I have run into an odd problem. The GRO cannot locate my parents' marriage certificate. Now before you smile and wink, I know that they were married but I don't know exactly where and when. The marriage took place in 1939 or 1940 in the south of England possibly Bournemouth, Dorset or Fareham, Hampshire. The family emigrated to Canada in 1957 and proof of marriage would have been essential in the application process and for the issue of British passports. Is it possible that records were destroyed during the war and the information not recovered. How do I go about checking such a thing? Thanks for any suggestions.
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Thread: No Marriage Certificate at GRO
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07-03-2013, 8:21 PM #1eyendallGuest
No Marriage Certificate at GRO
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07-03-2013, 8:29 PM #2Jan1954Guest
Hello eyendall and welcome to Brit-Gen.
Could either of your parents have used first names with which you were not familiar? For example, a John George could have been George John or even Nell could have been Eleanor or Helen.
Another possibility is that your mother may have been known by a different surname if she had either been married before or used a step-father's surname.
Not everyone has it, but do you have a copy of your own birth certificate? If so, are the names on it different to those by which you have known your parents? Have you searched using spelling variations? For example, one of my family names is MILSTED but it has been recorded as MILLSTEAD, MILSTEAD etc.
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07-03-2013, 9:13 PM #3MarkJGuest
Yep, I am with Jan - probably either spelling or different arrangement of first names.
When ordering from the GRO, less is best - if you specify each detail, then the GRO will only send the certificate if all those details match exactly.
Perhaps you could post the details of your parents here (assuming they are no longer with us) and we can see if members will be able to find them.
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07-03-2013, 9:54 PM #4eyendallGuest
Thanks Mark and Jan
My mother Joan Whiting b 28-10-18 Fareham, Hants; and father Arthur Yendall b 05-04-10 Alphington, Devon.
My father went by the name Jack but Arthur is on my birth certificate. I have searched under both names.
They may have been married on April 01 as my mother once said that the joke was on her!
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07-03-2013, 10:26 PM #5MarkJGuest
I can't find them either. I tried all sorts of combinations with no luck. Strange - but occasionally a record slips under the radar for some reason. I have a couple where I can't find the marriage - and I am pretty certain they married as he was a Methodist Sunday School teacher...
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07-03-2013, 10:30 PM #6
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- Sep 2005
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You might have to contact the local registery offices and see what they have - they would send their returns to the GRO who then compile the index, but I have heard of discrepancies between the two.
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07-03-2013, 11:30 PM #7Lizzy9Guest
I can see your mother with four children on the 'Arosa Star' departed from Southampton 28 Mar 1957, destination Halifax. Have you found your father on a passenger list?
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07-03-2013, 11:50 PM #8NicolinaGuest
this is a puzzling one because you say that your father was Arthur but went by the name of Jack, yet on the 1911 Census for Alphington, Devon (RG14PN12631 RG78PN726 RD270 SD5 ED1 SN10) there is Arthur born about 1910 with a brother called Jack born about 1902.
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08-03-2013, 1:19 AM #9
- Join Date
- Feb 2008
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- South Australia
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Electoral registers.
Arthur & Joan Whiting at 181 Holtwhites Hill Enfield west 1949/50 along with Sarah Whiting. Also another couple Percy C & Winifred M Lawrence.Happy Families
Wendy
Count your Blessings, they'll all add up in the end.
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08-03-2013, 1:23 AM #10
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