Q&A
KATHERINE COBB is a member of AGRA based in Somerset
EMMA JOLLY is a writer, historical researcher and member of AGRA
ANTONY MARR is a former deputy registrar and the chair of AGRA
CHRIS PATON is a genealogist and author, and blogs at scottishgenes. blogspot.com
JAYNE SHRIMPTON is a professional dress historian and portrait specialist
ALAN STEWART is a family history writer, and author of Grow Your Own Family Tree
PHIL TOMASELLI is a military family history expert, and wrote Tracing Your Air Force Ancestors
SIMON WILLS is the author of Tracing Your Seafaring Ancestors
Why did my grandfather travel so extensively during the war?
Q My grandfather John William Slingsby was issued with a passport signed by the Foreign Office on 17 April 1940, aged 56. He was a steelworker and the occupation on his passport was “Roller”. He embarked from Newhaven on 23 April 1940. His passport is full of visas – allowing him through France into Turkey and into Istanbul. He then travelled through countries including Palestine and Egypt, at the height of the Second World War. What he was doing?
Anita Davies
Your grandfather certainly can’t have obtained a passport easily in 1940. For all passports during the war, applicants had to complete a detailed questionnaire giving reasons for travel and apply for an exit permit. These were vetted by MI5, and
