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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Northumberland => Topic started by: SusanDi on Thursday 31 July 14 09:40 BST (UK)
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Hello
At first I want to apologize my poor English, but hope you all will understand what Iīm writing
I am looking for my grandfather and his relatives. The story goes like this:
My grandmother who is Finnish moved to England around 1950, she is born in 1931. She had two children with my grandfather George Dixon. Helen was born in 1955 and Thomas (my father) 1956.
My grandmother who is called Helvi, moved back to Finland with the children approximately in the beginning of 1960īs. Since then, nobody have not heard anything about George.
I have tried to search him over the years a few times. I ordered Helenīs and Thomasīs birth certificates which shows that when Helen was born, my grandmother had her maiden name, but when Thomas was born she had changed her name into Dixon, but I havenīt been able to find any proof that they were married.
Also I contacted the cottage where they lived, the family remembers George, Helvi and the children but nobody knows where he went after her family moved back to Finland.
The birth certificates shows that they were living in Northumberland.
Also I have used search service in Northumberland Archives but they were unable to find nothing.
George was a railway signalman what shows in Helenīs and Thomasīs birth certificates but thatīs all we know about him, we donīt even know his middle name, year of birth, nothing.
I know this is a long shot, but Helvi had told that George had other children and If somebody reads and recognize the story I would be really appreciate to contact me.
Regards
Susan from Finland :)
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You can try using www.freebmd.org.uk to search for potential GD records in the right area of Northumberland in the probable timeframe. There may be quite a few, but then you can work through systematically and eliminate them.
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Hello SusanDi
Do not apologise for your English, it is good. Very few people on this forum will speak Finnish, I expect:-)
I think the best way for you to search for information on George will be to contact people who specialise in Railway Ancestors, see http://www.railwayancestors.org.uk/ or others you can find through Google Search.
I think it would also be a good idea if you posted another request on the main part of this forum titled something like "George Dixon, railway signalman at ............ Northumberland 1955-6". Mention the cottage where George lived and any other information that would help someone with a good knowledge of finding railway ancestors.
If you post on the main part of this forum, many more people will see it and know it's a railway workers query.
I live in Northumberland so if you need any more help, just ask me.
Good luck
Gen in Northumberland, England
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Kiitos Gen and Craclyn. Kiitos is "thank you" in Finnish :)
I really appreciate your help and tips!
BR
Susan
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You are welcome Susan. If you tell us where in Northumberland then we may come up with some more useful ideas.
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They were living in Morphet in East house farm cottages.
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I mean Morpeth not Morphet :)
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Does it just say East House Farm, Morpeth or is there something in between? There is an East House Farm at Guyzance and at Swarland, both of which would have postal address Morpeth. There may be others too, but those ones I know of.
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The address is in the birth certificates:
3, east house farm cottages, Acklington, Morpeth.
The number 3 is missing in my fathers certificate, but otherwise the address is the same in both certificates.
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I will send you a PM with some information which may be useful but involves people who may still be living so I cannot post it here.
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There was a serious railway accident at Morpeth, but in May 1969, if he were still a signalman then he may have been on duty when the accident happened.
The cause was a train entering a sharp curve at an excessive speed, the train derailed and 6 were killed and 19 seriously injured,
mike
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Looking at where George lived, ( I presume he was living with Helvi but that may not be the case) it is near to the main Aberdeen to London railway line. Between 1948-1997 that line belonged to British Rail. As he wasn't living near the Acklington station itself, I think he may have been in charge of a railway level crossing where a road crossed the railway line.
I can remember lots of signal boxes at level crossings when I was young, most of them have now been automated and/or knocked down. They were small, two storey brick built buildings right beside the line. The signalman worked on the top floor where lots of big windows showed what was going on all around. He could see both up and down the railway line and had a clear view of the road crossing too. He would be totally responsible for the safety of the trains and their passengers. Only a job for someone who was conscientious about his work!
The nearby roads now have bridges over the railway lines but they might not have been there in 1955/6.
Gen in NBL England
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The address is in the birth certificates:
3, east house farm cottages, Acklington, Morpeth.
The number 3 is missing in my fathers certificate, but otherwise the address is the same in both certificates.
Don't know if this will be of any help but my husbands relatives lived at East House at that time. He was a young boy but can remember them. Mr. Dixon was tall over six feet, he was a railway signalman at Warkworth crossing. There was a goods train derailment when he was on duty, his actions prevented a major disaster. This would have been reported in the local paper.
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The address is in the birth certificates:
3, east house farm cottages, Acklington, Morpeth.
The number 3 is missing in my fathers certificate, but otherwise the address is the same in both certificates.
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Thank you Joan Pringle!! I will send you a personal message.
Susan
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There is a lovely photo of the Warkworth signal-box at
http://www.thewaitingrooms.co.uk/Railway-links-and-history.html
What a pity no-one is visible inside!
Gen in NBL England
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Picture of George, in 1955.
I see so much similaritys at my brother :)
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A good looking man! He would be unusual in these parts, you don't see many grown men with blond hair and pale eyes around here. Lots of blond children but their hair turns brown as they grow....
I've been looking at this NER (North Eastern Railway) website:
http://www.darlington.gov.uk/Leisure/headofsteam/kenhoole.htm
there are lots of George Dixon's on the database for pension records of the NER but none seem to fit your grandfather. It does say however that not all the information is on the database. It might be worth writing to them. Emphasise you are a direct descendant as the records are possibly classed as private and closed, as the people concerned could still be alive.
Gen in NBL England