Elsie Radley Hawkins changed her name by deed poll to Colthup on 15.1.1943, then changed it back to Hawkins by another deed poll on 29.3.1943. She was unmarried at the time. Any ideas as to why she would do that?
My theory (without a shred of evidence) is that she was, or thought she was, pregnant and the father, called Colthup, was away on active service, maybe a PoW, and unlikely to be back on leave before the birth, and she wanted the child to be born a Colthup, but then she found she was not pregnant (or had a miscarriage) so changed it back.
Elsie married Reginald C A Colthup in 1947 using her maiden name of Hawkins. I can find no issue from this marriage so nobody currently alive to ask.
But there was also a marriage of a Reginald C A Colthup to Isabel M Wallace in 1923, and I can only find one man of this name, born in 1899, so another theory is that Elsie was in a relationship with him and was waiting for a divorce. An Isabel May Colthup died in 1982, born in 1897, this looks like the 1923 wife so if she was divorced by Reginald she retained the Colthup surname.
Reginald died in 1971. The only child from the marriage to Isabel that I could find was Bernard born 1924 died 1956.
My theory (without a shred of evidence) is that she was, or thought she was, pregnant and the father, called Colthup, was away on active service, maybe a PoW, and unlikely to be back on leave before the birth, and she wanted the child to be born a Colthup, but then she found she was not pregnant (or had a miscarriage) so changed it back.
Elsie married Reginald C A Colthup in 1947 using her maiden name of Hawkins. I can find no issue from this marriage so nobody currently alive to ask.
But there was also a marriage of a Reginald C A Colthup to Isabel M Wallace in 1923, and I can only find one man of this name, born in 1899, so another theory is that Elsie was in a relationship with him and was waiting for a divorce. An Isabel May Colthup died in 1982, born in 1897, this looks like the 1923 wife so if she was divorced by Reginald she retained the Colthup surname.
Reginald died in 1971. The only child from the marriage to Isabel that I could find was Bernard born 1924 died 1956.
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