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Thread: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

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    Default Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    ]Hello all.

    As I wrote in the title I am trying to find out what happened to my birth Father, so I'd better start at the beginning.
    I was born in March 1932,. (so I am 85 now) in Liverpool. To be brutally honest I was the result of ''ships that pass in the night'. which was OK by me later, but at the time I was not concerned about it, not that I am now, as it is water under the bridge. But........

    This means that I was concieved in July 1931. This is the starting point as having gained acess to all the records that are stil available I found out that my mother was a hairdresser and my father was a ships orchestra pianist on a trans Atlantic liner operating out of Liverpool to the USA, This bit was actually told to me by my adoptive mother, as she felt it necessary to tell me when I was about 10 or thereabouts that I was adopted. Most of my birth mothers family records were moved to Crosby during the war, but were destroyed by the German bombers during one of the raids on the city. But I did find out my birth fathers name was HOBSON initial S? and he came from Southampton.
    I tried to start looking at which ships on that route were in Liverpool at that time so that I might be able to find out which ship he was on, but ended up going round in circles with no result. There were several shipping lines doing that crossing at the time. so it got very confusing. if I can find out which those ships were I might be able to fiind the crew lists, and from that point follow his career, and possibly go back into his family tree.
    But it was his future that is more to the point, because it is probable tht he was still in the MN when WW2 broke out.
    If this was so, then his war time service is of great imporrtance as there were many thousands of crew members who lost their lives during that time. If he was killed or even if he survived I would dearly like to find out.
    I cannot find any lists of who was even in the MN before the war. Also would he have been on the crew list he being a member of an orchestra. would he have been transfered into the RN?
    Any sugesstions would be more than appreciated, as this has been a little worry worm for many many years.
    So, what liners were in Liverpool in July 1931. probably P and O. and others. where are their crew lists, what was his sailing history up to that point and beyond.

    OK Thanks for reading this, and if you can point me in the right direction again many thanks.

    Best to all out there

    A H.
    Last edited by Mike Hall; 16th November 2017 at 03:03 PM.

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    Default Re: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    Ships sailing to the States, New York and Boston from Liverpool in 1931 were Cunard Steamship Company and white Star Line, the Britannic was White Star Line until 1934 when Cunard took them over and became Cunard White Star Line,
    The Cunard ships would be Franconia, Scythia, Ascania, and some others that were lost in WW2
    P&O didn't sail out of Liverpool,
    If he was in the Orchestra he could be working for an Agency and not Cunard., I do know after the war Geraldo ran all the orchestras on the Cunard ships and were employed by him..
    Don't know about 1931.
    Good LUCK
    Brian
    Last edited by Captain Kong; 29th July 2017 at 06:05 PM.

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    Default Re: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    Marian I can remember in my earlier days at sea, at least one AB told me it was quiet common for seamen who had missed their ship or jumped in the States found their way back to the Uk simply by getting on board one of the Queens or similar and keep Inconspicuous by moving around public areas for the 6 or 7 day passage back. They had no official record of ever having been there. This must also have happened on numerous occasions. The deck crews I sailed with who had been on passenger ships rarely had a good word to say for them. Too regimentated for them, and accomodation over populated. Cheers JWS.

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    Default Re: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    Could this be him ???? Would dates be correct?

    First name(s) Sidney Francis
    Last name Hobson
    Event year 1918
    Birth year 1896
    Birth place Liverpool
    Birth county/country Lancashire
    Birth date 27 Nov 1896
    Discharge number 790348
    Identity certificate number 838615
    Card type CR10
    Archive The National Archives
    Series BT350
    Date range 1918-1921
    Record set Britain, Merchant Seamen, 1918-1941
    Category Education & work
    Subcategory Merchant navy & maritime
    Collections from Great Britain, UK None
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    Default Re: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    Hello again,

    It seems I have opened Pandoras Box with this thread. ButI am truly amased at the responses so far, In the evidence I have so far it tells me that the Hobson we are looking for gave his address as being in Southhampton, not Liverpool. Whether this was that he was born in Liverpool as shown in one response, and just lived in Soton is open to question,
    Also that my Birth mother was a hairdresser in Crosby and did not sail on any liner. He must havebeen in Liverpool in June 1931 for me to be created, so this narrows the field of which ship he was serving on. I assume it is more likely that he was on a Cunard vessel. I do wish that Herr Hitler had just left Crosby alone during the May Blitz as my birth mothers records were stored there and this has denied me the chance of tracing whether she later married and had another or more children.
    I was hoping to narrow it down if it is possible to findout exactly which shipe WERE in Liverpool at that time. I tried to see if there were any Liverpool Dock and Harbour Board logs of that time. but so far withput result. Any leads you can think of I will chase up.
    My adoptine mother seemed adamant at the time she told me that he was a pianist, and I tend to think that that might have given me the ability to play so whether a bugler came into it I have no idea.
    Interesting that the orchestras might not have been on the crew list as they were supplied by an outside agency, ie Geraldo.
    So thanks again, and if you can find any more evidenceI I will be more than grateful. Cheers . A.H.

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    Default Re: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    I am away this week from the next two minutes ,
    If you can find out who the Agent for Orchestras in the Cunard ships it may help. I am not sure when Geraldo started, I know he was in charge of all the orchestras for Cunard when I worked for them in the 50s. They were employed by him and not by Cunard,
    Brian.
    #now off to sunny Fleetwood,
    Bye.

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    Default Re: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    On that CRS10 The one ship listed there is this one??Canadian Pacific Railway Co.

    MELITA - 1924
    Code letters: JRVC Official Number 136367
    Rigging: steel triple screws steamer; 3 steel decks; steel awning deck sheathed in teak;
    partial 4th steel deck; 10 cemented bulkheads; fitted with electric light, refrigerating machinery,
    submarine signalling device, wireless and direction finder; cellular double bottom 445 feet long,
    2,053 tons; Forward Peak Tank 106 tons; Aft Peak Tank 57 tons.
    Tonnage: 14,000 tons gross, 11,094 under deck and 8,461 net.
    Dimensions: 520 feet long, 67.2 foot beam and holds 41.8 feet deep; Poop 46 feet long;
    Bridge & Forecastle on awning deck 413 feet.
    Construction: 1918, Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd. in Glasgow.
    Propulsion: triple expansion engine with 8 cylinders, (2) 26 1/2, (2) 41 1/2 & (4) 47 inches diameter
    respectively; stroke 51 inches; and 1 low pressure turbine; operating at 215 p.s.i.;
    5 double ended boilers; 30 corrugated furnaces; grate surface 590 sq. ft.; heating
    surface 24,730 sq. ft.; forced draught; engine by Harland & Wolff Ltd. in Belfast.
    Owners: Canadian Pacific Railway Co. (Canadian Pacific Steamship Ltd. managers)
    Port of registry: Belfast
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    Default Re: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    Official Number 142717
    SS Minnedosa
    was a 15,000 ton steam ocean liner the hull of which was built in Glasgow on the River Clyde for the Canadian Pacific Shipping Line by Barclay Curle, under sub-contract to Harland and Wolff, in Belfast. It was launched in Glasgow on 17 October 1917 and towed to Belfast for completion, being handed over to Canadian Pacific on 21 November 1918.[1]
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    Default Re: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    Official Number 144402Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm
    History
    Name:
    • 1908–1919: SS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm
    • 1919: USS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm
    • 1919–1921: SS Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm
    • 1921: SS Empress of China
    • 1921–1923: RMS Empress of India
    • 1923–1925: SS Montlaurier
    • 1925: SS Monteith
    • 1925–1929: SS Montnairn
    Owner:
    Port of registry:
    Builder: J. C. Tecklenborg in Gestemunde, Germany
    Launched: October 21, 1907
    Maiden voyage: June 6, 1908
    Fate: Scrapped in 1929, Genoa
    General characteristics
    Class and type: Ocean liner
    Tonnage: 16,992 tons
    Length: 590.1 ft
    Beam: 68.3 ft
    Propulsion:
    • Two masts
    • twin propellers
    Speed: 17 knots
    Capacity:
    • 46 1st class passengers
    • 338 2nd class
    • up to 1,726 steerage passengers
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    Default Re: Looking for my Birth Father as I was adopted.

    115258 Warwickshire





    The Ship umber shown is actually the Yard Number at Top Below is Ships Number on Pic


    Although this shows that ship of 10/1920 it is quite possible that he was on her again in 1931 from Liverpool????
    Last edited by Doc Vernon; 31st July 2017 at 11:33 PM.
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