Percy Joseph West

[AileenA]

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping someone can help trace Percy Joseph West, he was born on 29th April 1899 in St Pancras London, I found his birth record on ancestry. He died in Hillington Greater London aged 95 in 1994, also found the record on ancestry, (the family also has the certs so we know it's the right one.) Apart from these two records I have not been able to find any other info for him or his family, which is strange, no records for the censuses at all. His parents were Henrietta and Samuel and his father was a painter/decorator. They have disappeared off the face of the earth by the looks of it. Family talk has said that he was in the 'greys' in the first world war and that he joined up when he was only 16, still no records for the army service.He married Edith Alice Horrocks (not sure if that's the correct spelling)/ I am searching this family for a friend of mine and we've literally been looking for the last 3 years Is anyone at all able to help us find this family. He had lots of brothers and sisters (I need to get their names from my friend so can let you know what they are soon), they seemingly were a very poor family and I'm wondering if that was the case they may have been renting rooms within a house and may have not been mentioned on the cencuses, do you think that's possible?
Hope someone can explain why there are no records.

Many Thanks
AileenA

[WilmaM]

A look at FreeBMD shows
Percy J West marrying an Edith Horrocks St Olave June 1925

Have you looked at the details on that for any further clues?

[AileenA]

Hi thanks for that =D> , no I never thought of looking there, only on ancestry so far.
I'll go have a look now to see if I can find anything else. Really puzzled by why I can't find his parents on any of the censuses though.

[WilmaM]

Freecen gives a hit for a Samuel West in 1891:

Piece: RG12/133 Place: Pancras -London Enumeration District: 14
Civil Parish: St Pancras Ecclesiastical Parish: St Martins
Folio: 86 Page: 53 Schedule: 404
Address: 15 & 16, Litcham St

WEST Samuel Lodger S M 30 Labourer(Em'ee) London - St Pancras

He's there with dozens of other lodgers.

[AileenA]

Oh Wow!!! I can't believe you've found some trace of them! Honestly we've been trying for years and you've done it within minutes lol! =D>

[Russell]

Well done Wilma. Its amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can find =D> =D>

Russell

[SarahND]

Hi Aileen,
This is a tough one! What was his mother's surname, according to the birth certificate?
I see at least two of his siblings in the London baptisms. The mother's name is always "Hetty" so that must be what she went by.

His marriage is there, as you said, in the 2nd quarter 1925 in St Olave dist, Greater London

There are a number of possible children with surname West, mother's maiden name Horrocks, but which, if any, are theirs is hard to tell.

I'm wondering if the father might be the one with several trees on Ancestry who was called Herbert Samuel West and who went out to South Africa with the army in 1900. In 1901 he and Henrietta S (age 30, born in Lincoln) were in North West Fulham, London at 4, Swann(?) House Terrace. He was a general labourer on Army Reserve Furlough. No children with them. So I tried looking for the children in someone else's household and only came up with a couple of possibles for the sister Margaret Florence (born 23 Dec 1892, baptized 1 Mar 1893). But no evidence that it is the right family. He's the wrong age if the one Wilma found is correct.

In 1911 Herbert Samuel West was 39 years old, married, a general labourer in 1911 in the Eastry Union Workhouse, Kent
He was born in Ash, Kent

That fits with them being very poor. But it is frustrating to never find the rest of the family... anywhere! Well, they must be somewhere and they should have been mentioned on the census if they were in the country.

Not much help, but I'm still trying.

All the best,
Sarah

[AileenA]

Hi Many thanks to both Sarah and Wilma at least you've got a wee bit further for us. We don't think that the info you found Sarah is our man though. My friend will bring the file she has already with certs etc to me tomorrow so I can give you more info then. Henrietta's maiden name was either Shea or O'Shea.
We know the family lived in London throughout their lives as Percy once told my friend that when he was very small his sister worked in a Turkish Delight factory and she used to drop turkish delight to him and his friends from the factory window lol!

I'll be in touch tomorrow!

Thanks
Aileen

[SarahND]

Bingo! There they are. All it needed was her maiden surname. It seems they were not married:

1911
30 Rodney Street, Clerkenwell
Samuel West, Head, 55, unmarried, Building & Decorating Labourer, born London Islington
Hettie Shea, Mother, 55, widow & unmarried, [present marriage has lasted 30 years, 11 children born alive, 8 still living], born London Islington
[Samuel Thomas West, Son, 28, Single, born London Islington]
[Hettie Louisa West, Daughter, 22, Married, born London Islington]
Ellen Mary West, Daughter, 21, Single, Confectionery Moulder, "Liquorish" factory, born London Islington
Ada Grace West, Daughter, 16, Single, ditto carrier, born London Islington

Items in square brackets and italics were crossed out on the form. Evidently, they started listing all the children, even those not in the household. Too bad they stopped before reaching Percy! Also, the information about her marriage and children was not supposed to be given, since she was unmarried.

Cheers,
Sarah

[AileenA]

=D> Sarah you're a genius!!!! I'm so pleased you've found them!!!
Many, many thanks

Merry Christmas!!