Siblings Winnifred, Ken and Lawrence (Laurie) Armitage

[Marty]

I am trying to track down the Armitage family that lived at 39 Station Road in Armley at the time of WW2. Laurie signed up with the London Irish Rifles and in the 60's several of his letters from the war were found in a small town in Italy. I refer you to the article written in YEP: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/f ... 6141348.jp. Where is Laurie and does anyone know of the suicide of his sister Winnifred? She belonged to the Zion Baptist Church in Armley and then moved to Adel. I am interested in returning these letters of Laurie to descendants of this family and would like to make contact with any relative of the above named siblings. Any information, however little you feel it is, may be a clue to finding relatives. Thank you.

[cnosni]

Found the following marriages between 1942 and 1962 for a Lawrence Armitage in Yorkshire.You may need to order the marriage certificate/s to ascertain which(if any) are the correct one (you will also need to know his fathers name to be sure)If you can identify the correct one then you may be able to identify any children he may have had.This might put you out of pocket in the long runPreviewName: Lawrence Armitage Spouse Surname: Parsons Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1946 Registration district: Leeds Registration county (inferred): Yorkshire - West Riding Volume Number: 9b Page Number: 712 Name: Lawrence Armitage Spouse: Parsons Marriage: Jan-Feb-Mar 1946 - Leeds, Yorkshire - West Riding Name: Lawrence Armitage Spouse: Wroe Marriage: Oct-Nov-Dec 1948 - Claro, Yorkshire- West Riding Name: Lawrence Armitage Spouse: Watson Marriage: Jan-Feb-Mar 1950 - Leeds, Yorkshire - West Riding Name: Lawrence A Armitage Spouse: Billard Marriage: Jan-Feb-Mar 1942 - Sheffield, Yorkshire - West Riding Name: Lawrence E Armitage Spouse: Roberts Marriage: Jan-Feb-Mar 1950 - Hull, Yorkshire - East Riding Name: Lawrence A Armitage Spouse: Epstine Marriage: Jan-Feb-Mar 1958 - Leeds, Yorkshire - West Riding

[Marty]

Thanks so much for this. You have found the first leads with Laurie's name as protagonist. I have contacted indirectly the curator of the London Irish Rifles Museum whose very ambiguous answer to my question about Lawrence Armitage's whereabouts was , "He was killed." BUT WHEN?? And WHERE and HOW??? He could give no other explanation, and as Laurie's name does NOT appear in any Commonwealth War Graves Commision cemetery I am left to presume various alternatives to the nature of his demise: Missing and Presumed Dead or perhaps he DID return safe and sound somewhere and was killed crossing a street!! I have his serial number and rank but the LIR association is very short on information. The only other information I have is his mother was Janet Scarth and his father William Armitage. But like you say, I have been advised I would need to research each and every lead until these parents' names come up. To whom or what agency would I need apply for these researches? If you have other suggestions for me, I am all ears! Many thanks again for your interest and trouble.

[cnosni]

Hi MartyYou can get copies of the marriage certificates in Leeds from the registry office,but you have to phone them and thy are about £8 a go.The other way is to do it online with the GRO (General Record Office) same price.The trouble is that the surname Armitage is common,and so is William,therefore the marriage certificates (which show the fathers forename and occupation of both parties) could well result in more than one good candidate.You may need to find addresses and occupations of your individuals to make an informedj udgement.

[drapesy]

A small point, but perhaps useful, - the girl's name 'Winifred' is usually spelt with one 'n' not two.

[Marty]

drapesy wrote: A small point, but perhaps useful, - the girl's name 'Winifred' is usually spelt with one 'n' not two. Yes, you are probably right on that, thanks. In references to her in the found letters, she was called "Wynne" and "Winnie" by her mother. But I guess when it came to her baptism name, it was "Winnifred".    

[Marty]

Marty wrote: drapesy wrote: A small point, but perhaps useful, - the girl's name 'Winifred' is usually spelt with one 'n' not two. Yes, you are probably right on that, thanks. In references to her in the found letters, she was called "Wynne" and "Winnie" by her mother. But I guess when it came to her baptism name, it was "Winnifred".     Whoops! I'm so used to putting the two "nn's" I did it again! Your quote reflects what does happen. Who is the author of it?Marty

[Marty]

cnosni wrote: Hi MartyYou can get copies of the marriage certificates in Leeds from the registry office,but you have to phone them and thy are about £8 a go.The other way is to do it online with the GRO (General Record Office) same price.The trouble is that the surname Armitage is common,and so is William,therefore the marriage certificates (which show the fathers forename and occupation of both parties) could well result in more than one good candidate.You may need to find addresses and occupations of your individuals to make an informedj udgement. Yes, it sounds a pretty expensive proposal. Does anyone out there have "friends" inside important places??? Are there any other references that might reveal the father's occupation, for example a voter's list and a census both pre-WW2 if the address is correct for that time?? However, I do believe Laurie's father had died (or the parents were separated/divorced) at least before October 1943, as there is no reference to him in the mother's 2 letters to Laurie. Thanks for all your suggestions.

[DennisAB]

I know all about the family you are looking for. Please contact me for further information. Dennis