My Father who is now 80 years old, last saw his Father at around the age of about 7 or 8, could have been a little older. The only details we have is that my Grandfather was called either George O'Conner or George O'Connor and we believe he was in The Merchant Navy. My Father John Forrest was born in 1939 in Co Durham. He estimates he last saw his Father in Holborn London possibly in the year 1946/7 when he was 7 or 8, however, his Sister believes it could have possibly been a little later and maybe up to the year 1949/50. My Father's Mother, Martha Forrest was born in 1905, so we can only estimate an age for George O'Conner or O'Connor at being born perhaps between 1885 to 1915 or a little later? I am not at all experienced with researching historical records and if there is anyone who could kindly assist, it would be very much appreciated.
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Thread: Searching for Grandfather
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12-05-2019, 8:25 AM #1
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Searching for Grandfather
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12-05-2019, 8:41 AM #2
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Do you have your father's birth certificate, and if so does that contain any information about his father?
Please forgive the question, but with the different surnames, were your grandparents married? If they were then their marriage certificate needs to be searched out, because that will contain valuable information, not only about George, but about his father, which might then allow you to narrow down the search for George himself.
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12-05-2019, 9:00 AM #3
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Dear Meghan, My Grandparents were unmarried which makes it very difficult to trace. We do not have a birth certificate due to being uncertain of dob etc and George O'Conner/O'Connor was not named on my Father's birth certificate. It does sound like a long shot I know. I appreciate you responding, thank you. Shirley
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12-05-2019, 9:23 AM #4
Shirley, welcome to the British Genealogy Forum! Our members are friendly and helpful, but I have to admit that it's going to be difficult to pick one George from all the others without some hard data!
One thing that, as a Moderator, I have to ask. It sounds as though your father is still alive, do you have his permission to publish his information on the Forum? We have an "if someone is even potentially alive, their details cannot be shown on the forum without their permission" rule, which seems only fair.
You say that your grandparents were not married, yet you give the same surname for them both. Did they live together? And do you know what Martha's maiden name was?
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12-05-2019, 9:33 AM #5
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Thank you for your response. Yes, I have my Father's permission to research. My Father's Mother's name is Martha Forrest, maiden name and same surname for my Father
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12-05-2019, 10:34 AM #6
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Was your grandmother Martha F Foŕrest? If so I think that I may have found her in the 1939 register, which was taken in Sept 1939 and is a record of all people in the UK at the outbreak of the second world war. All the records for living people are hidden so you can't see your father's record, but immediatey below the record for the Martha referred to above there is a blanked out record.
That Martha was living at Field House, Barnard Castle, County Durham and was an unmarried housekeeper with pay on a farm and she was born 29 Jan 1905.
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12-05-2019, 10:38 AM #7
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I think that your father's birth was registered in the Middlesborough registration district in the April quarter of 1939, volume 9d page 736. Certificates can be purchased on line from the GRO at:
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/c...es/default.asp
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12-05-2019, 10:44 AM #8
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Where was the family living, Durham or Holborn? If Durham, do you know why they were in Holborn when George was last seen?
I think you've got an uphill struggle on your hands, but narrowing down a location might at least help a little.
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12-05-2019, 10:50 AM #9
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12-05-2019, 1:23 PM #10
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Meghan/ All, thank you so much for your assistance. Yes, you have the correct details for my Grandmother, Martha Florence Forrest! It is indeed a battle, as George O'Connor/ O'Conner was not entered on my Father's birth certificate. Now, the other gentleman you have found details for, it is possible he was a tenant perhaps, as many years ago people would have rented a rooms or have a studio type of flat within a much larger house or building. I shall speak with my Father later today to see if the name rings any bells and discuss further Martha's reason for the move to Holborn. Thank you so much once again. Shirley
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