I have spoken with my Father who informs me his Mother worked for The Newlands Hotel in Bernard Street and had Hotel accommodation at number 38. It is possible he may have remembered the number incorrectly but feels quite certain it was no 38 and Frederick Franklin does not ring a bell to him, however, he did say it is possible Mr Franklin was another employee with hotel accommodation. George O'Connor/O'Conner was apparently serving as Merchant Seaman so definitely wasn't always present. It is my Father's sister who is a couple of years older who remembers her Father was a Merchant Seaman. It is very sad having an elderly father who never found out what became of his own Father.
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Thread: Searching for Grandfather
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12-05-2019, 1:43 PM #11
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12-05-2019, 2:47 PM #12
We haven’t given up yet!
If he was in the merchant navy in 1939, it’s fairly likely that he was caught up in WW2 - a lot of merchant navy ships ended up serving in all sorts of functions including food carriers and troop ships. If anything happened to his ship, because he wasn’t married to your grandmother, the MOD would be unlikely to have notified her.
Commonwealth War Graves only have a George O’Connor aged 53, Merchant Navy, who died 8Dec 1940, was on the MV Actuality(London), son of Mr & Mrs JS O’Connor. He’s on the Tower Hill Memorial.
They don’t have a George O’Conner.
The problem is always going to be how to prove it....
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12-05-2019, 3:26 PM #13
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12-05-2019, 3:27 PM #14
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Hi Lesley, thank you for doing further research and to all the members who have responded so far, it is so very kind of you all! Sorry if I haven't made my posts very clear, my Father John Forrest was born in 1939 in Co Durham, he recalls last seeing his Father George O'Conner/O'Connor at the age of 7 or 8, so that would in the year 1946/47 in Holborn. My Father's Sister Brenda who is a couple of years older than my Father believes they were a little older when they last saw their Father, so I think it is safe to say George O'Conner/O'Connor was still alive and had visited Martha and the Children possibly up to the year 1950 in Holborn, London. George O'Connor O'Conner could indeed have lived a much longer life, but that was the last the children saw of their Father!
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12-05-2019, 3:49 PM #15
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The record set Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1918-1941 shows these as the most likely:
George O’Connor No R 57306 born Liverpool c1907. May well have been a Catholic.
George William O’Connor No. R 133521 born c1915 West Hartlepool
George O’Connor No. R 415186 born c1878 Liverpool
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12-05-2019, 5:33 PM #16
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Dear Jomot1, Thank you so much for this very useful and additional information! Would you happen to know where I can search further with this additional information? Is there a place I can contact or visit to check any records which may be able to further identify the individuals or could this perhaps prove difficult given I cannot show a direct link with birth certificates etc? Many thanks
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12-05-2019, 5:46 PM #17
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Dear Jomot1, I have just realised, you have mentioned a Frederick and Selina Forrest were living at the same address as Martha at some stage. I hadn't noticed this in your post previously as I thought it was Frederick Franklin. Very interesting, I will research the names further. Thank you for this. Shirley
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12-05-2019, 5:51 PM #18
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12-05-2019, 10:09 PM #19
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My apologies, I've just checked again and it was Frederick F & Selina Franklin. Don't know what happened to my eyesight there but I've definitely got my glasses on now!
I really don't know much about researching relatively recent merchant navy records, but the National Archives has a guide called Merchant Seamen Serving Since 1918 that may be of help.
The George O'Connor who was born c1907 seems to be in the 1939 Register in Liverpool with a wife named Christina. Ancestry has his occupation as Fireman Steel ?? but the second word is actually Mercantile and then I think Marine(?)
ADDED: The George William O'Connor born Hartlepool 1915 is probably the one who died in 1991 in North Cleveland, which includes Hartlepool. DoB given as 27 Feb 1915. I can't see him in the 1939 register though.
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13-05-2019, 6:00 AM #20
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I have had a very 'left field' thought, given the scant information that you have about your grandfather. It's not something that I have done with my own family tree but have you ever thought about getting your Dad to do a DNA test and put the results into a site such as Ancestry or Findmypast and see if you can find relatives that way?
The real problem probably is that they are not cheap and there is no guarantee of success, but your results would stay on their database in case someone came along in the future.
Helping you trace your British Family History & British Genealogy.
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