Where is Sidney’s birth record?

QI can’t find the birth record of Sidney Maris Marshall, the husband of my great great aunt, Kate Louise Pearce. On the 1939 Register, his date of birth is 24 October 1887. I also can’t find him on the census as a child. On the certificate that was drafted for their intended nuptials on 6 November 1916, it says “bridegroom disappeared”, although Sidney changed his mind and he married my great great aunt on 25 November 1916 at Christ Church, Croydon. Rebecca Dodsworth

AIn the 1921 census entry, Sidney gives his place of birth as Woodford, Essex, part of the West Ham registration district. He may have been raised under a different surname and a good way of identifying likely records is to search on just a few terms – his first name(s), place of birth and birthday.

Searching without the surname of Marshall does reveal an intriguing entry in the General Register Office (GRO) birth indexes for a Sidney Maris D Nash born in the West Ham district in the December quarter of 1889. Given his middle name is Maris, could this be your man?

Sidney Maris Nash married Elsie Margaret Frost in 1914 in Westcliffe-on-Sea, but could he also have married your great great aunt in 1916? Sidney Maris Marshall described himself as a bachelor on that marriage register.

The strongest evidence comes from the birth register entry in 1889. It confirms that Sidney Maris David Nash was born on 24 October (the same date as ‘your’ Sidney) in Horn Lane in Woodford, and was the son of Maris William Nash and his wife Alice (née Manning).

So Sidney probably changed his name (and year of birth) to marry Kate bigamously, and maybe the abandoned marriage attempt was due to a loss of nerve knowing he was about to commit a serious crime. Antony Marr