Find Ancestors

On the advice (not out of laziness!) of Derbyshire Dancer I'm throwing this one open to you of infinite wisdom and fountains of all knowledge:- How to find my mothers half brother who may not even know of our existence?. John Parker bn1927 around the south London area was known as 'Nobby' and lied to get into the Navy. He served on the Ark Royal when she sank in 1939ish off gibralter. Post 1939 you have to be next of kin (which I'm not) to get the naval records. I have searched the Commonwealth war graves, put adverts on HMS Ark Royals homepage, adverts on Navy News, trying to find post on GR. He could be married, dead and anywhere in the country - with or without a family. Please help if you can xxxxxx

Do you know the exact date of birth? I would suspect it would actually be earlier than 1927............he'd have had to be a very advanced 12-year old to be in the Navy. Reg

Dear Reg I know he lied to get into the Navy and was the youngest serving member (rank unknown) on the HMS Ark Royal I am going on word of mouth from my mother that John was 15 in 1942 when the Ark Royal sank. His Father was Percival Charles Parker bn apprx 1883 (1901 census) who married (unknown date) Florence (maiden name unknown) and they were around the Croydon area.

is this the right percival on 1901? Albert Parker abt 1881 Rotherhithe, London, England Son Beckenham Kent Edward Parker abt 1853 Kingston on Thames, Surrey, England Head Beckenham Kent Frederick Parker abt 1888 East Dulwich, Surrey, England Son Beckenham Kent Leonard Parker abt 1882 East Dulwich, Surrey, England Son Beckenham Kent Louisa Parker abt 1853 Bermondsey, London, England Wife Beckenham Kent Percival Parker abt 1883 East Dulwich, Surrey, England Son Beckenham Kent was looking for his marriage in surrey, more likely to be kent if this is the right chap

I think he has to be older than that - they would miss him at school.

He's the right Percival Forgot to say that I have tried Forces reunited too. Elaine mentioned searching the electoral role - are these available online? if so where? x

The year of the sinking makes a difference........he'd have got in at 15 (1942), but unlikely to have done so at 12 (1939). I asked if you knew the exact date of birth, as there are several deaths in the period 1984-2002 on Ancestry for John Parker (with or without other forenames) born 1927. Reg

Electoral Rolls are not on line............and they are searchable only by address. Reg

Hi Dianna, Thinking further ..... IF he didn't die back in his youth, he would have been 76 on the 2003/4 Electoral Register, so chances are he may NOT have still been alive anyway. I think the 2003/4 electoral regsiters are on Disc ... which some people do have - but have to admit, I haven't actually seen anyone lately doing or offering lookups on them. There IS a 2005 Electoral Register available online ... BUT as Reg says, you do need at the very least a COUNTY in which to search for him ... and chances are you don't have an idea where he may have been.... it is rather expensive as well. The Electoral registers would be an absolute LAST resort, if you can't find ANY evidence of his death prior to 2003/4 with confirmation. That would be a tall order. Elaine ;-)

Thanks Reg My mother thinks his birth date was 1927 - I have found two births around that time for John Parker:- July (1/4)1927 John K Mothers maiden name Hill District Epsom Vol2a pg13 and 1928 Jan (1/4) John D Mothers maiden name Abbot Farnham Vol2a pg283. I will be sending off for both certs. Thanks for the info re electoral role.

Does anyone else know if there are any other stones I have left unturned?

Dianna, Do they share the same Mother or Father ? If Mother: then the MMN will be same as your Mum's mum. Elaine ;-)

They shared the same father. Percival and I have his family already. All I know is that his mathers name was Florence and she was a housekeeper for a Hall Hill House in Croydon area around the 20's. Have searched for this house and found nothing.

Just a thought growing up in London, everybody who I know with the nickname Nobby always had the surname - Clarke. I don't know the reason, could have been after somebody famous or infamous, anybody have any thoughts on this. Keith

Thanks Ozibird - that is invaluable info on all the certs I need to order not just the two mentioned here xx

Hi Just found this might be a connection or a red herring!!!!! Marriages Sep 1895 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gammon Sophia Esther Headington 3a 1401 Parker Percival Charles Headington 3a 1401 Cheryl

Thanks Cheryl - will investigate further x