Correction - HENRY ERNEST SODEN not Herbert
My husband's grandfather was not Herbert Ernest Soden, but Henry, or Harry Ernest Soden born 1913, the son of Henry and Carrie Soden of Birmingham.Henry Soden was the son of Richard Francis Soden and Elizabeth Evans.At the time of the elder Henry Soden's birth in 1886 the family were living in Sussex.Harry Ernest Soden was married in 1935 to Lily Evelyn Averill, born 1915.They had a son Barry Ernest, still living in Birmingham, a daughter Patricia Louise Carrie born 1939, a son Ronald Victor born 1937 and twin daughters, Sheila and Shirley, born 26 November 1940.Sheila did not survive.
There is a mystery surrounding the fate of Lily's husband Harry Ernest Soden, known to his doting mother as "Sonny".He was reported missing by the War Office in June 1940 and finally reported killed in action aboard the "Lancastria" the following year.However, he does not appear in the records of those lost with the "Lancastria" and no proof of his death was ever furnished by the War Office.His dog tags etc, were never returned to his widow.Lily died in 1984 aged 69.