Mervyn Hugh Ernest THOMAS published by on Tue, 25/08/2020 - 19:37
Hi
I'm a new member. My parents and grandparents both lived in Weston. I went to school there for part of my schooling.
I have done quite a bit of family history but have been more interested in going from 1911 to the present date which hasn't been easy.
Mervyn was my uncle, my Mother's brother. He died in Florida as an RAF cadet. (Pdf detail below.) I have been unable to find his birth date although my Mother and Aunt's details have been easy to find. Perhaps he was adopted. I contacted Waterloo Hall, came to the library etc but no joy. I've written to GRO etc but no joy. Any ideas would be welcome.
The reason I found this birth in Scotland was because by looking at the newspapers for mentions of Garret THOMAS, his father, I found several articles about him preaching in Scotland around the 1920s and I wondered whether Mervyn might have been born in Scotland.
Thank you for your message - I am replying online as perhaps it might help other members who are stuck looking for someone. As your grandfather had such a distinctive name, Garnet THOMAS, and as his occupation as a Minister of Religion was given in the 1939 Register I wondered whether the newspapers might have mentioned him. I used the British Newspaper Archive which is also available, if you have a subscription, on Find my Past. The first article I found was this one, which surprised me as Aberdeen is a long way from Weston!
There were several other articles including this one which was earlier when I thought he was in Weston.
He sounded a remarkable man and the Pontypridd newspapers also reported that Garnet THOMAS from Weston-super-Mare frequently spoke in Wales and had visited America on several occasions I realised that there was a lot more to this man! Not being able to find Mervyn's birth in England or Wales I thought I'd try Scotland and Hey Presto - Scotlandspeople came up with the answer.
Should you feel motivated I'm sure that Sue Maguire, the editor of our Journal, Buckets and Spades, would be delighted to have a short resume of this remarkable man's life. Just looking at the newspaper obituary in 1940 tells me that this resident of Weston needs to be more widely known.
Thanks to Pat, who discovered my Uncle was born in Ayr in Scotland, and not WSM as I had thought, I now have his birth certificate. I had been searching for 10 years and had started to think he had been adopted.
My Grandmother lived and died in 9 Edinburgh Place, WSM and I had no idea she had travelled with my Grandfather, who was an evangelist, originally from Pontypridd. I have found the house where he was born in Ayr, on googlemap. Very excited!
We have a posting on our Facebook Group of someone looking for a Mervyn BROWN who we think married an Enid THOMAS in Weston in 1948 is there any chance that there is a connection with your family?
It is always advised to check the Burial Registers before you jump to conclusions - I should have done that! The death of an Enid Mary THOMAS with the same birth date as on the 1939 register was registered in 1997 in the Mendip District. So we are looking for a different Enid THOMAS.
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