Who is this man in the photo

[ThePandoricaOpens]

I found out a few years ago after my dad died (from my mum) that he never knew his bilogical father. I wasn't aware that my grandad was his stepdad. Apparently he found out when he was 18 and was very upset about it. My mum said he carried his photo in his wallet, but she thought she'd thrown it away after he died! She passed away last October and when I was going through her things I found some really old photos. I know some were my dad's as he'd shown me when I was younger. One postcard photo stood out (attached) and he looks spookily like my dad and I'm wondering if he's his father - I have no way of knowing! I've done a DNA test and found some relatives on my mums side, but having no luck with my dad's other than a couple that I can't see a link to. I put the photo into Chat GPT - front and back and what it came back with sounds pretty logical - date/place. It deciphered the scribbled out writing on the back as 'Ernest (Howe/House) Returned with bag, which makes me think he died in the war? Does anyone have any tips on how to find out anymore info? Sorry for the ramble!

That could be his service number, you could try the military service records

I think the number's from the photographer. You could try the Birkenhead archives to try to find out what happened to the photographer's records - but it's a long shot.

You could see if there're any records in Birkenhead for this Ernest, in case he was from there. Birkenhead suggests he maybe had his photo taken before sailing off somewhere.

When and where was your dad born? What about his birth certificate? Maybe he saw it when he was 18, and that was how he discovered his SF wasn't his F.

Was your granny married before to your biological grandad?

I had a look on Ancestry and there are a couple of Edward Howe(s) who died in WWI but no deaths for an Edward House. There are also some emigration records from Liverpool for Edward Howe/House (and other variations). Happy to do a bit more searching if you have any other information.

@SwetSwetSwet I've contacted the Birkenhead photographers society (I think that's the name!) and they couldn't help me unfortunately. My nan was never married to this man and he's not on my dad's birth certificate - this is why it's so damn difficult! All I have is this photo with the writing on the back 😕

@Fgfgfg Hi! His name was actually Ernest rather than Edward, but thanks for looking 😊

People generally met through friends or work. Where was your grandmother living when your dad was conceived? And where did she work? Was that Birkenhead too? And what year was it? Would the 1921 census or 1939 register help?

I know and I looked up Ernest. I have no idea why I typed Edward in my reply!

is there a fb page for that area? i just wondered may be worth asking as someone may know who he was ie relatives still alive

I can't really make out much detail but the scribbled out writing is in the place where an address would have been written.

If it's Ernest House, the second line looks as though it says *** Rd?

Wondering if Chat GPT has sent you down the wrong track?

I think the crossed out text is an address. There's the name, ? Road (possible starting with an R or B), then ?wall - possibly Childwall, then Cheshire.

If you have a look at the text through some photo editing app and alter the brightness, contrast etc it may make it clearer.

Great minds... Seeline!

@Fgfgfg that's exactly the sort of thing that I do!

There’s an address in the top corner that reads Beresford Rd, <<>> Cheshire - I can’t make out the town name but it looks like one of the ones around Birkenhead, maybe West Kirby as it’s two words. I just googled and the road goes through West Kirby, Oxton and Prenton so you might be able to find him on the 1911 Census records? Search using the first name, H and the wildcard symbol in surname and then beresford road. Hope this helps.

@SwetSwetSwet my nan was born and grew up in a small town in north wales in 1912, she didn't have a job. It's only a short trip to Liverpool from there. My dad was born in 1937. There was an army base there from 1914, so I'm pretty sure it was still there in WW2 , so maybe they met that way? I remember my dad talking about soldiers in the town when he was small - apparently the kids would say 'got any gum chum?' and the soldiers would give them chewing gum!

@MedievalNun oh wow that's amazing, thank you! @StarryGazeyEyes @Seeline that's really helpful thank you - it's funny how everyone sees different things. Great help - I'll search for all of these names

The last census you’ll be able to access is 1921 - BUT - the 1939 National Register is available - I think Ancestry has it but the National Archives definitely does. So you could also search that using an initial and the street name.

Very good sleuthing 😀I wonder, if it is indeed House, whether that's part of the address. He gave her the card with his address, then she crossed it out when she found he had moved? I wonder whether it's worth scanning it again to a higher resolution to see if you can make it out. Also, I think the Facebook idea is a good one - for your nan's village site and for the address. People in the village must have known at the time, and also relatives.

Commonwealth war graves commission lists all the war dead. If he died in WW2 he’ll be listed there

That’s a reference to American soldiers - they were the ones with the gum

I wonder whether if he were a soldier, he'd be photographed in his uniform? I wonder whether that's an AI red herring?

I see you mentioned that you no luck with the DNA but this is my field and can usually work out who the grandfather is from other matches and along with British records; this is exactly what I specialise in as a qualified genealogist. If you’re interested please PM me and I’ll see if I can give you a heads up on chances of success in this case before doing any work on it.

The third line on the address looks like Heswall to me, which is on the Wirral near Birkenhead.

There’s an Ernest Howe mentioned here who’s round about the right age
www.oldilkeston.co.uk/the-howe-family-2/

The fashion is very 1930s, with the wide lapels, long collar and small tie knot.
So he is potentially not a soldier. Which makes me think the pp who thought he was emigrating via Birkenhead might be onto something.

My very first thought was that he had been photographed in his demob suit. No idea whether that’s right or not though