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Hello. My grandfather used to talk about Cousin Charlie who drowned on the Broads, probably as a teenager, but we have been unable to find anyone called Charles at that time in the tree, so we don't even know his surname, although it might have been Thompson. Does anyone have an idea how I could find details of deaths on the Broads at that time?

???? Not a Charlie but there is this.

Broadland Memories Blog | Blogging on Broadland's past [http://www.broadlandmemories.co.uk/blog/_green]
www.broadlandmemories.co.uk/blog/
Bruce is currently working on yet another of his grandfather's Norfolk Broads logs which has ... When John Hart died in 1898, his son George took over the running of the ..... In March 1916, compulsory active service was introduced for all single men ..... Sadly, Joseph drowned in April 1908 as they sailed through Reedham.

there is this death for a Charles Thompson 1916 he is the youngest death I could find


Deaths Dec 1916 (>99%)

Thompson Charles F 18 Norwich 4b 216

There's this one -


Deaths Sep 1906

BLOOMFIELD Charles Samuel 18 Mutford 4a 640


03 August 1906 - Diss Express - Diss, Norfolk, England

A young man named Charles Bloomfield was drowned while bathing in Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, on Tuesday morning.

Baptism for Charles Samuel Bloomfield 1888

Charles Samuel
Last name Bloomfield
Sex Male
Birth year 1888
Birth date 01 Mar 1888
Baptism year 1888
Baptism date 01 Apr 1888
Father's first name(s) Charles Pendle
Mother's first name(s) Ellen Sarah
Parish Lowestoft, St Margaret
Diocese Norwich
County Norfolk
Country England
Archive Norfolk Record Office
Archive reference PD 589/11
Page 105
Record set Norfolk baptisms
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Births & baptisms
Collections from United Kingdom

Parents marriage? Not a Thompson in sight

Marriages Sep 1887 (>99%)
BLOOMFIELD Charles Pendal Mutford 4a 1273 <<<
GAMBLE Louisa Elizabeth Mutford 4a 1273
ROLFE James Mutford 4a 1273
Saunders Ellen Sarah Mutford 4a 1273 <<<<

Marriage image is on FMP

First name(s) Charles Pendal
Last name Bloomfield
Sex Male
Age 19
Birth year 1868
Residence Lowestoft
Marriage year 1887
Marriage date 25 Aug 1887
Parish Lowestoft, St Margaret
Diocese Norwich
Spouse's first name(s) Ellen Sarah
Spouse's last name Saunders
Spouse's age 19
Spouse's parish Lowestoft
Father's first name(s) Charles Pendle
Father's last name Bloomfield
(Deceased shipwright)
Spouse's father's first name(s) Samuel
Spouse's father's last name Saunders (Fisherman)
County Norfolk
Country England
Archive Norfolk Record Office
Archive reference PD 589/28
Page 23
Record set Norfolk marriages
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)

Witnesses J W Saunders & Alice E Stannard

Thanks for the replies with suggestions of where to follow up. It is so difficult without a definite surname. The hunt goes on. At least I know what the next step is.

Hello Christine, do you have a public tree on Ancestry?

I think it might be easier for us to search if we knew who your grandfather was and see who his possible Aunts & Uncles were. At least we'd then have potential surnames.

The newspapers are great for searching- using names/ addresses etc.

We have searched the family tree extensively (back to 1764, our 4th ggfather) and we wanted to solve this family puzzle but have not found a likely Charles. So far we have put some of the family tree on Ancestry but not this branch yet. Greatgrandmother was Elizabeth Frances Thompson from Norwich who moved down to London on marriage. We were expecting to have to visit Norwich for newspapers and coroner's courts, but wondered if we could find the information in some other way, without having to travel..

On the same broadlandmemories site that Mel FG has already mentioned there is a report of a drowning at Oulton in 1898 of a Wallace Solomon. A Charles Solomon, his brother, gave evidence at the inquest. Could your grandfather have muddled two brothers? The only thing is that Wallace was 34 so hardly a teenager.

The other thing to consider is that Charlie may have been a nickname that had nothing to do with his real name. OH had an aunt who was always known as Jo. No one ever knew why - her name was Hilda :-S

England and Wales Census, 1881

Name Elizabeth F Thompson
Event Type Census
Event Date 1881
Event Place Islington, London,Middlesex, England
Registration District Islington
Residence Note Gainford St
Gender Female
Age 25
Marital Status (Original) Single
Occupation Machinist
Relationship to Head of Household Daughter
Birth Year (Estimated) 1856
Birthplace Norwich, Norfolk, England
Page Number 27
Registration Number RG11
Piece/Folio 233/68
Affiliate Record Type Household



Household

Role

Gender

Age

Birthplace

Robert Thompson Head M 56 Norwich, Norfolk, England
Elizabeth F Thompson Daughter F 25 Norwich, Norfolk, England
Marie Thompson Daughter F 18 Islington, Middlesex, England

Looking at the newspapers there are a lot of drownings in the area between the dates you gave. I just thought knowing the surnames of Aunts might help narrow it down.

Thank you for your help. We have already checked all the first cousins (although it is possible that they used a different name as suggested) and I think we are going to have to keep hunting for 2nd cousins who are proving rather elusive at the moment. Do you know if it is possible to look at the relevant newspapers online or the coroner's reports?

Survival rates for Coroner's reports are very poor. Your best bet would be the British Newspaper Archives.
They are included in a full sub on both GR and Findmypast.

You could search for free then C&P the preview for someone who does have access to take a look on your behalf.

I will definitely add the newspapers to my subscription when it comes up for renewal towards the end of the year. Thank you for your help.