L.M.S employee

[scotthiggy]

I am desperately trying to trace & gather info on someone, but have drew blanks at every turn.
William Hunter was a lift-attendant at the Glasgow Central Station Hotel around 1931-32. The hotel was at the time owned by L.M.S (London,Midland & Scottish). I have no idea where he lived or how old he was at the time....i can only assume that he lived in Glasgow and was born around 1915-1920ish.
Scotlands People, GROS Edinburgh, Park Circus Registry, LMS appreciation societys etc have all drawn blanks...any tips or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[joette]

Hi Scotthiggy & Welcome to TalkingScot.
Why do you presume he was born around 1915-1920'ish? I would always associate that type of job with a much older man.Maybe that's why you have been unable to track him.
What other info do you have on him-where did you get the info re his employment? I don't know if LMS or whoever took it over would have employee records from that period.
What info are you looking for?
Let us know if we can help anymore.

[scotthiggy]

Hi Scotthiggy & Welcome to TalkingScot.
Why do you presume he was born around 1915-1920'ish? I would always associate that type of job with a much older man.Maybe that's why you have been unable to track him.
What other info do you have on him-where did you get the info re his employment? I don't know if LMS or whoever took it over would have employee records from that period.
What info are you looking for?
Let us know if we can help anymore.

Hi Joette....long story,but i will keep it brief. My late father was adopted, and i only recently was granted access by Hamilton Sheriff Court ,to his original birth certificate. He was born in 1932, illigitimate, and his mother is the only parent named on the birth certificate, although his father is mentioned in a lawyers letter. ("William Hunter, lift-attendant, Glasgow Central Station Hotel") His mother was born in 1911, so i "assume he was born 1910-1920ish (NOT 1915-20ish as i mistakenly wrote in earlier post). LMS only kept records of railway man...NOT hotel employees. I would love to be able to find out more about William Hunter as it would mean me solving a 77 year-old mystery.
Thanks

[Tracey]

Have you tried Genes reunited ?

Long shot but if you search for the name mentioned birth 1910 +- 10 years presumed born in Glasgow there are 41 or if you do the same search but birth place Scotland there are 133 returns.
Wouldnt take as long as it sounds if you copied and paste the same message to all - i know that from experience !.

Good luck

[Currie]

Hello Scotthiggy,

If there had been a marriage, with the average male female age difference of about three years, maybe we could say that the father was born about 1908. However there wasn’t a marriage and there could have been any number of scenarios under which the mother became pregnant.

With the birth taking place in 1932, maybe the father was born somewhere between about 1910 and 1890 if not earlier. Although his name was mentioned in the lawyer’s letter do you know for a fact that he existed under that name? Was the mothers occupation noted on the birth certificate, was it in the vicinity of the hotel? Presumably she didn’t work in the late stages of pregnancy and received support from somewhere. It makes you wonder why she knows only his place of employment.

Under provisions of The Disabled Persons (Employment) Acts 1944, employment as passenger electric lift attendants and car park attendants became reserved for registered disabled persons. The registration of disabled persons was voluntary and had only begun the previous year.

Employment as passenger lift attendants, car park attendants, and the like, would have been in demand by the disabled especially after WW1 when there were so many with injuries as a result of the war and when employment opportunities were limited, especially in the depression years.

The following list is of all the between-the-wars mentions of lift attendants in the London Times where there is some extra information about the person. Although there are young men and women working as lift attendants just about all those seeking such employment, at least to the extent of advertising, are fairly elderly, or ex-military and/or disabled.

1919 – A 16 year old boy lift attendant; A 66 year old male lift attendant; Discussion that a one armed man may be given job as lift attendant; Ex Guardsman, age 28, desires job as lift attendant, messenger.
1920 – Ex Warrant Officer, age 54, desires job as lift attendant, messenger, doorkeeper.
1921 – Lift attendant, a girl of 15.
1924 – A 32 year old woman lift attendant.
1926 – A one legged man, age 31 , desires job as lift attendant; Engineer aged 24, one eye, one hand desires job as lift attendant, caretaker; Man, 55, desires job as Hall porter, lift attendant, telephone operator.
1927 – A 30 year old one legged man desires hotel work, lift attendant, messenger; A 35 year old one legged man, wants job as lift attendant, hotel work; Ex Army Sergeant, 45, wants job as commissionaire, lift attendant, messenger.
1932 – 22 year old lift attendant sent to jail; Crossword, 8 down, suitable name for a lift attendant, 9 letters.
1934 – Selfridge & Co., praise their lift girls and their smart and becoming uniforms.
1936 – 18 year old male lift attendant crushed and killed; Man, 26, one leg, wants work as doorkeeper, lift attendant.
1937 – Ex Trooper, Essex Yeomanry, desires post as lift attendant, hall porter, time keeper; Pensioned Postman desires position, messenger, lift attendant, porter, 6 medals.
1939 – 18 year old Irishman lift attendant arrested.

The best chance of sorting out this riddle would probably be the 1931 census but that’s a long, long wait.

Just some thoughts,
Alan

[LesleyB]

Hi Scott

Don't know where you are based but a day in NRH or Park Circus looking at deaths for all William Hunters after 1931/32 might yield the man you are searching for. His occupation will likely be given on the death entry - this supposes that he did not change employment however....

It is not a "quick fix", but it can be done as I have personal experience of a similar search. My search took several visits, but for something which I'd been told many times was impossible, it proved that it could be done, even with a surname more frequently occurring than Hunter!

Best wishes
Lesley

[SarahND]

Crossword, 8 down, suitable name for a lift attendant, 9 letters.

Maybe this is the clue! If we can figure it out, we will have found our man

Sorry, couldn't resist... In response to Alan's information on possibly handicapped WWI veterans getting jobs as lift attendants, I started slogging through all the WWI files on Ancestry to see if I could spot an injured William Hunter who worked as a lift attendant and was perhaps applying for a pension because of his injury. So many William Hunters! Haven't looked at them all yet, but so far no luck Will keep looking... Do let me know if you've already been down this road, in which case I'll be pleased to stop looking

Regards,
Sarah

[joette]

I was also wondering about Poor Law Applications or were they a thing of the past by then?
I know there is something about my orphaned Great-Aunt around 1927 but was not allowed to look at it as I couldn't prove her death-she died in England so I don't have her death certificate.
I have a similar problem as Scotthiggy.I know my war-injured Grandfather had a son born between 1903-1926.The child was named after him but not registered with his name.I have no idea of the Mother's name or where the child was born-my Grandfather was in the Army serving in SA,Gold Coast & I think signed on in Perth(he was under-age) although living in Midlothian.
I have checked the NAS catalogue but there are so many John Scotts being sued for paternity that it's like a needle in a haystack.My Granny always presumed he acknowledged the child willingly(she had two illegitimate children & he was for ever accusing her of seeing their Fathers-despite the fact they were both in Canada/USA) but I think the fact he was maintaining this child despite the dire financial struggle my Grandparents were having makes me think it was a court enforced order rather than a voluntary one.I know Granny was incandescent with rage especially as he & my Father were named John after their Father.Actually if he was still maintaning the child after their marriage that narrows the birth down to after he was injured in 1917.Unless it was a leave thing but I'm sure he spent 1914-1917 in France without home leave.
Anyway if the Courts were involved there may be something at NAS with more info on him.

[scotthiggy]

Thank you TRACEY,CURRIE,LESLEYB,SARAHND & JOETTE. I am gob smacked at the help and interest everyone is showing.
I have indeed spent many an afternoon In Park Circus, but there are too many William Hunters who could possibly fit the bill...plus I have no idea of his D.O.B or residences. I did manage to trace my father's birth mother (who is amazingly still alive at 98 years old) but she has dementia and she has no living relations who would remember.
Another visit to Park Circus beckons, but I might have to take a few days off work, rather than the odd afternoon!

Thanks again

[SarahND]

Anyway if the Courts were involved there may be something at NAS with more info on him.

Joette is right. Since you have a letter from a lawyer, it sounds as though the courts were involved. Have you searched the online catalogue at NAS? http://www.nas.gov.uk/onlineCatalogue/
I put in William Hunter as a phrase and dates between 1930 and 1935 and came up with 29 hits. A number of these are divorces (could he have been married and his wife subsequently sued him for divorce?) There were also two that appeared to be women suing William Hunter for payment. You would recognize whether either of the names are those of your grandmother. If not, you could always order the various divorces ahead of time and go to NAS for the day to look through them. Many of these types of records are held at West Register House in Charlotte Square, rather than the Princes Street location, so check in advance to be sure. I'm saying this since judging by your posts on other forums you appear to be in Scotland.

All the best,
Sarah