: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Arrival Date: 10 Apr 1928
Port of Arrival: Southampton, England
Ports of Voyage: Santos
[Rio de Janeiro]
Ship Name: Almanzora
Search Ship Database: View the 'Almanzora' in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Shipping line: Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
Official Number: 136353


travelling with James Parr, age 51

Address in UK:- 963A Middleton, Road, Chadderton, Oldham

Both Engineers

Country of last Permanent Residence:- Brazil

Country of Intended Permanent Residence:- Foreign Country



Think this one is NOT yours!


it is the only that comes close for the period 1920 to 1925

just a correction to one of the ones you have


UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 about Arthur William Parr

Name: Arthur William Parr
Birth Date: abt 1895
Age: 44
Port of Departure: New York, New York, United States
Arrival Date: 22 May 1939
Port of Arrival: Southampton, England
Ship Name: Almanzora
Search Ship Database: View the 'Almanzora' in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Shipping line: French Line
Official Number: 60


he definitely boarded in Buenos Aires

can't find a record for the period 1939 to 1945 ............... but it was during the war

Could he have joined the forces?

If so, he might have been on board a naval ship or transport back to the UK

Jacqueline's suggestion is a good one ................


you can take out a 14 day free trial with ancestry, which would allow you to do the searches yourself, and look at the passenger lists.


You do have to provide a credit card information .............. so make sure that you email ancestry no later than day 11 if you do not wish to continue. They do activate the charge to the credit card at midnight on the last day, so you want to ensure that you do not get charged.

Thank you very much for looking, Sylvia.

I'm pretty sure that the William Arthur with James is another branch of the family. There were / are a lot of Parrs from Lancashire and I have yet to find a link to them.

The New York link is useful, thank you. Of course there were very few "direct flights" in those days so looking for someone coming from BA might miss someone coming - apparently - from NY.

I'm coming round to the idea that I'll have to move to Ancestry and retain a low price sub here for the community. I'm putting off the Ancestry freebie until I can devote more time to it, ie in the winter; as far as I know you can only have one so I want to make the most of it when I can devote several hours a day to it.

I hadn't realised that the UK incoming records were only on Ancestry, thanks for that piece of information, Jacqueline.

AWP joined up in the second world war and your thought about a troop ship or similar is an interesting one. I remember reading something about him asking for and getting an assisted passage but I always imagined that that would have been on a normal sailing. I'll see what I can find, thanks again!

Does anyone know how the shipping lines "worked" then? For example, was there a fixed route - the Almanzora always left BA, called in at Montevideo, sailed to NY, and thence to Southampton. I'm not expecting a full tutorial ;-) but a pointer to information about how the shipping lines were organised would be useful, interesting, and appreciated.

If shipping route information is on line it will be found by googling

I wouldn't think it something that anyone would just 'know', although it is, of course, possible.

From reading my notes of discussions with my Mother and papers I found in my parents effects, I believe I have narrowed down one of the missing sailings to about June 1943 from the Argentine (Buenos Aires I would assume) to the UK. There was nothing to suggest it was a military ship, rather that it was a normal commercial sailing.

I've had a look using the Ancestry search (UK arrivals) and came up with only one possible related to Parr (no other details) in 1943. Might someone be able to confirm that please?

Anyone know whether it's possible to find out about troop ships? And, if so, how?

this is the one you've seen ...... it's the only one that turns up for me, anyway



UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 about Robert Parr

Name: Robert Parr
Birth Date: abt 1895
Age: 48
Port of Departure: Matadi, Congo
Arrival Date: 3 Apr 1943
Port of Arrival: Liverpool, England
Ports of Voyage: Matadi
[Freetown]
Ship Name: Silversandal
Search Ship Database: Search the 'Silversandal' in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Shipping line: Messrs Henry Tyrer and Company Ltd
Official Number: 162478



don't think he's yours!

Definitely not mine, Sylvia, thanks for looking.

Actually there was another one which was just "Parr", no other names showed up, who arrived at Liverpool. I'd discounted Robert. I've a screenshot of the result but there doesn't seem to be a way of attaching files in GR.

The search was arthur (broad), parr (exact), born 1895 (broad), arrival 1943 (exact), for broad and exact the "sliders" were fully left or fully right.

I suppose it's always possible that it's a duplicate record ...

I get no Arthur Parrs arriving 1943


Parr, no forename ....................

Robert Parr 48 abt 1895 3 Apr 1943 Matadi, Congo Liverpool, England

William Parr 37 abt 1906 8 Apr 1943 Bombay, India Liverpool, England

Thomas F Parr 33 abt 1910 12 Apr 1943 Gibraltar Liverpool, England

Parr 5 Nov 1943 Algiers, Algeria Liverpool, England


---------

Parr arriving 5 Nov 1943 ................. is a very bad image.

I'm pretty certain it is Geo. (plus,could be ) Wm.

age looks to be 30

address in UK :- c/o GPO, Poplar, London

Occupation:- Seaman (I think!)

-------

Name: William Parr
Birth Date: abt 1906
Age: 37
Port of Departure: Bombay, India
Arrival Date: 8 Apr 1943
Port of Arrival: Liverpool, England
Ports of Voyage: Bombay
[Cape Town]
[Freetown]
Ship Name: Mauretania
Search Ship Database: View the 'Mauretania' in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Shipping line: Cunard White Star
Official Number: 166267

Address in UK:- c/o Canadian Pacific S.S Ltd., Liverpool

Occupation:- Chief Steward

Country of Last Permanent Residence:- Canada


One of the Officers and Crew survivors from S.S. "Empress of Canada" .... all boarded in Freetown

Oh well,that's another one off the list! Thank you very much Sylvia. My hopes were pinned on the Parr no forename!

Grasping at straws, I suppose it might just be possible that he took the scenic route, because of the war blockades for example, and went via Algiers, but it's a real long shot!! Nah! everything is against it ....