Victim of the Druid Street arch bomb, aged 29.
The unusual spelling of this forename sent, Andrew Behan, our genealogical consultant, off on a trail which just raised more questions. He wrote:
Starting with the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey Register of WWII Civilian Deaths 1939-1945, there were two entries for the surname Ingram:-
INGRAM CATHERINE, age 29; of 165 Neckinger Estate. Daughter of Mary Ann and of the late William John Ingram. 25 October 1940, at Druid Street Railway Arch.
INGRAM MARY ANN, age 71; of 165 Neckinger Estate. Daughter of the late Denis and Mary Keefe; widow of William John Ingram. 25 October 1940, at Druid Street Railway Arch.
So far, so good. We now have a normal spelling of the forename as Catherine. However, the 1939 England & Wales Register shows the following:-
165 Neckinger Estate.
William Ingram. Born: 10 June 1868. Occupation: Waterside Labourer.
Mary Ingram. Born: 10 January 1869. Occupation: Domestic Duties.
Catherine Ingram. Born: 18 December 1909. Occupation: Shop Assistant.
Teresa Ingram. Born: 25 June 1913. Occupation: Superviser. {sic}
Although this confirms the spelling of her name, it makes her age as 30 years, 10 months and 7 days at the time of her death, not the 29 years as shown on the plaque on in the Civilian Deaths register.
The Civil Registration Death Indexes held at the General Register Office, London, records the death of Catherine Ingram in Bermondsey in October 1940 but also gives her age as 29 years.
I looked at the census that was taken on 2 April 1911 and found the entry for the family living at Block A2, Vine Street Buildings, Tooley Street, Bermondsey, which states that she was living in a two rooms dwelling with her parents, four older brothers and an elder sister. It gave her age as 1 year, which ties up with the date of birth on the 1939 England & Wales Register, but confusingly the form, which was completed by her father (and not by an enumerator), shows her name spelt Katherine Ingram.
The Civil Registration Birth Indexes held at the General Register Office, London, records a Katherine Ingram being registered in the 1st quarter of 1910 in the St Olaves District of Bermondsey.
My conclusion is that she was probably born Katherine Ingram, but as time went on started to use her name spelt as Catherine. The confusion as to her age at the time of death was probably due to 'the fog of war'. Whoever was registering her death may have been distressed having lost three members of their family and just made a simple error.
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