So we have proved that Edward Gaunt married Edith Corrin in 1906 and they had two (or three) children, Claude Cecil, 1907. Olive Lillian, 1908, and possibly Edna Frances 1914. Edna Frances married George Hilditch in 1935 and it is to a descendant of this family that I refer below.
Question 1. if Edna was not Edward's, why didn't George Forsyth call her his when he married her mother a year later??We have Edith remarried to George Forsyth in 1915 which narrows the window of death of Edward to 1908 - 1914/15. (Unless they divorced -)
Edward Cecil Gaunt last heard of by family in 1908 when he was known to be crew on the SS Suffolk trading between UK and Aus. His siblings applied to wind up his affairs in Tasmania, in 1934. It would seem that the Tasmanian family didn't know about the British family
Question 2. - why otherwise would they be dealing with his affairs, and not his English family - (who could have had someone in Tassie acting for them)?? We have not found a death for him! - or a divorce if that were the case. Anywhere in the world seems fair game at the moment - we have searched the overseas death lists to no avail.
Crew lists seem to be harder to access and it seems I need a mole in the Kew Archives for that!!
I believe Edward C would have been too old for the army at over 50 when the war started - but I suppose death from some war cause is not impossible
Question 3. - would that account for no knowledge of his whereabouts I wonder? Oh where, oh where has my Gx2uncle gone
Oh where, oh where can he be?? . . . . 
I have just written to someone who owns a tree on An****ry - he has George Hilditch in his tree - the one who married Edna Gaunt - so we shall see what happens with that!
According to that tree, the next generation of Hilditch is still alive (and so he ought to be - he's my generation!!
) - so that could be a good source of info if they will come to the party!
Wiggy
