Searching for family

[dansybelle]

Hello,

Adventures on Ancestry.com have led me to realise that I am descended from Bedlington/Morpeth and not soley from London as I thought. I'm trying to find out who my grandfather might have been. Are there any reasons why miners  from The Bedlington Colliery would have found themselves in London in 1944 (when my father was conceived?)

Thanks in advance

Dansybelle 🙂

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Welcome to the group @dansybelle.

From when the mines started in the North east there has always been stories of families moving from the South to find work in the Northern mines but never heard any stories etc. of  miners moving South to find work in mining as all the mines would have been in full production in 1944 when WWII ended.

The Durham Mining Musem site has a list of all the Durham & Northumberland collieries. This is a direct link to the alphabetical entries of mines in the area :-  http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/index_a.htm

Under the Morpeth name there are only two entries :-

Morpeth Banks Colliery  Pegswood, Morpeth      

&  Morpeth Moor Colliery  

There were two collieries in Bedlington :-

Doctor Pit

& Bedlington/Sleekburn 'A' pit

and these two pits had links with other pits in the area eg. Cambois, Choppington, West Sleekburn, Barrington & Bomarsund, Stakeford.

For a family to move to the South withoput work or links to relatives would seem to be a very brave move.

I am not a member of a genealogy site but expect them to have access to to the latest census records ie. 1921 and birt h records that might help you identify area the family lived and occupation.

[Alex wilson]

My grandfather was born in Bedlington in 1913 to a single mother (of dubious morals IMO) and unknown father. He started his working life as a miner. In the 1939 census he was working in a hotel in central London. His wife (my grandmother), was working as a servant in a large house in the south.  They left my father and his sister up here with relatives. One was left with Gr grandmother of dubious morals.  
Grandmother came back to Bedlington. Grandfather was in WW2 and never returned, barely seeing his children again.  
After the war he had a professional career, remarried, and although had no further children did very well. 
I remember my great grandmother well and she had calmed down a bit in her later years, but often wonder if grandfather left Bedlington because his mother was a disgrace.   That said, I hardly remember him. No birthday or Christmas cards. Nothing.  So perhaps the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. 
So although the mines were doing well, it may be personal circumstances that took your relative down south. 

[dansybelle]

Thanks for the info- he could even be my grandfather as well. Who knows! What was your grandfather's name? If you don't mind sharing.

[Alex wilson]

I would prefer not to share as I have left out some of the more salacious details.  I no longer live in Bedlington but I recognise some of the names on here and I think most on here would know me. I lived there most of my life until I was about 25.  Bedlington is a very small.  Alex Wilson is not my real name.  I was reading something at the time and that was a portmanteau of what I was reading.

As far as I know, my grandfather had no children after my father was born, so I would doubt if we shared the same grandfather unless your father was illegitimate?
My father was in fact illegitimate.  He was born in Morpeth workhouse and his parents married after he was born.  He died some years ago and I do not believe he knew.  My grandfather had done well for himself and when he died the solicitor as executor distributed his estate to my father without checking his birth status. His sister was adopted so was never a beneficiary of the estate. If he had checked, he would have realised that at that time illegitimate children were not entitled to an estate under the intestate rules.   I am not sure when the rules changed.