I realize that Rootschat doesn't do the living relative thing as a rule, but I am hoping that you can give me some pointers for groups to contact.
My great uncle, Philip Ashley Patrick Halls, joined the Canadian Army in WWII, and eventually ended up with the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR). He was stationed in Sussex from approximately Sept 30th of 1942 until sometime in April 1943. According to the RCR website he would have been at Newick-Chailey, Possingworth Park, and the Worthing area depending on the date. He also spent some time in Inverary, Argyll, and Cumnock-Auckinleck, Ayr, Scotland, for training and prior to his embarkation for Sicily, mostly in 1943 between April and June. He was killed in action in September of 1944, in Italy.
Now comes the mystery. I have seen Pip's war records at the Library and Archives of Canada. Before his personal effects were sent home, two letters from girlfriends in England were removed and destroyed. In my opinion the only reason this would have been done was if one/both of the girlfriends were pregnant or had a child by my great uncle. I believe this to be the case because Pip's father, my great-grandfather, was very socially prominent in Toronto in the 1920's to 1940's. He was wealthy, belonged to all the right clubs, and was involved heavily in the Civitan Club charities (he was a founding member in Toronto). A child born out of wedlock would have been a terrible scandal in that time and place. Based on what I know about the RCR and from Pip's records, any child he might have fathered would have been born between July 1943 and January 1944.
If anybody knows of any groups in Sussex/England/Canada that deal with war children please let me know. I have already registered with Canadian Roots UK, but have been unable to find any others that I thought were reliable.
Many thanks in advance,
James
