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I have drawn a blank after many searches for my father's side of the family... my father, Charles Arthur, was an only child to Charles George Hood and Thurza Naomi Smith (also known as Margaret for some reason). Charles George arrived in Britain some time between 1911 and 1918 and my father was born in Warrington in 1921. Charles George was interned at Douglas, Isle of Man during WW2 and died there in 1941. He must have Anglicised his name prior to arriving in Britain and because we have no record of this we cannot trace his German ancestry at all. I have been to the Isle of Man and searched and searched but no further information was forthcoming. If anyone knows anything and can help at all it would be gratefully received.

Julia - do you have Charles George & Thurza's marriage certificate?

It should give his father's name and it would be interesting to see if that had been anglicised.

Did he change his name my Deed Poll
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/changeofname.htm

Ellen

Under English law it is legal to change your name without drawing up any formal record, so it is very likely you will not find a deed poll.

From 1914 to 1952, all deed polls enrolled in the Supreme Court had to be advertised in the London Gazette.

If you are required to provide evidence of your change of name and you cannot find proof then you need to obtain legal advice from a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau.


Ellen

I cannot find a record of their marriage anywhere... there is no mention of either of them in the 1911 Census either! We only recently found out my grandmother was not called Margaret at all but was named on my Dad's full birth certificate as Thurza Naomi, which further muddies the waters. I cannot find any records for her other than my Dad's birth certificate, and on there my grandfather had his English name. My Dad was born in 1921 so they would definitely be on the 1921 Census but I am not allowed access of course. We really wanted to solve the mystery whilst my Mum is still alive... Thanks for all your help x

Do you know roughly when Thurza was born?
Jan

Is it right that Charles was 74 when he died? It's the only death coming up for him in 1941.

Do you have any idea when Thurzia died - and was it registered as Margaret if you've only recently found out her name?

As Flip says, this is the only death record on ManxBMD

Year Surname Name Age District Vol Page No
1941 Hood Charles George 74 Douglas 236 2643

I suppose having a child at 54 isn't really that unusual. On your father's birth certificate I presume only the anglicised name is given? What was Charles' occupation on it?

As regards your father's mother, do you know when and where she died? One thing to bear in mind is that although Thurza is a name in it's own right it can also be an abbreviation of Theresa. Are Margaret and Thurza Naomi definitely the same person?

Although Charles George may have been from Germany, are you sure that he was German?
Could he have been born of a British couple working / serving in Germany?
Have you looked for a marriage or birth of him in the overseas GRO index?

Gwyn

That's a great idea Gwyn.
Thurza is as much of a mystery isn't she!
I assume there is an address on your father's birth cert. Though a bit limited, in view of voting age for women being 29 at the time, no harm in checking it out on electoral register. Maybe even on 1911 census too just on the off-chance there is a link.
Jan

An Ancestry tree (I assume yours) has details of 'Thurza' as follows. No death record attached.

If this is right, she was quite mature when she had your father. I echo MarieCeleste's question - are Margaret and Thurza the same person??

Margaret S Smith
Birth 1882 in Edinburgh, Midlothian
Death 1968 in Wallasey, England, United Kingdom

1901 Scotland Census
Name: Margaret S Smith
Age: 19
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1882
Relationship: Daur (Daughter)
Father's Name: Charles K Smith
Mother's name: Ellen Smith
Gender: Female
Where born: Edinburgh, Midlothian
Registration number: 685/5
Registration district: Newington
Civil parish: Edinburgh Morningside
County: Midlothian
Address: 15 Woodburn Terrace
Occupation: Scholar

Charles K Smith 59
Ellen Smith 54
Charles K Smith Jr 21
Margaret S Smith 19
Roberta Hogg 17

Jan

I have suspicions that there are some gaps in the information that Julia has been given, it's almost as though there's a generation missing.

Some further input from Julia as to when and where Thurza died would help us get on the right track.

Regarding Gwyn's point about George being not actually German - Julia did say he was interned on IoM during WW2, not sure what made someone "eligible" to be an internee?

There's some info on this blog (wonder if someone lie that could help Julia?)
http://2ndww.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/isle-of-man-during-world-war-two.html

This is about an ongoing project to catalogue internees but the gist of it seems to be that many men's records were destroyed:
http://www.ajr.org.uk/index.cfm/section.journal/issue.Feb08/article=1012

I guess if Julia has been to the island during her search then that must be the problem she has encountered.

Genealogy Pages Isle of Man - Internment (WW1 and WW2)
Family History in the Isle of Man - Internment of Aliens during WW1 and WW2 ... from UK weekly returns of internees and POW's - please contact the Anglo-German FHS ...
www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/?famhist/genealgy/intern.htm - Cached

Germans Interned on the Isle of Man - UK PoW Camps - Great ...
The one remaining German internee on the Isle of Man is in Douglas Cemetery. ... large cemetery in the UK Midlands with about 5000 German graves from WW1 and WW2 ...
1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/?index.php?showtopic=10933 - Cached

Looking for records of internees | The National Archives
Browse our catalogue in FO 916 for Foreign Office files of prisoners of war and internees, including lists of alien internees. First World War internment lists (1915 and ...
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/.../?internees.htm - Cached
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