A W.W. II Marlow Mystery: Robert Craig and the Little Ducks

Robert Craig and two Duck children
photo courtesy of Ruth Peacock

One of the wonderful items sent to me by my first cousin once removed, Ruth Peacock, was this photo of Robert Craig and the Duck children taken in England when Robert went there during W.W. II. Who these children are is a bit of a mystery. Now the family connections will take a little explaining.

First, Robert Donald Craig was the brother of Harold Jackson Craig, who was the husband of Zella Marlow, my great aunt, and the youngest biological child of Joseph and Annabelle Marlow. During W.W. II, Robert visited the Marlow family in Yorkshire, England--well, actually, the Duck family.

Joseph H. Marlow’s sister, Elizabeth Marlow, had married a man by the name of William Duck. They had both passed away before W.W. II, but had at least nine children: Annie Elizabeth, Damaris Ann, Benjamin, Nora, Barbara Marlow, John, Maria Jane, Alice Margaret, and Gordon. The “Duck” children in the photo would need to have been the offspring of one of the sons to have the last name “Duck”. Judging by the sons’ death dates, the children could have belonged to any of them. It is not certain when during the war the photo was taken, but I think it would be more likely to have been toward the end of the war. My best guess is that the children are the youngest son and daughter of John Duck and his wife Kathleen Rider, i.e. Alfred Robin (born 1933) and Kathleen (born 1936). I suppose the children could be those of one of the Duck daughters, but would likely have had a different last name.

I would be grateful to anyone, whether on the Duck/Marlow side in England, and/or the Craig/Marlow side in Canada, who could shed more light on this photo—the people in it, and the circumstances of its creation.