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Hi, I'm doing some research on behalf of my husband (named Philip) and we are looking for any relatives of his father Oliver Pottinger born approximately 1910 in South Shields. Oliver married Dorothy Carr probably around 1944. Dorothy was a nurse and Oliver was a merchant seaman. I think they met in London and lived there then moved to New Zealand around 1952. My husband doesn't know any of his family in the UK and I think it would be nice for him to find some relatives. Anyone who can help?
Regards
Madeleine Pottinger

Here's the record of Oliver Pottinger's birth:


Name: Oliver Pottinger
Year of Registration: 1909
Quarter of Registration: Apr-May-Jun
District: South Shields
County: Durham, Tyne and Wear
Volume: 10a
Page: 902


Here's me breaking my policy of persuading people to do their own finding at

http://www.freebmd.org.uk


Does your husband know his father's mother's birth surname? Starting in 1911, mother's birth surnames were included in birth registrations. If you know what it is, you can search at FreeBMD for births after 1911, using both surnames. Unless more than one Pottinger man married women with that surname, you could be pretty confident that any births you found would be siblings of Oliver.

Then you'd be in a position to go hunting for descendants of Oliver's siblings.

It would be quite a bit easier to find the record of the Oliver-Dorothy marriage if you had an actual date. Any chance? Finding that means downloading and trawling through untranscribed pages, at least four per year, until the right marriage is found.

With the marriage registration info, you could order the marriage certificate, which would give their ages and fathers' names.

About a gazillion Dorothy Carrs were born in England between 1912 and 1922, say. No way to narrow that down unless you know her birthdate.

Meanwhile, have you searched trees here? Loads of Pottingers born in South Shields -- someone might know where your Oliver fits in!