The end of the line?

Last week’s blog centred round the will of Leonard Kilbee Shaw and the distribution of his final assets. A portion of this went to his adopted son, Robert, who we have mentioned once before in this blog. Robert is an interesting character, not least because of his mysterious beginnings and unknown connection to Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, prior to being adopted by them. We know little about his upbringing and consequent life. However, the release of new documents can often start a new trail to discovery. 

Records

At the end of last year the 1939 Register was added to FindMyPast, a website which allows online searching of genealogical records such as birth, marriage and death certificates. This Register was created as a result of the start of World War Two and listed the personal details of every civilian in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It was used to issue identity cards and organise rationing. It became a legal requirement to carry these identity cards up until 1952, seven years after the War finished. 
The Register is an important historical document on the population of the United Kingdom from this period. A census has been taken every 10 years since 1801 and records can be accessed from 1841 onwards. It is a valuable tool in genealogy as it records where someone’s ancestor was living and who with and often gives details of age, occupation and birth place. There is a gap in these censuses however, between 1921 and 1951. The records for the 1931 census were destroyed during an air raid on London and due to World War Two a census for 1941 was never taken. It is therefore the only surviving overview of the civil population of England and Wales over a period of thirty years. 

Rationing Book

However I digress, so let’s go back to Robert. Our last known address for him was on Tetlow Lane, in Broughton, Salford, where he was living in 1911 with his wife Maud and two children at the age of 40. The 1939 Register shows Robert and Maud with one of their daughters at Arnfield Road, Withington. His second daughter, now married, was living in Hendon, Middlesex with her husband. These details are pivotal for finally discovering when Robert died. For someone who seemed to spend his whole life in Manchester, it seemed plausible that his death would have occurred here too. However it appears at some point in old age, Robert had returned to the county in which he was born, presumably to be nearer his daughter. He died on 18th April 1953 at Edgeware General Hospital. His address was given as Mill Hill, Middlesex, administration of his will was passed to his daughter, Margaret. This perhaps suggests his wife had already died at this point although no record has yet been found.

Further research has not revealed if either of Robert’s children had their own offspring. They were perhaps the end of the direct line for the Shaw dynasty. His co-founder of the Refuge, Richard Taylor, also died without any heirs to his name. I’m sure however, they would have proud of the young people their work continues to support today.