The revised fee applies to all requests for copies of grants of probate, letters of administration, and wills held by the Probate Registry. It affects both initial applications and subsequent requests, including those for historical records. Whether ordered during the probate process or years later for research or legal purposes, each copy will now incur the significantly higher cost.

Implications for practitioners, families, and researchers:

• Those administrating estates should reassess how many copies are absolutely necessary. Multiple originals are often required to deal with banks, insurers, share registrars, and property transactions.
• Legal professionals and genealogists accessing archived probate records will need to factor in the higher retrieval costs.
• Some institutions now accept scanned or sealed digital versions. It’s advisable to confirm requirements before ordering multiple originals.
• Copies can often be returned after use – this may help reduce the number needed overall.

This near-1000% increase raises broader concerns about affordability and access to public records, particularly for individuals navigating probate without legal representation. It also places additional financial pressure on those managing modest estates or conducting historical research.

The last major change came in 2017, when the fee doubled from £5 to £10 following the closure of many public probate registries. As the process moved online and became less labour-intensive, the price later dropped to £1.50. The Ministry of Justice has now justified the latest hike in price as a reflection of the operational costs incurred by HMCTS.

This change is likely to affect a wide range of stakeholders – from solicitors and probate practitioners to genealogists, financial institutions, and families managing estates. For those managing estates or researching family histories, adapting early will make a meaningful difference.

Speak to our team about how we can help matters stay efficient, cost-conscious, and client-focused in the face of rising fees.

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What began as a curious garden find has now blossomed into a touching piece of local family history.

When gardener Adam Elshaw discovered a pristine letter dated 21st January 1955 under an acer tree in a Wolverhampton Garden, he had no idea it would connect him – and us – to a love story nearly 70 years old.

The letter, typed on paper from Ashleigh Court in Torquay, was addressed to JR Gwilt Esquire of Stafford Road, Fordhouses. It outlined hotel rates for a stay, including meals, and appeared to respond to a booking enquiry. How it ended up buried beneath a tree, untouched by time, was a mystery.

Or at least it was, thanks to the team at Anglia Research and the work of one of our genealogists, the mystery has now been solved.

After reading this article in passing on a train journey, our Head of Probate Richard Tinkler knew this was exactly the kind of thing we could help with. He passed the story to our Regional Head, Eileen Lavelle, who set to solving it.

The letter was written to John Raymond Gwilt, born in 1933, and it turns out it was part of the arrangements for his honeymoon with Barbara Mary Lawley. The couple married on 4th April 1955 and the timing of the letter lines up perfectly with their plans.

Their son, David John Gwilt, confirmed the details after being sent a photo of the letter by his sister, Jane via WhatsApp. He responded:

“I am absolutely sure my father was arranging accommodation for my parents’ honeymoon – the dates match up. I know that their honeymoon was in the Torbay area.”

David and his sister Jane were delighted to learn the letter had been discovered, as well as surprised at how quickly the story had travelled.

The address on the letter 501 Stafford Road, Wolverhampton. It matched that of John Raymond Gwilt’s parents, Major Harry Gwilt and Lily Gwilt (née Dalton), who were recorded as living there in 1939. It was the address of the flat above the family butchers shop established by Harry & Lily, John continued the family business for decades (photo below).

How the letter ended up under a tree in Tettenhall remains a mystery. It may have been tucked away in an attic and slipped from a moving box or van as the property changed hands. The house has changed ownership three times since David Gwilt’s parents lived there.

What is clear now is that it was never just a random scrap of old paper – it was a preserved memory from the early days of a marriage that would last a lifetime.

“Our parents and grandparents were very kind people, and it’s wonderful that their memory can be honoured in this way.”

We’re grateful to the Gwilt family for allowing us to share their story and to Adam for recognising the letter’s significance. It’s not every day you uncover a honeymoon booking from the 1950s in someone’s flower bed.

By Chloe Pipe

The post Lost In Time: A Honeymoon Letter Discovered After 70 Years appeared first on Anglia Research Services.

The film recently premiered in UK cinemas to considerable national media attention, including coverage on ITV News, and will now be shown in Suffolk.

The documentary recounts the tragic story of the Lisbon Maru, a Japanese transport ship carrying over 1,800 British and Commonwealth prisoners of war during the Second World War.

In 1942, unaware of the prisoners on board, a United States submarine torpedoed the vessel off the coast of Zhoushan, China. The film captures the harrowing aftermath, as hundreds of men were trapped below deck, and highlights the extraordinary bravery of local Chinese fishermen who risked their lives to rescue survivors.

Drawing on rare archival material, survivor testimonies, and expert analysis, the documentary offers a moving tribute to those who suffered and those who showed remarkable courage.

As a Suffolk-based genealogical research firm, the producers approached us to assist in tracing living relatives of the prisoners who had been on board. Many of the prisoners were drawn from Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk regiments. Our team successfully located families across the UK and as far afield as New Zealand. Several of the relatives traced through our research were subsequently able to attend the film’s premiere, contributing to the historical record and personal narrative surrounding the tragedy.

A special screening of The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru will be held at Offton & Willisham Village Hall in Suffolk on 11 April 2025, with proceeds supporting the Lisbon Maru Memorial Association.

Tickets are priced at £5 and can be purchased via www.ticketsource.co.uk (search for Offton & Willisham Village Hall) or by emailing bookings@owvillagehall.co.uk.

For further details about our involvement in this important project, please see our previous article about an exclusive screening in London last year.

The post Anglia Research Assists in Honouring WWII POWs in The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru appeared first on Anglia Research Services.

A BBC news story in early November 2024, reporting a dilapidated grave belonging to Edward Price had been restored by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), piqued the interest of our self-confessed ‘nosy researcher’, Eileen Lavelle, enough for her to look into it.

Eileen has been with us for over 16 years, first as a Case Manager and later as Regional Head. Before that, she worked as a complex caseworker for the Department for Work and Pensions and for many years in the local studies department of Manchester Central Library. After reading the BBC article, Eileen began researching the case on her lunch break!

Photo courtesy of COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION

BBC’s Paul Burnell reported that although the CWGC had completed replacing the entire gravestone (which had fallen into disrepair), none of his relatives were present at its unveiling because, despite their efforts, they had been unable to locate any.

Established in 1917 during World War I, the CWGC was created by the British government and Commonwealth nations to oversee the graves of soldiers who died in the conflict. The objective was to guarantee that every soldier received a dignified burial and memorial and that all graves were honoured equally, irrespective of rank or wealth. The CWGC operates under the principle of ‘equality in death’. Their responsibilities include grave maintenance of over 1.7 million graves worldwide, commemoration/war memorial management, record keeping and collaboration with international governments, military organisations, and local communities.

Despite an effort to find Pte Price’s family via records and an appeal by CWGC, none had been located.

Pte Price served in the Manchester Regiment, 11^th Battalion, the ‘Wigan Pals Battalion’, and was buried at Leigh Cemetery in Lancashire. This was known, as well as that he had a wife, Martha, and four children.

This case was local and important to Eileen, so she began digging.

I thought this was so sad that no family knew about this for a war hero. I resolved to use my genealogical skills to see if I could trace anyone.

I traced the WW1 military service record, medical record and pension record, which told me that he had married Martha at Leigh Register Office in 1906 and the names and dates of birth of their four children, a boy and three girls -Tom, Nellie, Maggie and Ada.”

Eileen Lavelle

Armed with this knowledge and after further research, Eileen uncovered 18 living descendants, most still living in the Atherton area. She contacted the ones she could, informing them about their Great-Great-Grandfather (or Great-Grandfather in some cases). Many had never heard of Pte Price, or knew of him but not his story.

With the consent of Pte Price’s family, we contacted Paul Burnell at the BBC. Paul followed up on the story with the new information we had gathered. It was published on Boxing Day 2024, the anniversary of Edward Price’s death.

The family now has a place to honour their war hero ancestor, and they are very moved by his story.

His great-granddaughter, Bethaney Lord, said, “I never had any idea of him—nobody in the family had ever talked about it. Boxing Day will always have a special meaning from now on and Remembrance Day is going to be a lot more significant in our lives.”

If you found this article interesting, you might enjoy reading these:

https://www.angliaresearch.co.uk/a-christmas-letter-from-the-western-front/

https://www.angliaresearch.co.uk/finding-next-of-kin-for-sas-men-of-ww2/

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Joe assured me that as I have no trouble talking for hours to people about the complexities and stories about intestacies when we go to conferences, it would be a doddle.

And having been inveigled into doing a webinar for the BEST Foundation back in June 2024, I couldn’t really say no, could I?

Anyway, I enjoyed myself doing that webinar and also a podcast for Money Carer, so I leapt at the chance of wittering on again about one of my favourite subjects.

There’s just so much to say and so many stories, from bigamous marriages, murderous parents to illegitimacy.

My favourite part of writing content for a webinar is choosing the case studies (all names and dates changed to protect the families). With each case I research, there’s always a story. Some were sad, some funny, and some almost unbelievable! Almost.

Talking about who is and who isn’t a beneficiary to an intestate estate, which I do almost daily to relatives, is really interesting. I’ve come to the conclusion that you just can’t take what people are saying about their families as the gospel truth. Sometimes people don’t even know that they’re telling you porkies, it’s just what they were told or assumed was correct.

Such as an elder child of six children not knowing they were born before their mum got married, they don’t have a father on their birth certificate, they weren’t adopted into the family or re-registered and so won’t get a share of the estate of their “brother” as they are a half blood sibling not a full blood sibling.

Half blood = 1 parent in common with the Intestate

Full blood = 2 parents in common with the Intestate

The lovely Lee Brady took my scribbling and made it into the thing of beauty that is my intestacy webinar you see before you today.

However…

Things don’t always go to plan, and unfortunately, we thought this webinar was a streamlined racing cycle, but through a technical hitch, it started off as a sit-up and beg bike. We did get it running smoothly apart from the audience not actually being able to see me. Not always a bad thing, although I had got a full face of make-up so as not to scare the horses.

Juggling a phone to talk into, papers and actually delivering the webinar was a neat trick but not one I want to do again anytime soon. We‘ve ironed out the wrinkle now, so any more webinars, “What’s that Joe? ANOTHER ONE???” should be plain sailing. There are quite a lot of exercise metaphors there; the nearest I get these days to being active with being up to my ears in webinars.”

The lines of intestacy are clear, but there are still myths and legends in the great wide world of common-law spouses, stepchildren and adopted children that need busting.

The webinar gives you some pointers and best practices so you can be sure you know the full picture of the family of the Intestate (or for clients of Court of Professionals – who may need a family tree for a Statutory Will).

Above is a 13-minute video with snippets of the content, but the full 52-minute video can be viewed on our YouTube channel.

The post Eileen Lavelle discusses her most recent webinar, Avoiding Inheritance Fireworks: Navigating the Rules of Intestacy appeared first on Anglia Research Services.

Recently we were featured in a short documentary surrounding the King’s Plate, produced by Your Southport about the extraordinary lengths our researchers go to get to the facts about myths. The research was conducted for The Atkinson, Southport’s home for music, theatre, art, literature and history.

In their collection, which holds over 3,500 artworks and over 25,000 pieces of social history, was a plate rumoured to have been used by a King. But which one? And when? And how did it come to be in the collection?

Watch below to find out.

As you can see, our work is for all kinds of clients and takes us to all kinds of places.

1. We don’t just look at birth, marriage, and death certificates; our research stretches to museums, letters, newspapers, archives, books, ledgers, company records, census records—the list is endless.
2. We can help anyone unravel a long-held myth.
3. We present all of the evidence, leaving no stone unturned. We might not be able to prove a story conclusively, but we will be able to guide you to your own decision.

To read the full story, see this post on The Atkinson website.

If you have a story you’d like to unravel, contact us at Info@angliaresearch.co.uk.

The post The King’s Plate: Our research takes us to some unexpected places appeared first on Anglia Research Services.

In an extraordinary turn of events, our research efforts delved into the remarkable story of RAF Second World War hero Flight Sergeant Peter Brown. Beyond the routine scope of our work, this poignant human interest story captured our attention, standing out amongst everyday stories.

Answering the National Appeal

We take immense pride in deploying our specialised skills to respond to a national appeal initiated by The Sun newspaper. What followed was uncovering a fascinating backstory that captured the nation, with global media extensively covering the funeral service that followed. Peter Brown was the final living member of the “Pilots of the Caribbean” who heroically served in World War II.

Research Connects Distant Relatives

In December 2022, Peter Brown passed away alone in December 2022 in Maida Vale, London, at the age of 96, with no known family.

Westminster City Council pleaded with mourners to attend the scheduled public health funeral, as no relatives could be identified through their initial search. In the UK, local authorities assume responsibility for the funerals of individuals who pass away intestate within their boundaries when no one else (typically the family) is willing or able to make the necessary arrangements.

The Sun Newspaper’s Campaign

The Sun newspaper picked up the council’s appeal for mourners, as more information came out about Peter’s past, they launched a campaign over several articles to provide the RAF veteran with a farewell befitting his life story. The campaign achieved remarkable success, garnering support from prominent public figures in the UK, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer.

As the story gained national and international acclaim, the council received many requests from individuals seeking to pay their respects, which led to the postponement and an upgrade to the initial funeral arrangements. Yet despite the global reach of Peter’s story, but still, no family had come forward.

A Hero’s Send-Off: Final Tribute at RAF Spiritual Home

On May 25, 2023, a full RAF funeral was accorded to Peter Brown at the historic St Clement Danes church, the RAF’s spiritual home in Westminster. Nearly 500 individuals attended, including representatives from our firm. The RAF took on the responsibility for the service as a nod to Peter’s exemplary service during World War II.

Reuniting Peter’s family for this dignified send-off was a privilege, a well-deserved tribute following the appeal that captivated the nation’s hearts. Proving that sometimes, going beyond just a job, and touching lives in extraordinary ways.

The post WW2 Hero Honoured: How We Reunited a Family for Final Salute appeared first on Anglia Research Services.

When it comes to researching & verifying family trees and the distribution of estates, one of the most useful sources of information is probate documents. Wills and probate records not only determine how an estate was to be distributed according to a testator’s wishes but also provide information on who they were, their descendants and what they owned. Throughout the ages, wills have been made for all classes of people, and accessing them can reveal a great amount of genealogical information.

Therefore, here is our guide on using wills and probate records to research a family tree.

Files in the storage space

What information can I find using probate records?

When looking through probate records, you can often find the following information:

• Information on the testator including their full name, where they lived and their occupation.
• The date the will was drawn up and signed.
•  Details of the testator’s family, including in-laws and grandchildren.
• Any property owned or leased by the testator.
• The date the will was proved. If probate was granted sometime after the testator’s death, the date and circumstances of their death might be included.

Where to find probate records

When it comes to registered wills and probate documents in England and Wales, you can find the original records in several places. Firstly, the Principal Registry of the Family Division (PPR) holds original will documents. However, all documents must be requested online as they no longer maintain a public search area. Secondly, you can find wills from before 1858 in the National Archives (TNA) or in local church records. Check the TNA Discovery website to find the locations for these local records.

Contact us today!

Here at Anglia Research, we are happy to help family members or Personal Representatives with any queries about probate genealogy research and processes. Contact us today for your free consultation.

Meet The Team Contact Us Our Services

The post How to Use Wills and Probate Records in Your Genealogy Research appeared first on Anglia Research Services.

All of our cases have a human story behind what may look like dry genealogical detail. Every life has its interest; its relationships, happinesses and setbacks. We were particularly intrigued by a recent case which revealed an intrepid tale of wartime daring and adventure.

On the face of it this seemed to be a relatively straightforward case, if there is such a thing! David Leitch died without a will in Wallington, Surrey, in June 2020 and his estate was listed by the London Borough of Sutton on the Government’s Bona Vacantia list of unclaimed estates. He had never married and he had no known next of kin.

There was no listed place of birth but we were able to discover that he was born in Newtownards, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, in March 1921. She also managed to locate his sister’s birth record, aided by the fact that Leitch is such an unusual last name. From this she was able to trace his family back to England and to identify a surviving niece, who is his beneficiary.

We then uncovered an article in the London Gazette, the Government’s official journal of record, for May 14th 1946. This revealed that Warrant Officer Sergeant David Duncan Patrick Leitch, of 408 Squadron, was awarded the MBE for his bravery during the Second World War.

David Leitch, who was living in Bristol at the time, enlisted in April 1940 at the age of nineteen. By March 1943 he was posted to 408 Squadron, where he held the rank of warrant officer and served as a navigator. The 408th was the Second Royal Canadian Airforce (RCAF) Bomber Squadron, formed as part of No 5 Group RAF, and nicknamed the ‘Goose Squadron’ after its insignia (the Canada goose is at home in Canada, England and Scotland; its speed and power of flight are indicative of the operational functions of the Squadron). It was based at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire.

On the night of 11th March 1943 he was flying in a Halifax, as part of a crew of six, on an operation to Stuttgart. The aircraft was shot down by a night-fighter over France and badly damaged. The crew baled out and landed near Vassy in Normandy. All escaped the aircraft but he and two others were eventually captured and became prisoners of war.

On landing Warrant Officer Leitch destroyed his charts and disposed of his parachute and harness. Resourcefully disguising himself in old clothes taken from a scarecrow he set off into the French countryside. He was taken in by local people from the village of Ville-en-Blaisois in the Haute-Marne department in northeastern France who provided him with food and clothing.

Escaping airmen were almost always reliant on the goodwill and bravery of ordinary people, who risked torture and death for the help they gave and their families faced deportation to concentration camps. Many thousands suffered because of the help that they provided to Allied airmen and their sacrifices are still remembered today.

If captured the airmen would be interned in a POW camp and could no longer contribute to the war effort. By escaping they forced the enemy to devote scarce resources to finding them. They also boosted the morale of the Allied Forces operating over enemy territory by proving that it was possible to get back. During World War II, about 35,000 allied military personnel escaped POW camps or evaded capture and made their way to allied countries.

With further help from local citizens David Leitch reached Ambonville, another commune in Haute-Marne on 14th March 1943, where he was captured by the Germans. He was taken to a military prison in Paris and from there to the Dulag Luft in Oberusel near Frankfurt. Dulag Luft ransit camps for German-captured members of the Air Force. They acted as collection and interrogation centres for newly captured aircrew, before they were transferred in batches to the permanent camps. Many POWs who passed through the camps spoke of the use of torture during interrogation.

Warrant Officer Leitch was then sent to Stalag Luft III. a Luftwaffe-run POW camp, which held captured servicemen from Western Allied air forces. It was set up in March 1942 on a site 100 miles south-east of Berlin chosen because its sandy soil made it difficult for POWs to escape by tunnelling. It is best known for two famous escape plots. The first which took place in 1943 was celebrated in the 1950 film, The Wooden Horse, drawn from the book by one of the escapees, Eric Williams. The second plan, organised by Squadron Leader Roger Bushell in March 1944, became the basis of The Great Escape, released in 1963. This much loved adventure film was based on a book by former prisoner Paul Brickhill.

David Leitch made his first escape attempt long before either of these plots were hatched. On 20th June1943 he was being taken by train from Stalag Luft III to Stalag Luft VI. He managed to crawl out of the train through a lavatory window and caught another train travelling towards the Baltic coast, from where he hoped to take a ship to England. However, after travelling nearly 100 miles, he was recaptured.

His next attempts were also made while travelling by train. In February 1944 he was being transferred from one camp to another and managed to break free for two hours before he was discovered and returned.

On 22nd March 1944 he escaped from a train again and was able to make contact with some French workers. They took him to their camp and enabled him to take on the identity of a French worker by providing him with a forged identity card and written permission to travel to Danzig (now Gdansk in Poland). He reached Danzig, but was recaptured when trying to board a Swedish ship there.

Undeterred by his previous failures, Warrant Officer Leitch made preparations for another attempt to escape early in April 1944, with the aid of Army and Navy prisoners at Stalag XXB camp. Located near Marienburg, now in Poland, 33,000 non-commissioned officers and privates of various nationalities including British, Poles and Serbs were held here and sent out to labour in nearby farms, sawmills, factories, goods yards and to cut ice on the frozen river Nogat. However his plan was frustrated when the Germans reorganised the defences of the camp.

Leitch’s final escape attempt took place at the end of April 1944. On discovering that the Germans were wiring the windows of the barracks he decided to act without delay and, having acquired some civilian clothes in which to disguise himself, he broke out of the camp. He remained at liberty until 8th June 1944, when he was recaptured. He was eventually liberated by the allied forces at Velson on the 16th April, 1945.

At some point in his daring series of escapes, David Leitch may have been assisted by MI9, (the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9). This was a secret department of the War Office which helped allied military personnel, especially downed airmen, evade capture after they were shot down or trapped behind enemy lines. Its best-known activity was creating and supporting escape and evasion lines, especially in France and Belgium.

By 1943 pilots and crew members, supplied by MI9 with escape kits, had a 50 percent chance of evading capture and returning home. More than 5,000 airmen successfully travelled along escape routes using secret codes and stopping in safe houses. Around 12,000 French civilians helped make this possible.

The citation in the Gazette speaks with great admiration of Warrant Officer Leitch’s “coolness and resource” and provides us with a lasting memorial to one ordinary man’s bravery and perseverance at a crucial point in history. His story is also part of a larger narrative of the networks of support which helped fight fascism.

His niece is very proud of her uncle’s story and is keen that he should have a fitting memorial.

The post Tale of a hidden hero appeared first on Anglia Research Services.

Sometimes the details on birth, marriage and death certificates present genealogists with a baffling puzzle of varying dates and changing names. In cases like these, it’s important to remember that a few missing pieces of information hidden in a different data set may be all it takes to get your investigation back on track. Here, Sam Watkin reports on a case that could not have been solved without the information held in military service records.

The case of Joyce Rose Butterworth was incredibly complicated, so bear with me as I try to explain it.

Joyce wrote a will, but the beneficiary of the will predeceased her and so her estate became an intestacy on the bona vacantia list.

According to her death certificate, Joyce’s maiden name was Rose, she was born on the first of June 1921 in Manchester and was the widow of David John Butterworth.

The Butterworth marriage certificate, when I obtained it, added the information that she was Joyce Rose Cotton “previous marriage dissolved”, that her father was Joseph Rose (greengrocer) and that she was 57 (so a birth date around 1922).

When I searched for a record of this previous marriage, the only one that seemed credible was for a Joyce Rose Saunders to a James Cotton in 1941. However, this certificate gave her age as 22 (so a birth date in 1919), and her father’s name as Joseph Saunders (greengrocer).

At this point I had three possible birth years for Joyce, and two possible maiden names. Finding her birth certificate would have been almost impossible if the Cotton/Saunders marriage certificate hadn’t also included her profession as “ATS” – with a service number included.

Auxiliary Territorial Service

The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) was the women’s branch of the British Army. It was formed in September 1938, just a year before the onset of World War II.

Initially, it was a voluntary service, with women performing clerical and catering duties. However, once war broke out, ATS personnel became drivers, mechanics, postal workers, telephonists, dispatch riders, military police, radar operators and much more.

After the National Service (No. 2) Act conscripted women into war work or the armed forces in December 1941, the number of women in the ATS rocketed and Joyce was one of many who enlisted.

Her service records are absolutely fascinating and, without a doubt, if Joyce hadn’t served in the ATS we would never have cracked this case. The information she provided on those forms all those years ago was invaluable.

ATS service records

However, there were numerous inconsistencies. Even within the records themselves, Joyce’s surname varies between Cotton and Saunders (never Rose) and although the day and month of her birth are consistent throughout, her year of birth varies between 1919 and 1921 (the two possible years of birth shown on her marriage certificates).

Fortunately Joyce served in the ATS before and during her first marriage, so the records name both her mother, Mabel Rose, and her first husband as next of kin, and provide addresses for them.

Better still, they show that Joyce was born in Macclesfield, not Manchester. This meant that we were finally able to locate her birth certificate: plain Joyce Rose, born to Mabel Rose on the first of June 1918 in Macclesfield. It turns out that she was illegitimate.

1939 Register

Using the address provided on the ATS records, we were able to trace Joyce’s mother on the 1939 Register. She was living with a Mr Thomas Ray. There were no Ray/Rose marriages that fitted, but we found a death certificate for a Mabel Ray, living at the same address listed on the ATS records and in the 1939 Register.

This revealed that Mabel’s maiden name was Saunders and we were finally able to track down her marriage to Thomas Ray. The certificate shows that her father was Joseph Saunders – the same name that Joyce used as her father’s name on her first marriage.

It appears that Mabel was never officially a Rose (at no point did we ever find her living with a Mr Rose, just Mr Ray), so it’s likely that she assumed the name for her daughter’s birth, or it was the surname of Joyce’s biological father. It’s certainly interesting that Joyce kept this as her middle name throughout her life.

Winding up the case, tracing the descendants of Joyce’s uncles and aunts, was a relatively straightforward task. But without the service records we could never have proved the claim. They were absolutely invaluable.

They also added a fascinating historical dimension to my most challenging, rewarding and memorable case so far.

(For reasons of confidentiality, names and other identifying features have been altered.)

The post How ATS war records solved a case appeared first on Anglia Research Services.