Sue,

In the first instance, thanks for all the attention you are giving this.

Regarding the written information, this is a forty year old letter written to me at a time when I was too young to take much notice. The author of this, a Miss G Austin, was at the time a lodger with my mother’s adoptive Mother, Mrs Purse.

The then elderly Miss Austin said that in an unguarded moment, Mrs Purse told her that “Joan, [my Mother] was the illegitimate daughter of an Isle of Man Colonel, sent to England out of the way”.

This with Quayle being such a prominent IOM family name separated DMQ from other possible mainland candidates.

Concerning my mother’s birth certificate, I do not have the original; it is not with her personal effects which I have had since my Father died. I am told that her parents gave her the original in a sealed envelope to hand in to the enlisting officer.

You have to remember at this time parents still played a larger dictatorial part in their children’s lives, grown up or not.

She only found this document by mistake when she opened her reporting paperwork which also contained her personal documents, returned for safekeeping by the Army. Apart from the obvious shock I do not know what she was told by her adoptive parents.

I think the original was handed to the Purses at the time of adoption and then kept under wraps, only being produced on those rare occasions when needed, passport application, enlistment, etc.

I am still awaiting a response from the RC church re the adoption side of things and am toying with the idea of getting a copy of my Mothers Military records from the MoD, these may contain a copy of her original Birth Certificate although I am not sure what useful information this would produce.

On the subject of IOM Colonels, I cannot find any Darwell’s, it could be another name, no Darwell’s civilian or military appear to have ever served, lived, born or died in the IOM.

Under "Name, surname, and maiden name of mother", Dora Darwell [nee] Quale.

As to, "Signature description and residence of informant"? Stanley Darwell, Father, Belmont House, Euston Road, Bangor. I have enquiries under way as to the status of this location at the time.

There appears to be no marriage record of Darwell/Quayle in the UK or IOM, although this does not preclude such an event in an overseas territory etc.

As you can see DMQ seems to be my strongest contender even thought the link is tenuous.

SD is difficult to pin down; in a retrogressive search 40 years before my mother’s birth there are no BMD entries for SD, with the exception of one born in 1919, in NW UK, which is obviously not the one.

I am coming to terms with the fact this is possibly a false name, therefore not concentrating too much on him at this time.

Therefore If SD? was supporting his daughter, it might not be under the name of Darwell.

Points to ponder

- What other Colonels, serving/retired/lieutenant Col. Where located in IOM C1919/20 ?

- Where any of these RC if so what’s in their wills ?

MH