Divorce

[KGarrad]

I assume divorces in England & Wales are similar to mine from the Isle of Man?

In which case there is a fee to be paid for a Decree Absolute (or Final Order as it is called here!).
Perhaps someone didn't want to pay the fee

In my case (from 12 months ago) the fee was £27 to make the Provisional Order (eg Decree Nisi) a Final Order.

[RJ_Paton]

Despite the name change IF the second marriage was bigamous to go through the procedure of a divorce was decidedly  risky

The information and talk that would generally circulate about these matters would have stood a good chance of reaching wife No 1 who could have reported the matter to the police and thus his arrest. As said by others, at that time period a prison sentence was the normal outcome of any proceedings (if found guilty).

Given that he could afford financially to go through the Divorce proceedings against wife no 2 there is no evidence (so far) that he did not do the same with Wife No 1.

Absence of evidence is not proof to support a presumption of bigamy.

[dowdstree]

I know of a case where a jail sentence was handed out in the mid 1960's.

Dorrie