My dad's biological father was Terence Sydney Conway, who was in the Royal Navy during WWII. Due to an incident on the ship (I believe that another sailor died, and Terence was a witness to this), the ship was delayed in Durban, South Africa for some time. It was there that Terence met my grandmother. My grandmother fell pregnant with my dad – I am not sure if my grandmother and Terence had married or not, but my dad was told that Terence planned to return to Durban after the war to be with my Grandmother and their son. Terence’s ship eventually went back to sea, and then was lost in French Waters around 1945. and he was assumed Dead.
My grandmother, around the time of my dad’s birth (we are not sure if before or after my dad’s birth) then married a man with the surname Roux, which is why I have the surname Roux. Unfortunately, my grandmother also died without leaving us much information about Terence. My father's birth certificate states “Father Unknown”, but his Baptism Certificate says “Father is Terence Sydney Conway”.
My dad was placed into a children’s home at a very young age, and had very little proof of his real family. He tried to find out about his biological father's family for many years with little success. South Africa did not keep very good records during WWII. Not much is known about Terence besides the fact that he was supposedly from the "famous" Conway singing family of the war and that he had a brother named John. We were never sure if any of these last facts were correct of not, but they were the little knowledge that my Dad had.
I have found out the following information about my granddad: Terence Sydney Conway, Ty/Act/Leading Stoker, C/KX 90460, Missing presumed killed 11/02/1945, Son of Thomas and Elizabeth Conway
Other information I have heard is that Terence Sydney Conway may have come from an Irish background. I'm not sure how accurate this is.
Please contact me if you know more. I may have family in the UK who I don’t even know about. Unfortunately, my Dad passed away in 2007, without ever finding the truth. Hopefully I have better luck.
Editor's Note: When he lost his life, Terrance Conway was serving on HM Motor Launch 183 which was lost when it sank after collision with East Pier, Dieppe, N France on the 11th of February 1945. She was a 75t vessel launched in 1941. He was aged 29 and is remembered on the Chatham Memorial.
