Genealogy Chat

Fred Morris, b.1914, Staffordshire, married Sarah Annie Massey at Leek in 1950.
He is also recorded as marrying the same person,also at Leek, in 1951. The reference nos. are different. Any ideas ?

Do you know if he happened to be in the forces? Sometimes if a man marries without his commanding officer's consent the marriage is not regarded as proper.

Or could it be that one of them was actually still married to someone else at the time of the first marriage and they decided to make it legal when they could?

Kath. x

You'll need to get copy certs to find out for certain

Was Sarah his first wife?

Is this his birth?

Births Mar 1914 (>99%)
MORRIS Fred Morris Leek 6b 610

........and death?

First name(s) Fred
Last name Morris
Gender Male
Birth day 8
Birth month 1
Birth year 1914
Death quarter 1
Death year 1980
District Staffordshire Moorlands

Sarah wasn't married before she married Fred

1939
Cloud Side Farm Cloud Side, Woodhouse Green, Leek R.D., Staffordshire, England
Frank Bailey 15 Apr 1887 Male Dairy Farmer Married 96 1
May Bailey 07 Jun 1887 Female Unpaid Household Duties Married 96 2
James Bailey 08 Oct 1917 Male Cowman & Horseman Single 96 3
The record for this person is officially closed.
Sarah A Morris (Massey) 07 Jan 1910 Female Domestic (Farm House) Single 96 5

I can't see Fred in 1939 - possibly already enlisted

???
Fred Morris
in the UK, World War II Royal Artillery Tracer Cards, 1939-1948
Name: Fred Morris
Attestation Date: 18 Mar 1935
Attestation Place: Wolverhampton
Discharge Date: 13 Jun 1951
Regiment: Royal Artillery
Service Number: 845402

Could fit with Kath's suggestion re marrying while in the forces .

The second marriage record was in Apr/May/June qr of 1951.

could it be that they married in a regestry office then 1951 had a church wedding

this happened to my gt. aunt husband was in the army

Marriages Mar 1908

ELLEY Alice Hartley W. 2c 301
HUMPHREY Horace Hartley W. 2c 301

Marriages Dec 1909 (>99%)
ELLEY Alice Farnham 2a 272
HUMPHREY Horace Farnham 2a 272

They both appear to be registry office marriages

Staffordshire Marriage indexes for the years: 1950
Surname Forename(s) Surname Forename(s) Year Church / Register Office
MORRIS Fred MASSEY Sarah A 1950 Civil Marriage (Leek) Newcastle-Under-Lyme LR/27/32

Staffordshire Marriage indexes for the years: 1951
Surname Forename(s) Surname Forename(s) Year Church / Register Office
MORRIS Fred MASSEY Sarah A 1951 Civil Marriage (Leek) Newcastle-Under-Lyme LR/27/111

The certs are the solution

Clarifying Kath's (15:04 31/12/20) post;.
If a serviceman married without the CO's permission, the marriage would still be legal.
However, the spouse could have bother collecting spousal service benefits, like a service widow's pension,, etc., so the easiest solution is to remarry with the CO's permission.