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Carole,

I am not arguing with any of the suggestions people have made on this thread (nor claiming the information I provided is of any more value for that matter). It is all sound advice and whether or not it has been acted upon is obviously beyond any of our control. If anyone wants to get frustrated that it has not been followed up on, then that is their issue.

My comments were regarding manners. A matter of opinion I suppose. I was somewhat taken aback to be told by you that there is "no birth" for a sister of Geoffrey Baird (I'm fairly sure my grandmother was born, as it happens), while being directed me to this thread and, by implication, requested to offer any information I might have, without once using the vaguest of pleasantries in your communication, even so much as a "please". I replied to you politely about this and you have never acknowledged my reply.

I don't care how much experience as a researcher anyone has, how much knowledge or expertise. There is no excuse for being rude or frosty, particularly when an amateur comes along asking for help.

I am 41 years of age, please feel free to judge me on what possible experience I can offer based on that figure, but in 20 years of genealogical research of my own and others' ancestry, I have generally found the genealogy community a wonderful, inclusive place to share stories and information. That said, I have occasionally encountered individuals who seem to think they own this subject, are somehow superior and can speak to people like ignorant school children.

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Jamie

As an experienced researcher yourself, it would be interesting to hear your own thoughts on the advice & reasons given for the purchase of the Ethel Wills birth cert (reasons in earlier replies) & also the purchase of the 1959 marriage cert to Charlie Richardson.

Do you think they are necessary?  If not - why not?

There is a Richardson tree on Ancestry & I contacted the owner to ask if he knew what became of Ethel after Charlie Richardson died.   I never mentioned Geoffrey Baird in that message but in his reply he said he had not gone that far in his research & all he knew was she was Ethel Quin who "may have been previously married to a Geoffrey Baird"

Yes - we are all well aware that Derek is trying his best to help Ethel's daughter and any "tone" you sense is perhaps more directed to her than to Derek. 

However - the seeming reluctance on the daughters part to purchase the certs & now the introduction of a "possible adoption" without any shred of proof has caused a lot of frustration in those of us who have tried to help. 

The daughter is now 73yrs old but at the end of the day the decision is hers.

Good luck, Derek.

You're doing your best and haven't forced anyone to go to any lengths to help you. For my part it was a pleasure to help out in as much as I was able to via my family connection and unearthing of the "emigration to Australia" recollection, sorry I can't provide any documentary evidence. Maybe this one just isn't meant to be, but all the best with it. It'll really be something if you can find out what became of Ethel.

I have repeatedly requested her to obtain the certificates that may resolve the mystery. She told me yesterday that she obtained the marriage certificates to Glenister and Baird spouses directly from High Wycombe Register Office years ago when she started her own search. This was way before Ancestry etc websites were available. She thinks she was told at the time Ethel was adopted.
Either she was born Ethel Wills and was adopted later by Quin family or was illegitimate and adopted by Quin family as a baby.
I’m unsure if adoption records can released to anyone other then immediate party concerned ?.

Hello all,

Just spoken to James Leslie Baird's grandson. He has spoken to his mother, who is in the photograph Derek has shared, along with my grandmother, her brothers and parents. I would really love a good quality scan of this picture if at all possible, please.

The update is that not long after divorcing Geoff Baird circa 1957, Ethel emigrated from living in the Kent area to AUSTRALIA. No knowledge of another marriage but I will ask my relative to double check on this with the name Charlie Richardson. They were a close knit community back then in the Bexleyheath area, so his name might ring a bell.

Hope this helps, perhaps check some Australian shipping information?

Just double checked re: Charlie Richardson/1959 marriage and the story is that Ethel basically upped sticks very soon after divorcing Geoff and emigrated. Of course I'd still go ahead with checking the certificate, perhaps she told people she was leaving and didn't, perhaps she came back. But the story from a friend and contemporary is that she left the UK soon after her marriage to Geoff Baird ended.

Sorry, Jamie - if this is Ethel and Geoff's wedding, surely they are in the centre of the shot?

Ethel in the front in the pale suit, holding a handbag and what looks like a white horseshoe, with Geoff to the left (as you look at the photo).

I may be misunderstanding what you are saying.


Derek - if we post a link to the Photo Board here, someone will have a go at sharpening the picture for us.  I can do this if you're happy.

Sorry, just posted to this effect, only the left half the image was showing on screen, I thought it had been cut in half. I've downloaded and can now see full picture!