Author Topic: Short/Cox - Brighton  (Read 3445 times)

Offline Fdgl65

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Short/Cox - Brighton
« on: Wednesday 10 December 08 14:11 GMT (UK) »
I am attempting to search for my mother in law's family records. On her birth certificate it says mother, Violet Cox, father, Henry Victor Short. In 1935 (the year she was born, Hastings Municipal Hospital) they were living at 19 St Paul's Road, St Leonard's On Sea and then lived in Brighton (near the railway station). She remembers her father was a soldier during WW2.

My mother in law was evacuated to Yorkshire in 1941 with her 2 brothers, 1 of whom she lost trace of, although she thinks he might have moved to Scotland. She remembers staying at a children's home on Belvedere Road, Bridlington before being sent to Steeton in Yorkshire. Her family never claimed her back after the war so I don't know if her mother was a civilian casualty in Brighton or not. Her father died in the late 1960s as her brother, Ernest George, was able to find him and he attended the funeral. Unfortunately he died in January this year and I never got the chance to ask him any questions about him obtaining a copy of my mother in law's birth certificate in 2001.

My mother in law remembers other brothers and 1 sister: Reginald and Percy (twins), David (b about 1933), and Mary (became a nurse, b about 1939). I think all their surnames might have been Cox, and not Short, as Henry and Violet do not appear to have ever been married.

I have searched Free BMD and Ancestry with no luck whatsoever and cannot pin down birth or death records for any members of the family.

Any advice or help on this family would be greatly appreciated :)

HUBBARD - Derbyshire and Yorkshire
DAWSON - Yorkshire
BLANCHFIELD - Ireland and Yorkshire
SHORT Henry Victor - Any info, Brighton area, WW1&2 serving soldier

Offline Jane Masri

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Re: Short/Cox - Brighton
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 10 December 08 17:50 GMT (UK) »
Welcome to Rootschat & especially the Sussex pages.

Such a sad story!  As you are looking for possible living persons you have to be careful as to how you go about this.

I take it you do have a copy of your mother-in-laws birth certificate but are looking for evidence of her brothers & sisters?

I did find on the Commonwealth War Graves site  http://www.cwgc.org/debt_of_honour.asp

an entry for Violet Emily Cox died 23/5/1943, Hastings County.  Age 32 daughter of Frederick William & Emily Cox of 53 Belmont Rd.  Died at Swan Hotel, High St.  This might be your mother-in-laws mother.  It might be of interest to contact one of the Hastings newspapers to see if they have an archive to find out what actually happened at the Swan Hotel.
Have you checked the FULL indexes for births at Ancestry in your search for her siblings?

Our Sussex moderator, Chris 1066Land, is a Hastings expert so you might like to 'speak' to him concerning the Swan Hotel,

PS.  Just found this  http://www.victoriaseymour.com/ww2/index.html  scroll to the bottom & you'll find a small piece about the bomb on the Swan Hotel

jane
Census information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Researching BRABY/BRAVERY in SURREY and SUSSEX

PLEASE use the look-up requests page not a personal message.

Offline Fdgl65

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Re: Short/Cox - Brighton
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 10 December 08 18:17 GMT (UK) »
Hi Jane

Thanks for the very quick reply  :)

I have seen the birth certificate but do not have a copy myself. It's not so much my mother in law's siblings I am searching for but what happened to her mother and father and why she wasn't returned to her family when the war ended.

I have no idea how my Uncle in law found the entry of birth for his sister back in 2001 and I am kicking myself that I came to search for my husband's maternal family after his uncle died and not before  :'( I am sure Uncle George could have shed so much light on the story because he actually went to see his father sometime in the late 1960s. Oh well....

The entry you've found on CWGC is very interesting and the lady appears to be the right age so I will check that out :)

I have checked for COX births every which way I can think of on both Ancestry and Free BMD but with their births being after 1925 I am aware that a lot of birth records are not yet online.

I am determined to find my husband's grandparents and what happened to them and I may find more information once the 1911 census is released to the public - only 4 years to wait lol


HUBBARD - Derbyshire and Yorkshire
DAWSON - Yorkshire
BLANCHFIELD - Ireland and Yorkshire
SHORT Henry Victor - Any info, Brighton area, WW1&2 serving soldier

Offline Necromancer

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Re: Short/Cox - Brighton
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday 10 December 08 18:25 GMT (UK) »
not as long as 4 years ...

starts being released in PIECE number order next year ......

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/searchthearchives/1911census.htm
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk


Offline Fdgl65

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Re: Short/Cox - Brighton
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday 10 December 08 18:42 GMT (UK) »
That is good news as I am researching my family tree as well as my husbands and my grandparents were both born about 1911 ;)
HUBBARD - Derbyshire and Yorkshire
DAWSON - Yorkshire
BLANCHFIELD - Ireland and Yorkshire
SHORT Henry Victor - Any info, Brighton area, WW1&2 serving soldier

Offline Jane Masri

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Re: Short/Cox - Brighton
« Reply #5 on: Thursday 11 December 08 10:55 GMT (UK) »
It's going to be hard without a marriage certificate to prove that Violet Cox, partner to Henry Short is the same one as Violet Emily who was killed in Hastings, 1943.  Although I have a gut feeling it is your mother-in-law's mother.  There seems to be a connection with Hastings as this Violet Emily has parents in Hastings in 1943.  Your Violet had your mother-in-law in Hastings Municipal Hospital.  As Henry was serving in the army at this time it seems plausible that your Violet, having evacuated all her children to safer places, went to stay with her parents.  I wonder why the grandparents didn't take in the children...perhaps they were too elderly?
FreeBMD gives a birth reg. for Violet Emily Cox, Q2 1910, Steyning reg. district (2b 227)  Right area & right age.
Have you tried searching for decendants of your mother-in-law's siblings?  Maybe they have pieces of the puzzle?
It seems so odd that Henry didn't make an effort to make contact with his children  :(
I'm going to scout around & see what I can come up with.  One last thought, if you got hold of the death certificate for this Violet Emily who died in 1943, the name of the person who registered the death might tie-in with the Cox family you're looking for.  It's a very slim chance it was Henry Short as he was probably overseas & her personal details are contained in the CWGC information so very much a long-shot the certificate will help  :-\

jane
Census information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Researching BRABY/BRAVERY in SURREY and SUSSEX

PLEASE use the look-up requests page not a personal message.

Offline Fdgl65

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Re: Short/Cox - Brighton
« Reply #6 on: Thursday 11 December 08 11:12 GMT (UK) »
I also have a gut feeling - that the reason why Henry did not claim or contact his children was because he was a married man?....skeletons in the cupboard lol. My mother in law told me that she and her brother were very shocked to find out that her parents weren't married.

One avenue of pursuit I have is to try and get some information regarding Henry's war service record and the 1911 census is going to be of great help when parts of it are published in the New Year as I should be able to track down Violet with her being born c 1910.

Getting a copy of the death certificate for Violet Emily is a good idea.

I posted this query on the Sussex site in the hopes that there might be someone in Brighton who  knew of Mary (the sister who became a nurse) in Brighton as she was obviously returned there after evacuation but the other children were not. I am still searching Ancestry and Free BMD for records of any of the siblings etc  :)

Oh and the only Henry Victor Short I can find on Free BMD was born in 1887 in Lewes, Sussex - there are NO other records for any counties at all. This would make Henry 52 years old when his last child was born and too old to be a serving soldier in WW2?

Your help is greatly appreciated  ;D
HUBBARD - Derbyshire and Yorkshire
DAWSON - Yorkshire
BLANCHFIELD - Ireland and Yorkshire
SHORT Henry Victor - Any info, Brighton area, WW1&2 serving soldier

Offline kizmiaz

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Re: Short/Cox - Brighton
« Reply #7 on: Thursday 11 December 08 12:35 GMT (UK) »
Hi Fdgl65

I've been having a quick look through the birth records (work is VERY slow at the mo) and the children all seem to be listed as Short with mothers maiden name of Cox.

The range of births I have found so far are from 1935 to 1942. I haven't found them all but I've found 4 children who match. I will PM you the details

Glen

Offline Fdgl65

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Re: Short/Cox - Brighton
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 11 December 08 12:48 GMT (UK) »
Thank you - the information is spot on :) I will be sending off for all the birth certificates, especially since there is information from 1941 and 1942 on them.



HUBBARD - Derbyshire and Yorkshire
DAWSON - Yorkshire
BLANCHFIELD - Ireland and Yorkshire
SHORT Henry Victor - Any info, Brighton area, WW1&2 serving soldier