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Hi All

I am trying to find my grandfathers father. No one knows any details about him other than he was Polish and a soldier during the 2nd World War and was at one point based in Scotland, I believe near St Andrews in 1940.....He met my great grandmother who worked in the base laundry department and in July 1941 my grandfather was born.
To my knowledge he was deployed before my grandfather was born and his birth may in fact be news to anyone I may potentially find.

So far I have linked over on Ancestry DNA to 3 people as my 4th - 6th cousins and they all have the above names in common as great grandparents.

The reat grandfathers name is Stanislaus Pogroszewski and the great grandmothers name is Sophie Redmerski Dombrowski.

I realise we will be related two further generations back from that as 4-6th cousins but I was wondering if anyone else has any other suggestions how I would go about looking into this more or have any ideas moving forward to find my missing great grandfather.

From the sounds of my 4th cousins - their fathers were both pretty elusive too.

And getting my grandfather to take a DNA test is impossible. If it aint broke. dont fix it but I want to know and have his blessings to look but Im not to report back to him.

I am trying to find Polish military records to see if there is any way if I can see if any of those names were linked to the right area in Scotland around the time my grandfather was conceived - HE was born July 29th 1941 so I figure he would have been in Scotland in September / October 1940 at least.

Any help, suggestions or information gratefully accepted.

In case anyone is able to help

My grandfathers name is
IAN CROCKETT

His mother is
MARGARET HELEN CROCKETT born approximately 1918

Samantha -

you say your gr-grandmother's name was Sophie Redmerski Dombrowski.
But you also say your grandfather's mother was Margaret Crockett.

Was Margaret his adoptive mother? Or did Sophie change her name completely?

Two Polish field artillery battalions, and also the 1st Rifle Brigade, were stationed at St Andrews in 1940-41:

http://www.polishforcesinbritain.info/Locations.htm

Other groups in other parts of Fife:
http://www.polishforcesinbritain.info/Locations.htm#Location_I_Corps_1/2/41


Other general info:

http://www.mapascotland.org/story-of-the-map/the-polish-connection/

https://tinyurl.com/yxnt3r6y

http://polishatheart.com/finding-your-family-history-the-magic-of-the-internet

https://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/military_chat/thread/1378736

Are your gr-grandparents' names taken from your grandfather's birth cert?
Or from the DNA links?

I don't see a likely birth of your grandfather in St Andrews (or anywhere in Scotland) in 1941 with either of those surnames.


There is a birth for Ian Crockett in Cupar, Fife in 1941.

Am I misunderstanding your post?
I don't understand how he could be registered as Crockett if both his parents had Polish surnames.
Even if he had been adopted by a Crockett family, his birth should still also be under one of the Polish names.

CROCKETT
MARGARET HELEN
F
1918
420/ 20
Cupar

For helpers' info:
Margaret married a Russell in 1952, and died in Cupar reg district in 2005.

https://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/genealogy_chat/thread/1378734

Your 4th- 6th cousins can't all have the same gr-grandparents, if that's what you mean.

""Third, Fourth, and Fifth Cousins: Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents, fourth cousins have the same great-great-great-grandparents, and so on."
https://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/16_cousn.html

So really we don't know who Stanislaus and Sophie were, or how long ago they lived..

I was reading your post to mean that they were your grandfather's parents, or maybe grandparents, but that can't be the case if they were the gr-grandparents (or older) of some distant cousins.

As Ian's birth was registered only under his mother's name, I guess that means no father was named on the cert.
So really, we have no clue as to who his father might have been, and may not have had the same surname as either Stanislaus or Sophie.

It seems as if you'd have to find records in Poland of Stanislaus and Sophie's marriage in some unknown year, and trace their descendants from there.

Many websites listed here:
https://www.cyndislist.com/poland/

But many are in Polish, and you have no dea where or when they might have married. Needle in a haystack.