Looking for Rose Peck and/or descendants

[Gibel]

London W2 was Hyde Park Terrace apparently so no farming connections!

[Gibel]

I've found the answer to my question above.

Before VE Day POWs were transported daily to their place of work after VE small groups of prisoners or singles were allowed to live on a farm.

Officers could choose to work but didn't have to.

It looks to me more likely that Emil worked after VE Day May 1945 as it was after that he could have lived on a farm.

[Karen McDonald]

Might contain some useful information:

http://timecoast1951.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/new-book-embracing-enemy-on-crewe-pows.html

I'd love to read it! But I've just checked Nantwich Bookshop, Waterstones, Amazon, eBay, etc. and it is nowhere to be found. Nobody has a copy. What happened to this book?!  :-(

[Karen McDonald]

Hi everybody,

Thanks again for your help. :-)

I'll try and answer everything in one post.

As far as the name goes, it is def given as Peck in Birgit's christening paperwork. But as we all know, that doesn't mean to say it's correct...

Crumbs. If we don't even have the real surname, I can't see as how we'll ever make progress. I was hoping that the Rosa Peck who died in Stockport in 1960 might be the one. Of course, I was hoping that Mrs Peck might still be alive - age-wise it's possible - but I think we have to accept that it is more likely that she is no longer alive.

From what was said in the family, it sounds as though Emil spent (at least) a year actually living with the Pecks. This is what made me think it was probably after the end of the war - he was in England until August 1947, after all.

I didn't know about the possibility of his admin records being moved, but not him himself. The Camps he was assigned to are all relatively close to one another, so that is a possibility (that he changed Camp, but stayed with the Pecks).

The family story says he worked on a farm, rather than just in a garden.

I wasn't sure what the reference to London was in the Camp list, either! It is shown in exactly the same way in the lists of POW camps which can be found in the internet. (Camp 17 OR London W.2.) I assumed it was some sort of war office address.

We are still hoping that Gustav's (Emil's younger brother) middle daughter gets in contact with Birgit. This daughter remained in the area where her father lived and will probably know more about his trips to visit the Pecks as a lad in the post-war years. But we can't pressure her to get in touch...  :-(

The info re: Emil's Camps was sent to us by the Deutsche Dienststelle für... (extremely long name :-)). We are still waiting for a reply from the Red Cross, although I doubt whether they will have more detailed info regarding Emil's whereabouts back then. But you never know.

When I started all this, I was hoping that the whole story might ring a bell with someone. Apparently there was even a newspaper article about Emil's little brother visiting the Pecks back then. I've googled everything I can think of, but can't find any references to it.

I was so excited on Monday, but now I'm starting to feel a bit deflated... :-(
Oh well, I'll plod on with it.

If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears...  :-)

Thanks again,
Karen


 

[Rattus]

Don't be disheartened, Karen. I read somewhere that the average plane is off-course for 95% of its journey. I meant to end to my last post by saying I thought on balance the surname was probably more likely to be correct(ly spelt), but omitted that for brevity.

Here's a will/probate details transcription for the Rosa Peck who died in Stockport in 1960:

PECK Rosa of 2 New Beech Road Stockport Cheshire widow died 23 March 1960 at Stepping Hill Hospital Stockport Administration Manchester 12 May to Dorothy Phyllis Evans married woman. Effects £308 11s. 7d.

Original here: https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=peck&yearOfDeath=1960&page=2#calendar

I'd love to check out some of that info further, but got to get on with something else at the mo.

[avm228]

Here's a will/probate details transcription for the Rosa Peck who died in Stockport in 1960:

PECK Rosa of 2 New Beech Road Stockport Cheshire widow died 23 March 1960 at Stepping Hill Hospital Stockport Administration Manchester 12 May to Dorothy Phyllis Evans married woman. Effects £308 11s. 7d.

I'd suggest the administratrix Dorothy Phyllis Evans is likely to be the same person as Dorothy P Peck who married Leonard A Evans in Hendon, Jun qtr 1936.

If so, she appears to have been born in Knebworth, Herts on 28 March 1911, daughter of Charles (b 1874) and Rose (b 1878) Peck.  The family (both generations) appear to have spent time in Oswestry pre-WW2, though not with any obvious farming connection.  Charles' career was as a policeman.

Marriage: Charles William Peck and Rose King, Dec qtr 1903 Hendon.

[Karen McDonald]

Don't be disheartened, Karen. I read somewhere that the average plane is off-course for 95% of its journey.

Hell's bells...   

Thanks for the link. I'll go have a look.

[Karen McDonald]

I'd suggest the administratrix Dorothy Phyllis Evans may be the same person as Dorothy P Peck who married Leonard A Evans in Hendon, Jun qtr 1936.

If so, she appears to have been born in 1911, daughter of Charles (b 1874) and Rose (b 1878) Peck.  The family appear to have spent time in Oswestry pre-war, though not with any obvious farming connection.

avm, I could hug you! 
It's getting exciting again.
Is that Hendon, London? (My Dad was born not far from there!)

On the down side, Dorothy is unlikely to still be alive. But maybe she had kids. And if so, they'd be more my generation. 

Oswestry is a bit way-out. Nice, but not a lot there. I wonder why they would have moved.
So now we need to find Charles and/or descendants of Dorothy.

2 New Beech Road is a large block of apartments (Auntie Goggle is wonderful. Sometimes...), so if it's "our" Rose, she must have moved in later life.

I'll have to take a longer look at this later - I'm supposed to be working. 

Thanks very much indeed!
Karen


BTW, we also have MacGregors in our tree. Aberdeen area. 

[Gibel]

I don't think the Rosa husband of a policeman can be your Rosa. We need a Rosa living on a farm to fit the story.

Does anybody know or can find out how far away from the POW camp the POWs could be placed from that camp ie 20 mile radius or more which would give some idea where to look? My personal feeling is that the farm placement would have been when Emil was at Lodge Moor as from my research the POWs only lived at farms post VE Day. Also Lodge Moor seems to have been where he spent some time.

Maybe send a letter to the Sheffield Star I seem to remember that has quite a wide coverage.