GI Marriages

[gengeek]

Hello all,

A number of my fathers Aunts met up with and married American GI's during the war and emigrated. How would I go about finding them when I have no idea of their married names? I am assuming this all took place in 1940/50's

Thanks

[Pam Downes]

Hi Claire,
I would think that your only hope is that your father's aunts had a not-too-common surname, and first names that were a little out of the ordinary such as Hepzibah, Patience, and Dorcas. Marrying in their home town would be a bonus.
That way, although it's a bit of a chore, you could work your way through the GRO Index for say 1940-1955 and with a bit of luck would only find one instance of each name so you would know it was them. For that time period the spouse's surname is listed, so you could then refer to that and you would find the first name. With a bit of luck if someone in the family has their memory jogged they might remember that Hepzibah married Hank someone. The marriage certificates might give a clue as to which army unit the hubby was based in, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Depending on the year, there might be a report of the marriage in the local paper.
Also if any of the aunts returned to the UK for a visit, there may have been a report in the local paper about the visit.
Pam