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Nobody has mentioned that he could be adopted and given a new name

I have had a second read at the message where you state that the father was Harold Thompson.

I think it is quite possible that if the Registrar was given the name of the father as Harry Thompson when he was registering his son Ronald John Thompson's birth, he (the registrar)could quite easily have presumed that he was putting the correct form of the name .i.e Harold and not Henry-jl

Could it be that if his father's name was Henry that he had been called Harry and it was presumed by others that his correct name was Harold.

I have had this problem doing a family tree for a relative when being told someone's name was Al and they always presumed it was Albert, when it was in fact Alfred.

These things do tend to put obstacles in the way. So I wouldn't dismiss this Cardiff birth straightaway.-jl

The marriage.

Rose

Rose,

Are you refering to the witnesses of the divorce, ( there were none)

I have just been on the nationl archives for merchant seamen records and found the record for Thompson R J Born Cardiff 22/01/1927.
Closest yet. Checking this one out.

Philip,

Can you list the names of the witnesses?

Rose

I have the rcords of my parents divorce, and unfortunately no clues on them either. My mother was the petitioner but no correspondent named.

None of my siblings have second names that are surnames nor do they match to maternal grandparents.

I went on F M P last evening and paid for some credits only for the site to give me the wrong information I asked for and gobbled up my credits in one go. Just have to keep plugging away, may get a lucky break one day.
Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and messages.

I can't think of anything else anybody else could keep trying for you, Philip.

If you want to check out the departing passenger records and don't subscribe to FMP you could ask whether someone could do that, although it's a bit of a large undertaking. (I don't subscribe.) FMP may have a free trial offer you could use, to do that.

Nobody else is going to get your parents' divorce records, for instance. That's something you would have to do from the court where the proceeding took place, or wherever such records might be archived.

Hi Philip

I have been watching this unfold and a lot of good suggestions have been made.
Do any of your siblings have names that are related to your maternal grandparents? I ask this in the event that they can be ruled out. Do any of your siblings have second names that are surnames? If so they could possibly be your father's mothers maiden name. You don't have to post them if they do, you can contact me by message, by clicking on my name. There may be no relevance to any of the questions I ask, but better to rule out.

Regards

Catherine

I am having problems in working out how to access my thread apart from using the reply option, but I am still trying and I appreciate all your efforts and messages and ask for you to keep trying for me please. Thankyou.

Have you considered possibilities like

http://www.findmypast.co.uk/passengerListPersonSearchStart.action

THOMPSON R J 1927 M 1959 London Australia Sydney
THOMPSON Ronald 1924 M 1953 Liverpool Canada Montreal
THOMPSON Ronald 1927 M 1954 Southampton Canada Montreal
THOMPSON Ronald 1927 M 1956 Southampton Canada Montreal
THOMPSON Ronald 1924 M 1956 Southampton China Hong Kong
THOMPSON Ronald Adult M 1957 Southampton Canada Quebec
THOMPSON Ronald 1926 M 1959 London Australia Fremantle
THOMPSON Ronald 1924 M 1960 London CARD
(plus who knows how many Rs ...)

He was a merchant seaman, after all. He may have left and not come back.

?


The other suggestion -- have you seen the records of your parents' divorce? That might be a good idea; it could tell you, for instance, how long they had been separated, or, if your mother was the petitioner, whether a corespondent was named.



Heh, I see we were thinking on similar lines as I was searching around ...

Have you tried looking for your father's Merchant seaman records?
That might have a birthdate.
I know we searched in Southampton city centre and found cards which detailed the ships they served on.
Big bonus for us was a small photo on the reverse of the card.
I've no idea of dates covered or how much detail is on each one, - some contain more than others on the postcard size record.

Gwyn

Sorry guys, no memories, no photos, nothing at all!.
The only information I have is the information given on certificates etc, i.e my birth cert, mother/fathers marriage cert, divorce papers with names and addresses.
My thoughts were to match my fathers name given on my birthcert and his marriage cert (Ronald John Thompson) to his fathers name John Henry Thompson(deceased) given on his marriage(Ronald Johns) cert and work from there.
Once again to refresh, married 14th December 1948 aged 21 years to Patricia Mary Flook aged 22 years (03/01/1926) I have got every birth cert from 15th December 1926 to the 13th December 1927 for the Ronald John/Ronald/and Ronald Thompsons and none match with his fathers name so you can see how I am struggling.

Remember, the eldest was 8 at the time of the divorce, Philip was pre-school age, so if there was no contact after the divorce, as it seems, it wouldn't be surprising if there were no memories.

(Philip's mum remarried very soon after.)

Do none of you remember when his birth date was? Approximate time of year? Scribbled down in a birthday book? Star sign? Even which month?
Sorry, but something?

Oh, Philip did, bottom of p. 1:

"To be honest, of all the birth certificates I have obtained there was a Ronald John Thompson Born 22nd June 1927 30a Cowbridge road, Cardiff.
Only thing wrong with this one, like all the other 30 b/certificates his fathers name does not match the name of John Henry that was on his marriage cert when he married my mother. The fathers name on the birth cert reads Harold Thompson."

possibly:

Gwladys G P Owen + Harold Thompson Oct-Nov-Dec 1925 Southwark Surrey

I think I assumed that Philip had ruled out the birth since he'd got every conceivable birth certificate and father's name didn't match ...

edit -- the Burton-on-Trent couple seems to have had a child in that district in 1929.

Conversely, there is a Thompson-Owen marriage that might better account for the Cardiff birth:

Samuel W Thompson + Hannah J Owen Oct-Nov-Dec 1922 Bangor


But Philip likely has the Cardiff birth cert so he can tell us! ;)

Nobody seems to have commented on the Burton-on Trent marriage found by Sheila
Ronald J Thompson b 1927 Sep Q Cardiff (MMS Owen)
Marriage John H Thompson to Emmie Elizabeth H Owen 1924 Burton-on Trent
Emmie Elizabeth H Thompson B 1903 Burton died 1987 Dudley

Well, next thing to do would be to get yet another birth certificate. ;)

I just can't find any record of that ERJT after the 1923 birth.

edit -- ruling out this death probably because the birthdate is slightly off and it's a perfect match for the birth below:

Name: Eric John Thompson
Birth Date: 2 Jun 1923
Death Registration Month/Year: Jul 2004
Age at death (estimated): 81
Registration district: Teignbridge
Inferred County: Devon
Register number: 25DA
District and Subdistrict: 413/1A
Entry Number: 283

Eric J Thompson Apr May Jun 1923 Ipswich


Having the exact dob for the ERJT would make it possible to match / rule out deaths.