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Hi.
I am looking for information on Eric Ivan Rayner who is my wifes Uncle, we know very little about him.
He married Edith Emma Evelyn Tate on the 5th April 1948 in Portsmouth.
Eric was aged 24 years, and his profession is a Trooper no 1418678 in the Royal Tank Regiment .address is 150 Arundel St Portsmouth Hants UK.
Erics father Alfred Rayner is listed as deceased, but his profession was a Lieutenant Colonel in the South African Police.

His Wife Emma Tate was born in Portsmouth on the 17th June 1928.
The only child is Sandra Ann Rayner born 16th December 1948.

Edith later married Derek John Benjiman Archer in 1955, ( not sure if Eric died or they divorced )

Edith died on the 3rd December 1999 at Cheltenham, Sandra Rayner ( daughter ) married a Michael W Hovvels in Plymouth in 1972, but died around 2000.
.
I can find no birth of death records or other information for Eric Ivan Rayner, as his father was in the South African Police, I thought he may have been born and later died in South Africa.
Regards
Malcolm.

Where have you looked?


You refer to Eric as your wife's uncle.......she must therefore be a child of one of his siblings...................which one?

His wife's second marriage cert will include info about whether he was deceased, or they had divorced

Freebmd, Genes reunited, findmypast. ( Latter DaySaints family search.)

My wife is the daugher of George Tate ( Ediths only sibling ) born 2nd July 1923, his and Ediths parents were George Allan Tate and Edith Tate formally Wright..

So, he was her aunt's husband.......................... ;-) ;-) ;-)

How do I find death records in South Africa?
To find out if someone has died in South Africa, you can search the DHA Death Records Database using the person's full name and date of birth. Alternatively, you can search the Death Notices website, which publishes death notices from newspapers across the country.

Yes.
George Alan Tate Married Edith Wright 17th March 1923

Children
George Tate born 2nd July 1923 ( my wifes father )
Edith Emma Evelyn Tate born 17th June 1928

Thank you for the information, will try the South African Websites and or Erics army records to see if they contain any infomation.

Thankyou for your assistance..
Regards
Malcolm.

If Eric was in the UK forces you will have to apply to the MOD for his records. The National Archives at Kew are beginning to slowly release some, so check that before you apply.

Thankyou for the tip.
Regards
Malcolm.

Applying for military records:

https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-records-of-service

As far as I remember, my father's WW2 record took about 3 months to arrive, several years ago.
The website above now says,
"It can take up to a year for your application to be processed."

However, on the plus side, records sent from the MOD are now free.
They used to cost £30.

I suspect this fact is not unrelated to the longer processing time.

Thankyou for the information, I have applied to the MOD for Eric Rayners Army records, but may have to wait a couple of months.
I have also looked at the South African DHA web sites with no luck so far.
Regards
Malcolm.

So the second marriage was still in Portsmouth

As Edith married as Rayner

Maybe worth getting the cert to see what her marital status was then

Edit
They had one daughter born in 1956. Details on freebmd

Sadly this is the second daughter

Sheron Lesley
Register number A61D
Last name Martin
Entry number 193
Sex Unknown
Date of registration mm/yy 0102
Birth day 28
County Gloucestershire
Birth month 2
Country England
Birth year 1956
Record set England & Wales Deaths 1837-2007
Death quarter 1
Category Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Death year 2002
Subcategory Civil Deaths & Burials
District Cheltenham
Collections from Great Britain, England
District number 4791A