Genealogy

When I started researching our family tree, I could find no record of my father’s surname. He had joined the army in March 1941 in Nambour, Queensland and his enlistment papers recorded that his army allotment was to be paid to his aunt, Selina Pollard, who lived at Darling Point in Sydney. Even that name was new to me. Sometime later, he met my mother and they were married in October 1941. By February of the following year, my father was on board the H.MT. Acquitania with the rest of his battalion bound for Singapore. However, the Japanese captured him shortly after the fall of Singapore and the Army posted him as "Missing", until confirmation of his fate trickled through the communication system.

Sometime between his enlistment date and his marriage, Selina Pollard applied to the Army for a Dependants Allowance and claimed my father was her only means of support. The Army then investigated the validity of her claim. In support of her application, Selina submitted two Statutory Declarations containing details of her background and financial circumstances. She disclosed her maiden name, her birthplace in country NSW, details of a previous marriage, and explained that she was then living with her married sister, Alice May Spry, now Mrs Braddock, in Sydney.

Back home, Mrs Braddock mistakenly opened a letter sent to Selina at her home address. The shock of learning that my father was "Missing" prompted Mrs Braddock to inform the Army in writing that she was in fact his mother and that he was her only son, who was born Thomas Charles Spry.

When I accessed my father's file at the National Archives in Queensland, the place of his enlistment, I discovered the letter written by Alice Spry, the Statutory Declarations of Selina and more - a virtual treasure trove of vital genealogical material. I might never be able to understand the reasons why he changed his name, but at least, I found his birth name and the date and place of his birth.

 

 

Dad and his pet monkey, Mr Moto	Alice May Spry, Sydney, 1941	Dad and Selina Pollard (aka Gertrude Eva Spry), Sydney, 1941

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