Genealogy Chat

Marriages June 1908
KENEFICK Frances Bradford 9b 219
Ward Joseph Bradford 9b 219

this could be his birth

Basil Ward
England and Wales Birth Registration Index
Name
Basil Ward
Event Type
Birth Registration
Registration Quarter
Apr-May-Jun
Registration Year
1913
Registration District
Bradford
County
Yorkshire
Event Place
Bradford, Yorkshire, England
Mother's Maiden Name (not available before 1911 Q3)
Kenefick
Volume
9B
Page
218
Line Number
9

Basil Ward
England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007
Name
Basil Ward
Event Type
Death
Registration Quarter
Apr-May-Jun
Registration Year
1977
Registration District
Hampstead
County
London
Event Place
Hampstead, London, England
Birth Date (available after June quarter 1969)
29 May 1913
Volume
12
Page
1812
Line Number
47

Possibly Hampstead where they lived, in 1977. I have found a death reg but no means of knowing it is him. This Basil was born in 1913. I know that "our" Basil was quite a lot older than his wife, who was born in 1924. So it could be him.

where did basil die in 1970

Apparently not but worth exploring. Unfortunately, I can find no marriage for Olwyn Mary Phillips at all.
I wondered if they were not married but Olwen Mary's brother (now age 90) and sister in law believe they were. Her younger brother and his wife visited Mary and Basil in the 1950s but lost touch at some point. Her brother was in the regular army and posted abroad through much of the late 1940s and 50s. They did not go to the wedding. Mary was not close to her brothers. After their mother died the children were farmed out to different relatives. It makes sense that there were no family members at the wedding. However, it is a bit of a mystery. I do know that in later life Mary received an MBE for services to youth. No one seems to know exactly what. But that was after Basil died in the 1970s. He is a ghost man. I may have found his death reg and also hers but other than that, Basil may not have existed.

Any chance she might have married to someone else briefly during the war years?

Then she might either have not been able to marry because still married to someone else, or she might have married under another surname if widowed/divorced.

Thank you AnnCardiff. Marriage? I have hunted using FMP and Free BMD, using various combinations of their names and initials, with no result..
Mary

Name Olwen M Phillips
Event Type Birth Registration
Registration Quarter Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration Year 1924
Registration District Oswestry
County Shropshire
Event Place Oswestry, Shropshire, England
Mother's Maiden Name (not available before 1911 Q3) Lewis
Volume 6A
Page 945
Line Number 89

Please can anyone help find a marriage between Olwen Mary Phillips born 1924 near Oswestry and a Basil Ward. According to family information, Basil was of Russian stock. I do not know when he came to England. Presumably the Russian family name was changed to Ward at that stage. I do not have a birth date for him but I believe he was older than Mary by quite a few years. They may have married in London or possibly abroad. Mary was in the armed forces, probably during WWII. They had a son Graham Ward (probably still living) and also child born about 1946 who was killed in 1949.

Any information about Basil would be gratefully received.

Mary