TheGenealogist.co.uk now has marriage transcripts for England and Wales from 1930 to 1983, containing a total of 39 million records. Amongst these are many famous film stars and celebrities from the 1950’s and 1960’s who became as famous for their private lives and multiple marriages as their careers, such as 19 year old Elizabeth Taylor, married to her first husband Michael Wilding in 1952 and Diana Dors, who married her first husband Dennis Gittins in 1951 only 5 weeks after they had first met.
Diana Dors was born in Swindon in 1931, real name Diana Mary Fluck, and became an actress at the age of 16. She studied at The London Academy of Music and Arts and was signed up by the Rank Organisation before she had even graduated. At this time it was decided that a change of name was necessary, as according to Dors:
They asked me to change my name. I suppose they were afraid that if my real name Diana Fluck was in lights and one of the lights blew…
Often referred to as England’s answer to Marilyn Monroe, she was a talented actress and at age 20 became the youngest registered owner of a Rolls-Royce. Unfortunately her talents were often over shadowed by her private life, which meant that she never became the icon in America that she was in the UK. She met her first husband Dennis Hamilton Gittins in 1951 and they married five weeks later at Caxton Hall in Westminster. Their marriage is registered on the official GRO index in the Jul-Sep quarter, which you can locate using the new marriage transcripts on TheGenealogist.co.uk.
Access Over a Billion Records
Try a four-month Diamond subscription and we’ll apply a lifetime discount making it just £44.95 (standard price £64.95). You’ll gain access to all of our exclusive record collections and unique search tools (Along with Censuses, BMDs, Wills and more), providing you with the best resources online to discover your family history story.
We’ll also give you a free 12-month subscription to Discover Your Ancestors online magazine (worth £24.99), so you can read more great Family History research articles like this!
Their marriage was a stormy one and Diana filed for divorce against Dennis Hamilton in 1957. After his death in January 1959, Diana married American Richard Dawson in New York later that year and they had two sons before divorcing in 1966. She married her third husband, actor Alan Lake in 1968 and the marriage is recorded on the transcripts in the Oct-Dec quarter of 1968 in Westminster. The two had a son named Jason and lived in Berkshire until her death in 1984.
The marriage transcripts are searchable by forename, surname, year, district and partner’s surname. You can also view the marriage entry of the spouse by clicking on the link provided for each entry. From the results you can view the original page image and a full printable view of the marriage transcript.