suz,
Yes, I'm sure you're right on track! Parkes was my dad's mother's maiden name. Doh!! I should have twigged about the Topping misfit, although I didn't make the connection at the time.
The reason I didn't put parkes in the search was because I've been told that [sometimes] being too specific isn't a good thing as names are sometimes omitted on records (although, thinking about it, I guess that's more true for censuses than birth records).
Also Amy's death makes some sort of sense as my paternal grandmother was my dad's step mum.
Is there any way I can find the cause of Amy's death? There was talk in the family about a fire but noone is really sure.
Thanks for all your help - it's been fantastic!! This stuff is HARD!! Well, for me, anyway.