Help, lost Grandfather

[Marlow]

I was wondering if anyone could help with my research. My father never knew his father, and out of interest I asked him for a copy of his birth certificate. He had always told me he had no father, but on his birth certificate it says a Arthur Guest Private 5248320 from the Worcestershire Regiment was married to his mother Mary Guest, which is why my maiden name was Guest. As my dad never knew him I suspect he either died in WW2 or became a POW or just left my dad's mum. Does anyone recollect an Arthur Guest?

[scully]

Hi,

There was a Private Arthur Guest who served with Support Company of the 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment. He landed with the 1st Battalion in Normandy in June 1944 and survived the war. This was the only match I could find. His army number indicates he was already in the Army about 1939 or before.

On your fathers birth certificate what was the maiden name his mother. Also you did not mention your fathers first name or date of birth. If you let me have these I will try another search.

You could also try contacting Veterans-UK Helpline on freephone 0800 169 22 77 as they will be able to help you get a copy of your grandfathers army service records.

Regards,

Louis (webmaster)

[Marlow]

Well, I contacted the Veterans helpline who sent me out alot of paper work and no real information.
You wanted my dad's name and dob? He is called Gerald Arthur (I presume after his father) and was born 13th January 1942 and his mothers maiden name on the birth certificate is Wilson. Now I've been led to believe that this certificate may be false (as in his mothers name and maiden name) but that is why I would like information as I do not believe that so much detail could be false on an official document. I was told "all sorts of things went on during war time". So I hope you can clarify things. Thank you for your help.

[scully]

Hi,

I had another search and could not find a marriage between Arthur Guest and Mary Wilson. I checked the marriage records 5 years either side of 1942 (your fathers year of birth) and could find no match. It could be that Mary Wilson was not married but had a child by Arthur Guest? Did your father have a marriage certificate for his parents?

Regards,

Louis (webmaster)

[Marlow]

Hi

No, my dad has no marriage certificate for Arthur and Mary. His mum died whe he was young and he lived wih his Grandmother, he was also told that Arthur Guest was his grandfather and that Mary's maiden name was actually Guest and her married was Wilson. But that is not what was on record. So basically there are alot of falsehood around his birth certificate, so I don't really know what to believe. Arthur could actually be my Great Grandfather, but like I said my dad's family all died when he was young and all he remembers is a red haired man (who he is he can't rememberthe name of). Oh well, thanks for the help, seems I'm at a loss of where to go to now. Thanks again.