The Discovery
In the 1990’s, Eric’s granddaughter Peta, having recently graduated as a radiographer, wanted to move to the UK to work. To obtain the ancestry visa, she had to prove that her grandfather was born in England, so sought his birth certificate. This simple request proved surprisingly difficult.
The remaining relatives (Eileen’s sister, Kathleen and sister-in-law, Ivy) couldn’t provide it and were cagey when questioned. They could only inform us that he wasn’t who he said he was, but would not go any further, because they had sworn secrecy to Eileen and Kathleen’s father, Alexander.
Kathleen promised to leave a letter explaining everything after her passing, which occurred in 2010, but didn’t. All Ivy admitted was the name, “Victor Butcher”.
With the lack of technology at the time and the general busyness of life, the mystery was put on the back burner.
In 2023, with better technology available, grandson Daniel Mason took up the challenge to unravel the mystery and work out who his grandfather really was.
It was at this time, that Laureena’s birth certificate was found and the father was listed as Jack Siccard Mason. The family also noticed that all of the remaining photos from Eileen’s wedding, were just pictures of herself and none with or of the groom.