Genealogy Chat

Tracey I don't think the 'Establishment' softened towards divorce at all, even though there was a war on. Ordinary people might have been a bit more understanding I suppose, but a divorced woman was still a social disgrace, and no respectable family would want their daughter to marry a divorced man. And remember, at that time, men automatically got custody of their children, even if they were the guilty party - women only got custody in exceptional circumstances. Most divorced women never saw their children again. Two sides of my family never spoke again after 1933 - one side had been involved in a messy public divorce, and 'my' side of the family cut them off completely. How cruel and stupid. OC

Thanks OC. Actually, I'm rather relieved such documents aren't viewable online as they still have the potential to cause pain in the surviving family. The articles I found in the Times related to another part of my tree at an earlier time nd the salacious detail was unbelievable. Even the hotels were named and no effort was wasted in humilating the 2 transgressors. However, I should imagine the sorry tale of the 2nd world war marriage breakup was one repeated in many families in the 40s and 50s. Would public moral attitudes towards ordinary folk have softened briefly in that climate? It will be interesting to see if this particular divorce was recorded in the local newspaper. I'm going to put my evidence together and see if I can narrow down the timeslot a wee bit further and then follow your suggestion of the Divorce Court Registry. Thanks, Tracey

Divorce records aren't viewable on line anywhere, as far as I know, but if you know when and where, you can apply to the Divorce Court Registry. You could also try local/national newspapers - they nearly always reported divorces, particularly if there was a bit of scurrilous detail. OC

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