Australian woman's plea to solve mystery of her Yorkshire long lost aunt after 10 year search

Brenda Simmonds is visiting Yorkshire this week from her home cityof Melbourne, and plans to travel to the North Yorkshire town in search of news of Mary Elizabeth Parker, who was married in Knaresborough’s Holy Trinity Church in 1931.

Mary Parker, nee Hoy, was the half sister of Ms Simmond’s mother.

Born in Seaham Harbour in County Durham in 1907, at some point she moved to Yorkshire, and she and husband Albert Edward Parker had a daughter, Doris, in 1933.

But in the later 1930s or early 1940s, Mary died in mysterious circumstances in Knaresborough.

According to Ms Simmonds, family lore is that her body was found in the River Nidd near either Knaresborough’s High Bridge or its viaduct.

While there is some suggestion she may have died by suicide, this has never been confirmed to Ms Simmonds, and a ten year search through newspaper archives and records has proved fruitless.

Ms Simmonds, 77, is now appealing to anyone who might be able to give information either on Mary Parker or her daughter Doris – who, she speculates, could still be alive and would be 90 this year.

She intends to travel to Knaresborough this week where she plans to search local churchyards in the hope of being able to pay her respects at her aunt’s grave.

Ms Simmonds said: “I can’t find a death certificate, or know when she died. Isn’t that sad?

"It was almost like the curtains were drawn, and no one ever spoke about that poor lady again.

"All I want to know is what happened to her. I want to know if there is a grave anywhere that I can put flowers on.

"If anyone has any information I want to know, I thought if she did die by misadventure, I would have found something, but I can find absolutely nothing.

"My mother spoke many times throught her later years of her sister and to get closure would be wonderful.”

Anyone who has information on Mary or Doris Parker should contact [email protected]