Genealogy Chat

I will try to keep this as short as possible. When I started researching my husband's family, I quickly discovered that his Dad was not his real father, and that his mother married his Dad two years after his birth, when husband was officially adopted by him. We now know, from the memories of one surviving Aunt, that husband's real father was an American/Italian, (she THINKS a pilot, which would make sense as the area was Norfolk - covered in airfields at the time). Immediately it was know that he had made an unmarried English girl pregnant, he was sent back home (1944). Now, we have no wish to trace him as such, there is no point or gain in that, but - and this is a complete shot in the dark - is there any way of finding records of Americans who were sent home from Norfolk during the last year of the war?

Hello Sally,
Try the following links:

The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/

type "English war babies" into the search box and a listing of articles should appear.

1. English War Babies Search For American Fathers
If you now click on that link you should get:


ENGLISH WAR BABIES SEARCH FOR AMERICAN FATHERS
By TERRY TRUCCO, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: April 9, 1987

LEAD: He was only 7 years old at the time, but Frank Hamilton vividly recalls the day his grandmother told him his father was an American serviceman stationed in England in World War II. ''I was really pleased,'' said Mr. Hamilton, who is now 43 and runs an office-cleaning business in a London suburb. ''My stepfather was a drunk who would beat me up.............

In the last few years hundreds of British adults, most of them fathered out of wedlock by American servicemen, have taken up the search for their fathers. Two new organizations are providing crucial assistance, although their work is hampered by a lack of access to American servicemen's records. Trace, formed in 1984, now has nearly 300 members, and War Babes, a Birmingham group formed the same year, has close to 250. Other individuals are looking on their own. The American Embassy in London receives three to five letters a week requesting help in finding unknown American fathers. Inquiries rise at Christmas and after World War II remembrances.


Also:
Trace - UK organization
http://www.gitrace.org/

Finally
Embassy of the United States London
http://london.usembassy.gov/dao/tracemil.html

Good luck
Paul

Can I encroach on your thread please and put a similar question.

My B in L was adopted by my husbands father (his mother was unmarried when she had him). The father is not named on his birth cert. and he was registered in his MMN. She was sent home from the army when she was discovered pregnant. The story goes the father was a married man who gave the speil he was single, foot loose and fancy free. His mother is now dead so is there anyway of finding who his father is, it is a real big thing for him. Does anyone know any way of finding out?

Linda,

You don`t say wether your husbands father is still alive. If he is ,though he obviously wasn`t around when your B in Law was born, he may know some details, where his wife had been stationed, would be a good start, what unit she served in.........I understand this could be a very sensitive subject for him........ there are some good threads on here about adoption etc. I know this isn`t quite the same ,but it is of a similar nature, and may be of some help to you, just use the search box on the left hand side of this page hopefully you`ll find something which may be useful to you.
Good luck with it all

Nicky

Sally, if you send me a message I will put you onto a contact who might be able to help or advise you. I run the Rootsweb War Bride mailing list whose members are mainly living in the USA and Canada, (as well as Australia and other parts of the world), and who were mostly from the UK and met and married the GI's and Canadian Servicemen who were stationed over here.