Deadpool Detective Work

[Ulitzer95 12,641]

Didn't get much further with this @Spade_Cooley, but this book confirms Ann was his second wife. The Wren part of his name is from the first wife.

As for John, the one site that says 1924 was correct in the end. He was born as John P. Lewis 5th May 1924 in Strood, Kent to Christopher Lewis (1893–1980) and Ada Judith Lewis née Tapsell (1892–1940). In 1939 he was resident in nearby Rochester with his parents (shortly before his mum passed). He then adopted the Wren part of the surname from his better half Shirley and became John Wren-Lewis before marrying her in Chatham, Kent in April 1949 (as per my last post).

Shirley was born Shirley Doris Wren on 12th September 1927. She appears in the same census records as John as "Shirley D Woodroffe Wren-Lewis". God knows what this "Woodroffe" is about. She died on 7th July 2001 in Romsey, Hampshire as Shirley D. Wren-Lewis, having never remarried. [COMMENT – this is suspect. Shirley kept the name. Surely you'd ditch it after a divorce? Did John and Ann ever actually marry then, or were they just life partners?]

Anyway, somewhere inbetween all this John met Ann and they became a couple. I've tried every name combination under the sun. I'm satisfied they didn't wed in the UK (several sites do note that they were well traveled so if they did tie the knot could've been anywhere) UNLESS Ann Faraday is a pen name she used and her real name is something totally different.

Anyway, she was living in Sydney in 1997–2000 according to a bio online, where John also taught as an academic. Shoalhaven, where he died in 2006 is a whole 200km away but on the same coast nonetheless.

My guess is she's still alive. So so many mentions of her online. It just seems like she's now retired/inactive. I think if she passed it would've been picked up. And I've watched the clips of her being interviewed vs. the one of the school cleaner – they are different people 100%. Shoalhaven has a population of 100,000. It's not hard to imagine that there's more than one Ann Faraday living there.

Throwing the towel in as that's all I can offer on this one!

[The Old Crem 3,605]

Quite a lot of Divorced women never change their name again

[Toast 16,140]

38 minutes ago, The Old Crem said:

Quite a lot of Divorced women never change their name again

 

Agree.  Saves all the hassle and expense of getting all your documents changed.

And I could see someone whose own surname had been Wren retaining the name "Wren-Lewis". 

[Ulitzer95 12,641]

Alright, I'm off work til Thursday and bored at home watching movies with the other half.

I want to start a new project now that I've put the UK Singles Chart on indefinite hold for now.

Anybody have any suggestions/areas they want explored or even just have any "possibly living" names they'd like me to investigate?

[YoungWillz 21,050]

4 minutes ago, Ulitzer95 said:

Alright, I'm off work til Thursday and bored at home watching movies with the other half.

I want to start a new project now that I've put the UK Singles Chart on indefinite hold for now.

Anybody have any suggestions/areas they want explored or even just have any "possibly living" names they'd like me to investigate?

Janice "Oi'll Give It Foive" Nicholls.

 

Became a chiropodist, was from Wednesbury and 16 in 1962/63. Released a single unsuccessfully. Married a Brian Meacham. Had a look for her but haven't seen anything recent. Where is she now?

[Sideik 236]

Loongkoonan of course! Take the next flight to Australia, you will need a whip, a hat and a treasure map, don't forget the mask! 

[The Daredevil 1,189]

27 minutes ago, Ulitzer95 said:

Alright, I'm off work til Thursday and bored at home watching movies with the other half.

I want to start a new project now that I've put the UK Singles Chart on indefinite hold for now.

Anybody have any suggestions/areas they want explored or even just have any "possibly living" names they'd like me to investigate?

I would appreciate any recent information you could find on André Maranne’s current status. 

[Spade_Cooley 9,530]

29 minutes ago, Ulitzer95 said:

Alright, I'm off work til Thursday and bored at home watching movies with the other half.

I want to start a new project now that I've put the UK Singles Chart on indefinite hold for now.

Anybody have any suggestions/areas they want explored or even just have any "possibly living" names they'd like me to investigate?

 

As I said on the darts thread, the history of early darts tournaments is completely unresearched online, and having looked at it myself it's far too great a job for a casual online research job. However, the dates of death of the first four players to play in a national televised final can't be found, and it'd be nice if they were available somewhere. The 1948 and 1949 News of the World Champions.

 

1948 - Harry Leadbetter (St Helens) beat Tommy Small (West Hartlepool)

1949 - Jackie Boyce (Barnet) beat Stan Outten (Redbridge)

 

Leadbetter was definitely dead as of 2000 according to this newspaper article. As for the other three - God knows.

[drol 11,951]

32 minutes ago, Sideik said:

Loongkoonan of course! Take the next flight to Australia, you will need a whip, a hat and a treasure map, don't forget the mask! 

I'm convinced she died off radar. Anyway she just disappeared.

[Sideik 236]

2 minutes ago, drol said:

I'm convinced she died off radar. Anyway she just disappeared.

 

He'll need a shovel too then....

[Ulitzer95 12,641]

3 hours ago, YoungWillz said:

Janice "Oi'll Give It Foive" Nicholls.

 

Became a chiropodist, was from Wednesbury and 16 in 1962/63. Released a single unsuccessfully. Married a Brian Meacham. Had a look for her but haven't seen anything recent. Where is she now?

A nice easy one to start with. 

JANICE P NICHOLLS was born 24th Jan 1946 at 27 Moor Street, Mesty Croft, which is part of the Friar Park ward of Wednesbury, West Midlands (then a part of Staffordshire). Sourced from this page but backed up by the GRO records.

Married Brian Meacham in Wednesbury c. Sep 1965.

Living at 6 Braemar Gardens, Hednesford near Cannock, Staffordshire as of the 2010 census. Nothing in the Wills or GRO Index since then so living and turning 75 in a couple of months. 

[Ulitzer95 12,641]

3 hours ago, Sideik said:

Loongkoonan of course! Take the next flight to Australia, you will need a whip, a hat and a treasure map, don't forget the mask! 

I can understand why there may be some doubt as to whether she is living or not. As soon as you Google her, the first dozen or so results are from 2016 (when she launched an exhibition, pictured in her wheelchair) or the preceding years.

But if you limit the search time frame to 2017–2020, there are still quite a few things which spring up, all of them talk about her in the present tense.

This blog from March 2020 notes:

"At the age of 110 she is not on any prescribed medication, only traditional Aboriginal medicine."

I would be surprised if she died off radar given her profile and popular following amongst enthusiasts of that particular form of art.

Clearly not 110 though. My hunch says she's "only" about 90... and a very ugly one at that.

[drol 11,951]

Thank you. Not the age she claims obviously.

[msc 18,477]

3 hours ago, Ulitzer95 said:

Alright, I'm off work til Thursday and bored at home watching movies with the other half.

I want to start a new project now that I've put the UK Singles Chart on indefinite hold for now.

Anybody have any suggestions/areas they want explored or even just have any "possibly living" names they'd like me to investigate?

 

Since you ask nicely, here's some which managed to stump me over the years:

 

Well, Peter "PJ" Hammonds DOB is still MIA. It stumped me and Cat! I even asked him once and he evaded the answer, saying he remembered growing up in the 1930s. (Also he may have a wife called Cressida, according to Cat's research before he hit a brick wall too.)

 

Henric Hirsch escaped Hungary after the 56 revolution failed and became a stage director in the UK. Worked on a few episodes of Doctor Who before William Hartnells temperamental nature (some say his open prejudice, though the jurys out on that one) led to him calling with a nervous breakdown and a replacement taking over direction on The Reign of Terror. Hirsch recovered to direct Emmerdale in the 1970s and then... disappeared, pretty much, and was found in Australia in 1994 but is believed to have died since.

 

Most interesting of all, Lesley Scott. Paul Erickson was a regular Welsh screenwriter of the 1950s/60s - Dr Who, The Saint, Crossroads, etc etc. He died aged 70 in 1991. That bits not in doubt. However, when he wrote for Doctor Who, he "co-wrote" the scripts for The Ark with his wife, Lesley Scott. She's never been interviewed, doesn't appear to have written anything else, and there's nothing on her. But if she was Ericksons wife, there must be a paper trail somewhere. He'd have been 100 in 2020 if not dead so I assume Scott is long buried.

[Ulitzer95 12,641]

4 hours ago, The Daredevil said:

I would appreciate any recent information you could find on André Maranne’s current status. 

Good shout. We've done him before but worth revisiting. I'll try and be thorough to add complete certainty.

So Wiki and many other sites claim André Maranne was born in 1926 in Toulouse, France as ANDRÉ GASTON MAILLOL.

This is true, and here's the evidence. He appears in a listing from the London Gazette here in 1967. It says:

"MAILLOL, ANDRE GASTON, known as Andre Maranne; France; Actor; 11 Clifton Terrace, Brighton, 29th March 1967".

The GRO gives us this for the MAILLOLS:

1) Circa Sep 1955 he married "MORIA (misspelling – should be MOIRA) J. MACDONALD. Found her in Scotland's People, she was born in 1925 in Leith.
2) Circa Sep 1956, their son Paul Maillol dies as an infant aged 0.

Ancestry:

2005 census lists BOTH Moira Maillol and Andre G Maillol still living at 11 Clifton Terrace in Brighton.

Since then, nothing in the GRO up to 2019 suggests either Andre or Moira have died, nor in the England and Wales Wills up to this month.

Now on Wikipedia, if you click on his talk page there are a few interesting comments from supposed relatives.

March 2010: "Andre Maranne is alive as of this date and living in Brighton, England."
Sep 2018: "As a relative of his, I can assure you that Andre is still alive (and still living in Brighton) as of this date (September 12, 2018)."

The evidence is overwhelming and yet this 1992 death year persists everywhere. But in case more is needed, someone here claims they spoke with him in 1999! He also appeared in a Radio 4 drama during Christmas 1993... not listed on IMDb because, well, it's radio! 

The rumour of his death seems to have started in the early to mid 2000s. Someone put it out there, probably confusing him for another actor, and it just spread like wildfire.

Anyways, he's alive and turning 95 next year.

[Handrejka 1,904]

Anyone know for sure about scriptwriter  Myra Taylor who co-wrote the Liver Birds?  Her death is mentioned in the Comedians and Comedy Writers thread on page 4, but the link is dead. Wiki uses 'was' but also lists her as living and there is no date of death on imdb. 

 

 

[msc 18,477]

9 minutes ago, Handrejka said:

Anyone know for sure about scriptwriter  Myra Taylor who co-wrote the Liver Birds?  Her death is mentioned in the Comedians and Comedy Writers thread on page 4, but the link is dead. Wiki uses 'was' but also lists her as living and there is no date of death on imdb. 

 

 

 

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Tributes+to+Liver+Bird+writer+Myra%3B+Mum+worked+with+Carla+Lane+on+top...-a0283951177

 

Here's the archive of the Liverpool Echo, and the Find a Will bit we use has a Myra Taylor dying in 22nd March 2012 in Liverpool in correlation with that obit. Think the Echo url page just got deleted for space after a while.

 

Died in a hospice from COPD.

[Joey Russ 7,228]

Since this thread is up, anyone have any idea what the hell happened to Joe Vento? Was diagnosed with pancan in 2017 at 100, and haven’t heard anything about him since 2018...

[Spade_Cooley 9,530]

34 minutes ago, Joey Russ said:

Since this thread is up, anyone have any idea what the hell happened to Joe Vento? Was diagnosed with pancan in 2017 at 100, and haven’t heard anything about him since 2018...

Was definitely alive in December last year,

[The Daredevil 1,189]

2 hours ago, Ulitzer95 said:

Good shout. We've done him before but worth revisiting. I'll try and be thorough to add complete certainty.

So Wiki and many other sites claim André Maranne was born in 1926 in Toulouse, France as ANDRÉ GASTON MAILLOL.

This is true, and here's the evidence. He appears in a listing from the London Gazette here in 1967. It says:

"MAILLOL, ANDRE GASTON, known as Andre Maranne; France; Actor; 11 Clifton Terrace, Brighton, 29th March 1967".

The GRO gives us this for the MAILLOLS:

1) Circa Sep 1955 he married "MORIA (misspelling – should be MOIRA) J. MACDONALD. Found her in Scotland's People, she was born in 1925 in Leith.
2) Circa Sep 1956, their son Paul Maillol dies as an infant aged 0.

Ancestry:

2005 census lists BOTH Moira Maillol and Andre G Maillol still living at 11 Clifton Terrace in Brighton.

Since then, nothing in the GRO up to 2019 suggests either Andre or Moira have died, nor in the England and Wales Wills up to this month.

Now on Wikipedia, if you click on his talk page there are a few interesting comments from supposed relatives.

March 2010: "Andre Maranne is alive as of this date and living in Brighton, England."
Sep 2018: "As a relative of his, I can assure you that Andre is still alive (and still living in Brighton) as of this date (September 12, 2018)."

The evidence is overwhelming and yet this 1992 death year persists everywhere. But in case more is needed, someone here claims they spoke with him in 1999! He also appeared in a Radio 4 drama during Christmas 1993... not listed on IMDb because, well, it's radio! 

The rumour of his death seems to have started in the early to mid 2000s. Someone put it out there, probably confusing him for another actor, and it just spread like wildfire.

Anyways, he's alive and turning 95 next year.

Thank you very much for that. I was just surprised that André Maranne was not in Son of The Pink Panther as François. So, let’s get Maranne on next year’s DeathList then.

[Ulitzer95 12,641]

5 hours ago, Spade_Cooley said:

 

As I said on the darts thread, the history of early darts tournaments is completely unresearched online, and having looked at it myself it's far too great a job for a casual online research job. However, the dates of death of the first four players to play in a national televised final can't be found, and it'd be nice if they were available somewhere. The 1948 and 1949 News of the World Champions.

 

1948 - Harry Leadbetter (St Helens) beat Tommy Small (West Hartlepool)

1949 - Jackie Boyce (Barnet) beat Stan Outten (Redbridge)

 

Leadbetter was definitely dead as of 2000 according to this newspaper article. As for the other three - God knows.

Tried my hardest with these. Very hard to do considering there's so little online about their tournament. If somebody were to retrieve some newspaper clippings from the period, with names of spouses, background info etc. it would be easy peasy! 

Here's what I got

Harry Leadbetter
b. Henry Leadbetter 15 May 1903 in St. Helens
d. Jan–Mar 1971 in St. Helens
100% certain on this one. The article you quoted notes his daughter Joyce and son-in-law Harold Greenfall. Found their wedding certificate, which gave her mum's maiden name of Wareing. Then found her parents marriage certificate from 1937 and worked backwords. Easy.

Tommy Small
b. Thomas William Small 10 Jul 1917 in Hartlepool
d. Apr–Jun 1972 in Hartlepool
This is a hunch. There's no other individuals from that area/period that fit the profile for one reason or another. Still, I wouldn't use it without some further evidence.

Stan Outten
b. Stanley Outten 29 Jan 1909 in Romford Essex
d. Jan–Mar 1985 in Redbridge, Essex
Again, a hunch. Only one that really fits the profile. Further evidence needed.

Jackie Boyce
b. Jack Wallace Boyce 23 April 1908 in Barnet
d. Jan–Mar 1987 in Barnet
Pretty certain on this one. Barnet represented the "New Southgate SC" in the tournament. In a 1939 residence record for the above Boyce his occupation is given as a worker for a scaffolding company. New Southgate Scaffolding Company?

[Ulitzer95 12,641]

1 hour ago, msc said:

 

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Tributes+to+Liver+Bird+writer+Myra%3B+Mum+worked+with+Carla+Lane+on+top...-a0283951177

 

Here's the archive of the Liverpool Echo, and the Find a Will bit we use has a Myra Taylor dying in 22nd March 2012 in Liverpool in correlation with that obit. Think the Echo url page just got deleted for space after a while.

 

Died in a hospice from COPD.

Very annoying that local news sites scrub articles after x amount of time. Creates a lot of problems.

For what it's worth. Born Myra Green in Liverpool in Jan–Mar 1934 (not 1937 as claimed everywhere online). Married Harold Taylor (mentioned above in her obit) in 1954. And as you said, died of COPD 22nd March 2012 aged 78.

[Ulitzer95 12,641]

6 hours ago, msc said:

 

Since you ask nicely, here's some which managed to stump me over the years:

 

Well, Peter "PJ" Hammonds DOB is still MIA. It stumped me and Cat! I even asked him once and he evaded the answer, saying he remembered growing up in the 1930s. (Also he may have a wife called Cressida, according to Cat's research before he hit a brick wall too.)

 

Henric Hirsch escaped Hungary after the 56 revolution failed and became a stage director in the UK. Worked on a few episodes of Doctor Who before William Hartnells temperamental nature (some say his open prejudice, though the jurys out on that one) led to him calling with a nervous breakdown and a replacement taking over direction on The Reign of Terror. Hirsch recovered to direct Emmerdale in the 1970s and then... disappeared, pretty much, and was found in Australia in 1994 but is believed to have died since.

 

Most interesting of all, Lesley Scott. Paul Erickson was a regular Welsh screenwriter of the 1950s/60s - Dr Who, The Saint, Crossroads, etc etc. He died aged 70 in 1991. That bits not in doubt. However, when he wrote for Doctor Who, he "co-wrote" the scripts for The Ark with his wife, Lesley Scott. She's never been interviewed, doesn't appear to have written anything else, and there's nothing on her. But if she was Ericksons wife, there must be a paper trail somewhere. He'd have been 100 in 2020 if not dead so I assume Scott is long buried.

Wow, this was hard, and what I did find was somewhat limited sadly.

Peter J. Hammond was born in 1934 as per BFI. Now, they have been wrong in the past but they're generally reliable on this front. I had a look through the birth index. There are loads of people called Peter Hammond born in 1934. The only one who stands out with a "J" as an initial is a Peter J F Hammond born in Hendon circa September 1934. He married a Shirley Eldridge circa June 1957 in Wood Green. Could be him but I wouldn't bet on it. Writers have a habit of adding/changing middle initials so in reality he could be any of the ones born that year... and that's not even taking into account the year being incorrect! "Cressida" didn't turn up any marriage records, nor could I find a Cressida Hammond on residency records.

Henric Hirsch. Nada. There was a HENRICK HIRSCH who married a Sandra R. Geissler in Islington circa December 1977. The only close match. Neither of them appear in any UK records after this date so maybe this is him and the two of them moved to Australia. Now you can search Aussie death records (not on Ancestry but at each state's respective sites) but the family research pages only go up to 1990, so you may have to wait some years and then look again to get an answer.

Paul Erickson is a pseudonym. Thankfully his death certificate on Ancestry for 27th October 1991 in Lambeth lists both his pseudonym and his real name, Frederick Redwood Watts. He was born in Cardiff 22 November 1920, so the info on the wider web is correct. Now, Wiki says him and Lesley Scott were married briefly. What does briefly mean? Presumably the two of them wrote The Ark in 1966 shortly before it was released. The reason why I question the language "briefly" is that this appears to be her, and it's from 15 years prior:

c. June 1951, Kensington, FREDERICK R WATTS (it also says aka PAUL ERICKSON) + GEMMA SIGHE (it also says aka GEMMA VITALE). I believe Lesley Scott was Gemma Vitale/Sighe. Sadly, here is where the trail ends. I can't find any other trace of where she came from or where she went to!!

Now, there is a marriage in Lambeth in 1986 for a Frederick R Watts and a Monica A Baker. He died in Lambeth. Could this have been a later spouse? Yes, the marriage certificate also lists his pseudonym of Paul Erickson.

In other words, not much use. But I did try, and at least there's a supposed birth year for Hammond and the proper bio details for Erickson himself, with the likely true identity of "Lesley Scott". Maybe someone a little less amateur than myself can use them and pursue this further.

[msc 18,477]

That's some strong work on three difficult cases. When off work later, I'll see if it brings up any new leads, thanks.

[maryportfuncity 10,647]

17 hours ago, Ulitzer95 said:

Alright, I'm off work til Thursday and bored at home watching movies with the other half.

I want to start a new project now that I've put the UK Singles Chart on indefinite hold for now.

Anybody have any suggestions/areas they want explored or even just have any "possibly living" names they'd like me to investigate?

 

 

Rose West's mum...

 

Comment on another thread suggests she might be alive - v.old and likely to get a fleeting national press mention if and when, which won't be long, surely, if she is with us.

 

That'd be Daisy Gwendoline Fuller - b. 1919, married name as Daisy Letts but no date online other than the year.

 

Rose was born in 1953 in Northam, Devon - when her folks moved away and eventually separated her mum stayed in and around Cheltenham. Rose grew up in Bishops Cleeve. 

 

And - maybe searchable - her mum had mental health issues incl. getting ECT whilst expecting Rose (which might explain summat, eh?)