Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

A few tips;

If you are going to appeal for someone, I suggest that you put in as much detail about them, their interests, likies, dislikes, nicknames, physical oddities (limps, prominent scars), perhaps medical conditions requiring ongoing treatment such as diabetes or kidney problems as possible. Try contacting their friends - and if you don't remember their addresses then their characteristics could give you a lead

Each bit of info can give a possible line of search - I found one person solely based on his interest in pottery and an out-of-date and non-functioning web address (BTW, Julian, Old Blues Com still haven't updated their entry for him) and another on a hobby. A third (not an OB) was found because Haylor is not a common name and that combined with an even more unusual surname .......

Simple basic searching is not difficult - Rodney Dingle is trying to find David D Glennie; it took 15 minutes to find five 'David Glennies' (no David D. Glennies) and five 'D Glennie's so he has perhaps 10 UK phone calls to make. Even if those don't work, it is far from impossible that he will come across the man's son/nephew who knew his father/uncle was at CH
Before anyone complains, yes - women can disappear more easily but subterfuge can help....

HTH

Is this tongue in cheek or do you mean it?

How do you find someone based on their hobby?

And how is kidney problems going to help?

Ruthie-Baby wrote:Is this tongue in cheek or do you mean it?

How do you find someone based on their hobby?

And how is kidney problems going to help?

Absolutely not tongue in cheek.
Hobby -see the article above
Profession - someone has been identified in Germany because of his profession. (ex Peele housemaster)
Kidney problems: a bit more difficult but there is a limited number of prople in the UK having major treatment for kidney problems. If you post that "Joe Bloggs" is thought to be on dialysis you immediately have every OB kidney expert - consultant, doctor, nurse, appointment maker who reads the request on notice. You immediately have say 1000 people helping you if you can also get through CHA (and don't forget we have plenty of lurkers as well).

As I wrote, get as much detail as you can even if it seems irrelevant. Even if it doesn't find the person that snippet may help in choosing the one from the many with the same name.


OK, a clue for searching anywhere in the world:

http://www.infobel.com/teldir/

After that go to professional registers - I leave it to you to find them!

How long does it take? in the case of the housemaster about 2.5 minutes helped by the fact that I use bookmarks and Google icons liberally.

In 1984 (13 yerars after I left) I was on TV in a quiz show and an old friend decided to look me up. She had my address while at CH but no phone number. My parents had moved twice since then and Directory Enquiries (still a person in those days) said "there is no-one of that name at 44 but there is at 99" My sister answered the phone. I had an unusual surname so chances were that it would be my family or a close relative I suppose.

englishangel wrote:In 1984 (13 yerars after I left) I was on TV in a quiz show and an old friend decided to look me up. She had my address while at CH but no phone number. My parents had moved twice since then and Directory Enquiries (still a person in those days) said "there is no-one of that name at 44 but there is at 99" My sister answered the phone. I had an unusual surname so chances were that it would be my family or a close relative I suppose.

Exactly - that telephone operator was prepared to think sideways. With the internet (you can even get the North Korean lists of people) horizons are extended. There are some barriers - if people don't want to be found, if they change their name without registering it (you have to pay then!), if they have a very common name, if they are in jail, ..... but not too many.