Looking for Viola Ruth Sprey-Smith

[IgorStrav]

Hi Dawn

The owner of the tree and I are equally baffled by this lady.  Why did she use fictitious names and keep deserting her children and then totally disappearing.

Money?  Was she a gold-digger?

[jorose]

I had a look for possible re-marriages of any "Viola R" but all the possibles seem to be traceable.

Under what name was the boy b. 1914 registered? I can't seem to track him down.

You mentioned that the girl b. 1923 was left with her husband's family - what about the boy b. 1925 - do you know what happened to him?

Do you know Violet/Viola's exact birthdate - she might have de-aged herself in later records but people tended to keep birthdays the same.

 There was a "Philip David Scott-Moncrieff" b. 1882  (fulham district) d. 1911 - he married in 1906 to "Grace Isabella Florence Josephine Eustace".  It's possible Violet worked for or knew of some of these families and borrowed some suitable names when re-inventing herself.  Perhaps she became "Irish" as an excuse for why the rest of the family weren't around.

We can only presume she changed her name again - perhaps another man came into her life at this point? As there is likely to be no paperwork for this type of name change, it will be very difficult to track her.

[Lesley Paul]

Hi

No, we dont know what happened to Brian George at all, he seems to have disappeared as well.

I know that Viola/Violet was actually Violet Ruth Gunthorpe and she was born in 1892 in Herefordshire, the daughter of John & Louisa Gunthorpe.  In the 1911 Census she was living with her family in London and worked as a typist at (we think) McCorquodale Printers.  I have checked the ages on the 3 marriage certificates we have for and they do tally.

I can only imagine that Viola/Violet went abroad somewhere, eg Australia, Canada or somewhere else.  Once I learn how to do a general worldwide posting on Rootschat I will do, but at the moment I can't see how to do it.

[Ian Ponting]

Hi everyone

Thank you for your replies.  We had already found Viola's marriage to Albert Edward Brownrigg-Fyers.  However, the maiden name she was fictitious!  There is no record of a Violet Ruth Moncrieffe.  She also gives her father's name as Phillip Moncrieffe, again there is record of a Phillip Moncrieffe.  Who she really is is Violet Ruth Gunthorpe born 1892 in Herefordshire, daughter of John & Louisa.  Violet gave birth to an illegitimate son, born at The Metropole Hotel, Brighton in August 1914.  According to the family his father was Herbert Ponting, the photographer of the Antartic Expedition.  Violet did not keep the child, she left him with her sister, Doris Todd and her husband Charles.

Violet disappears until 1918 when she marries Edward Albert Brownrigg-Fyers.  She gives birth 3 months later to a daughter.  She again disappears, leaving the baby with her husband's parents, until she marries Cecil Sprey-Smith in 1922. Cecil was from a Colonial family.  He was a Capt in the Army and then a professional tennis player/coach.

As you an imagine this woman is driving me mad!

[Ian Ponting]

I just received my Ancestry DNA estimate and found something interesting. One of the matches was to a person whose tree includes a Herbert Claude Gordon son of Herbert George Ponting(1st. cousin 1x removed to me).

Herbert Claude Gordon:
Birth 21 Aug 1914
Brighton, Sussex, England
Marriage 31 july 1936 to Kathleen Farrell
Sutton, Surrey, England

Interesting

Ian Ponting

[Ian Ponting]

Apparently the mother of Herbert's illegitimate son was Violet Ruth Gunthorpe. The surname Gordon may have been Violet's sister's married name.

[avm228]

I see that the birth of Herbert Claude Gordon was registered with mother's maiden name Bostock in Brighton, Dec qtr 1914.

[Jolee]

Could she have gone into the theatre in 1911 they had Edward Wheller a theatrical manager living with them, could explain why she did not have her children with her and her change of name. He was a visitor age 37 and born in Hereford.

[Greg p]

I have just been clearing my house out in preperation for a move and in my loft  i have found a large picture frame  with a world war 2 defence medal a certificate for the royal borough of kesington warden service in recognition of duty performed and the uniform badges all set in red felt and all belonging to a C. SPREY-SMITH. I dont know anything about him or how they got where they did but is there a connection. I live in edlesborough.