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Do you know Robert William Wells Born 4/08/1927 - Connected to Bailey family from Ireland possibly

Replies: 9

Do you know Robert William Wells Born 4/08/1927 - Connected to Bailey family from Ireland possibly

Posted: 12 Jul 2015 6:42PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Wells, Bailey, Balie, Balie, Baylie, Bayleigh, O'Reilly
Hi everyone,

I am trying to trace my heritage on my paternal Grandad's side and I am really struggling so I was hoping someone may know further information on here!

My Grandad is Robert William Wells born on the 04/08/1927 in the London (possibly Suffolk) area.

His mother (Christian and Maiden name unknown) was possibly married to someone with the surname Wells (Christian name unknown). Robert's mother, so story has it, had an affair with a married man from Ireland who had the surname Bailey (unsure of spelling) who was working in London - he was from a Catholic family and soon returned to his wife and family in Ireland leaving Robert's mother alone with him. There is a possibility that Robert's Mum and Mr Bailey had another child, a daughter (Christian name and Surname unknown), who my family believes may have had a son called Bobby (Surname unknown) who was raised in the London area in the 1960/70's+.

Robert was given the Surname of Wells due to his illegitimacy although it's unknown if Robert's Mother returned to her husband. There is also a possibility that Robert and his full sister had an older half brother George Wells, the son of Robert's Mother and Mr Wells. It is believed George married someone called Ivy who died within the last 20 years.

Robert's Mother was a laundress and took Robert to work with her when he was a baby but soon couldn't care for him and put him into the care system (date unknown) when he was still young. Robert was in a Barnardos Care Home in the London area before possibly returning to his Mother a few years later.

Robert attended a Naval College in Norfolk before fighting in WW2, I believe he was a stoker but family stories mention that he shot down a German fighter plane so may have been a gunner. He also apparently was on a ship during his Naval career that was heavily bombed leaving all of the crew stranded in the sea in the dark and as a result Robert had a fear of deep water for the rest of his life.

Robert later married Veronica O'Reilly, I believe in the 1950's, and they went on to have 7 children with 6 currently living (the other, John, died as a newborn baby). Their children are Mary Teresa, Elizabeth, Frances, Gerard, Richard, and James all of whom have children of their own (I am the daughter of Gerard), and the majority of which are in the Essex area. The two exceptions are my own family who are in the East Midlands (UK) after my parents moved here in the late 1980's, and Frances's family who moved to Australia in the 2000's.

Sadly my Grandparents have both passed away - Veronica died in 1988 and Robert died in 1999 in Essex after marrying his second wife Renee in the early 1990's. Renee has also passed away and her children from her first marriage inherited any of my Grandad's possessions hence why we have no birth cert's, pictures, or early records to research.

I am very interested, as well as my immediate family, in tracing my Grandad's heritage as there is so little information.

If anyone has any information it would be much appreciated!

Please do get in contact if you have any information at all!

Many thanks,

Francesca
SubjectAuthorDate Posted
francesca wel... 13 Jul 2015 12:42AM GMT 
CarolColeman8... 13 Jul 2015 6:16AM GMT 
francesca wel... 13 Jul 2015 6:31AM GMT 
CarolColeman8... 13 Jul 2015 6:34AM GMT 
francesca wel... 13 Jul 2015 6:43AM GMT 
CarolColeman8... 13 Jul 2015 7:14AM GMT 
francesca wel... 13 Jul 2015 2:56PM GMT 
CarolColeman8... 13 Jul 2015 3:00PM GMT 
francesca wel... 13 Jul 2015 3:04PM GMT 
CarolColeman8... 13 Jul 2015 3:24PM GMT 
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