Find Ancestors

Just look what you triggered, LondonBelle! :-D

My father was adopted through Barnardo's I think he was 3 .

:-D :-D :-D Kucinta

Wayne, have you tried contacting Barnardo's?

Did Barnardos have any records for your father? Wonder if Edith kept him for a while.

Also in the 30th July 1937 article where Bessie Norvell, father George, and Joseph Wilfred Burrows went 'shopping' in M&S, there was reference to a fourth person, a woman, who had been taken into custody at the same time as the others, but had absconded from her bail.

In his testimony, Joseph Burrows, who did later marry Florence Norvell, makes reference to his 'wife', in relation to the incident, which would indicate she was the woman who had absconded.

Assuming by 'wife', he meant Florence , and certainly by the 1939 register they were living together under his name, and given Florence's predilection for doing a runner, and given this was 4 - 5 months before the birth of Anthony R Newell later Anthony Rex Burrows in Amersham, could she actually be Anthony's biological mother?

Anthony appears to be a closed record in 1939, and is certainly not with Florence and Joseph/Jack Burrows in 1939.

Could he be one of the two closed records with George, Edith and Rose Norvell in 1939? One record is almost certainly Winnie, but who is the other? Was Anthony brought up by family for a while, before being 'adopted' by his own biological parents?

Or maybe another sister accompanied Florence in her flight from justice, and was actually the biological mother of Anthony. If birth certs weren't so pricey, I would be tempted to buy that one just to satisfy my own curiosity.

Looks like Florence was with Joseph at least by 1936, as I have found another article in the Thanet Advertiser April 1936 where Joseph Wilfred Burrows and Florence Norvell alias Mrs Burrows, are charged with stealing.

Will snip and send to Wayne.

Rather sadly, the same couple are again charged with shoplifting in Dover in 1947, along with a 10 yr old boy. There is a bit of a potted history of Joseph Burrows. Joseph and Florence were both sentenced to 3 months hard labour.

I wonder if the 10 year old boy was Anthony?

That's exactly what I wondered, Londonbelle, and from the article, I suspect it very well might be. :-(

Anthony Rex was born Norvell, but died as Burrows.

But there's no amended birth reg - so it was just an unofficial "adoption" by relatives

I really do wonder, given her flight from justice a few months before his birth, if he is Florence's biological son. She wasn't legally married to Jack/Joseph at that point.

There is no corresponding birth index entry under Burrows though.

Maybe the 'adoption' was her taking him back after he had been cared for by other members of her family?

Or, as I said earlier, maybe a pregnant sister fled with her, killing two birds with one stone. Amersham seems a little off the Norvell usual stomping grounds, and Florence had a history of running off.

I think the next step is to contact Barnardo's as her address was lodging house nothing
Solid.
Thankyou

Just found another article, in 1938, where Florence is sentenced to 6 months hard labour for shoplifting. In the name of Norvell.

Accomplice was an Arthur Gray, who was living at the same address. Her address is Beverley Rd, where George, Rose, Edith and 2 closed records were in 1939.

The Barnardos archive service is apparently closed because of the covid situation, but you can download the enquiry forms.

https://www.barnardos.org.uk/former-barnardos-children

Don't know if this entry in a list of foreigners granted naturalisation refers to Edith's second husband or not -

Drezins, Valentine ; Latvia ; Merchant Seaman ; 17Lustre Street, off West Lane, Keighley, Yorkshire.12th October 1961.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/42610/page/1687/data.pdf


NATURALISATION
List of Aliens to whom Certificates of Naturalisation have 'been granted by the Secretary of State and whose Oaths of Allegiance have been registered in the Home Office during the month of January 1962.The date in each case is the date of naturalisation.