Margaret Joyce Mulvey, was born at 34 South Street, Eastbourne on 31st May 1909 to Sydney Albert, auditor and Martha Olive Mulvey née Marsh. What may be indicative of troubles ahead is the lack of a childs name on her certificate, only to be filled in at a later date.

34 South Street, Eastbourne and Margaret Joyce Mulvey's birth certificate.

The 1910 Electoral Roll records that Sydney Albert Mulvey had moved to 9 Grange Road, Eastbourne, electoral rolls of this time only record the male voter.

9 Grange Road, Eastbourne.

The next known and important event was the National Census taken on 2nd April 1911. It records Sydney Albert and Martha Olive Mulvey at the same address of 9 Grange Road. Sydney is recorded aged 34, now a furniture dealer employing staff; Martha Olive, aged 42; a boarder named Mrs Guinevere H.S. Thorn, aged 38. But, there is no mention of Margaret Joyce despite both Sydney and Martha being recorded as having one living child! Was she omitted from the Census by the enumerator in error or was she staying elsewhere, such as in hospital? An extensive search has been made but she has not been found. Had something abnormal happen after Margaret's birth, either to Margaret, or her mother?

1911 Census.

The lack of record is suggestive and tends to support my mother's story that all was not normal with her upbringing. After six years of marriage and at the age of forty two, Martha gave birth to her only child Margaret. At the time having a first child at this late age was an unusual and dangerous event and must have caused concern, did something go wrong, was Martha affected in some way?

According to my mother her mother had died giving birth to her due to complications owing to her mother having a narrow pelvis. She idolised her father and talked about him on many occasions but never spoke of her mother except that she had auburn hair - there is no photograph of her mother. She did however talk about her mother's name and origin that simply cannot now be held up to scrutiny, though she did say that the surname Kitchener meant something, it has turned out that Martha's mother was a Kitchener. As to her upbringing she was apparently brought up by a strict and religious guardian and governess, never went to school, moved from one place to another, so never gained friends and was consequently lonely. Judging from her speech and knowledge in everything domestic plus art, music and politics, her education was good.

My mother aged about three.

Margaret's father tragically died suddenly of a heart attack on 8th September 1915, aged 38 at the Royal Arsenal in Plumstead. His address was listed as 66 Tranquil Vale, Blackheath. This is partially corroborated by my mother who said that her father had died suddenly in a street from a heart attack when she was about eight. There is no indication that his family was living with him and the informant on his death certificate was the Coroner. His occupation as 'Lathe Machinist' might be related to wartime service.

His father Benjamin Henry Mulvey, had died three months previously. This double loss, particularly her father, must have had a major effect on Margaret at such a young age, both emotionally and maybe practically depending upon where she was and who was looking after her. My mother spoke of an ultra-strict religious upbringing. It turns out that her grandfather Benjamin Henry Mulvey was a Baptist Minister and older two nieces on her mother's side were Plymouth Brethren so there is a possibility that family members looked after her. That is if she was not with her mother which has still to be ascertained. The next window of opportunity to discover more will be the 1921 Census, which is due out in early 2022.

We now move on to 21st November 1929 when Margaret was aged twenty. It is not known how she was financing herself or financed her voyage to America. My mother had often told me that she had never been in employment and her travel documents always state no occupation. A possible explanation is the death of her father's sister Mabel Frances Mulvey on 5th April 1928 in Detroit, USA. It may be that Margaret received an inheritance from her aunt. Her address recorded at the time was 42 Cambridge Street, London SW. Whatever her financial situation was she sailed on the ship American Farmer from London.

She arrived at New York on 3 Dec 1929. A description of Margaret Joyce and my mother is detailed on the Ancestry description of the document arrival and entry document but not on the actually image displayed:-

Margaret J Mulvey, female, English, single, aged 20, born about 1909 England, Eastbourne, Last known residence: London, departure port: London, arrival date: 3 Dec 1929, arrival Port: New York, USA, Final destination: London, England; Years in US: 6 months, height: 5 feet, 4 inches, hair colour: blonde, eye colour: blue, complexion: fair; person in old country: Mrs Mulvey (mother), residence: 42 Cambridge St, London, England; Person in USA: Mrs Stevenson (aunt) [Gertrude Mary Mulvey]; Nearest relation Mrs Mulvey (mother), ship name: American Farmer.

42 Cambridge Street, London SW

21st November 1929.

We now move to my mother's story about her travels in USA. The photograph below was apparently taken at Miami Beach when she was about seventeen in 1935. The dates are not correct as she was about 20 and it was in 1930. The photograph was possibly taken in the grounds of the Hotel Nautilus where she was staying. A little girl standing by her side was apparently a Duchess.

Amongst my mother's possessions is an old photograph of the Hotel Nautilus. Nautilus, was a grand hotel built in 1923/4 by Carl Fisher. It became a hospital during WW2 and was demolished in 1968 to make way a new hospital.

The photograph of the Hotel Nautilus.

While at Miami Beach my mother apparently won $1000 in a bet to hitchhike on her own from Miami to Hollywood in 10 days, a distance of 4000 miles. She settled in Santa Barbara for a while, and befriended an Indian Chief called 'Red Wing' and spoke of driving in an open-topped car and striking a pose with her long blonde hair and his long black hair.

Photograph of my mother,
writing on the back has been heavily blacked out.

In what must have been 1931, she crossed America again, this time by train. On the way she visited the huge Chicago cattle market, which she found unsettling. She arrived at Grand Central Station in New York and visited Niagara Falls. During her journey across America, a large trunk containing much of her family possessions was lost. She then took ship to England.

A fine collection of postcards survive from this time. A genealogist studied these and noted they mapped her journey from Miami to southern California and then from the Santa Barbara area to New York, she had once stated that she had not visited all the places shown but had collected them on her journey.

A document confirmed her story - as on 6th March 1931 she entered Ontario, Canada from New York. The details she gave were: Margaret J Mulvey; born Eastbourne, England; C of E, wished to visit Niagara Falls; Mother Mrs Olive Mulvey, Maidstone, England.

6th March 1931.

She sailed on the American Trader from New York and arrived at London on 24th March 1931; her proposed address was 4 Holland Road, Maidstone, presumably this was the address of her mother.

4 Holland Road, Maidstone.

24th March 1931.

18th June 1932 Margaret Joyce Mulvey married Douglas Alfred Trieb (Torrington-Douglas) in Paddington. The discovery that my mother had been previously married was a total surprise to me and led, coupled with age and date disparities, to disbelieve my findings. However DNA and subsequent discoveries such as the name Torrington-Douglas written on the reverse of one of her photographs confirmed that I was on the right track.

Margaret Joyce Mulvey, aged 22 was living 91 Hereford Road, Paddington, the daughter of Sydney Albert Mulvey, deceased, Auditor; Douglas Alfred Trieb, aged 30, was Head of Art department, living 146 Camden Street, St Pancras, son of Alfred Robert Jean Trieb, a Film Renter. While in Santa Barbara my mother had bumped into the American film star Myrna Loy in a lift and went to the same dentist as Clark Gable. She was ambitious and seemed to be attracted to certain circles and people where she could see openings into the world of film and theatre. On paper Margaret appears to have married well and perhaps she had in furthering her career but events were to prove otherwise. Even when I knew her my mother was trusting and probably naive, not the best qualities for protecting oneself in such a world.

In 1936 she is living with her husband Douglas Trieb on the 2nd floor of 96 Westbourne Grove, Paddington on the corner of Hereford Road, only a short distance from where she was living back in 1932 before she had married.

96 Westbourne Grove.

Zahra Karina
In 1938, or shortly before, my mother assumed the stage name of Zahra Karina, while still retaining her married name of Margaret Joyce Trieb. She had always told me that her mother's name was Anna Karina and added a Russian or Eastern European background to her but this I now know was not true. I do not know why she told me this as her true mother only died in 1952, four years after I was born! Neither do I know the origin of her chosen name. During my researches I discovered an Anna Karina living in Santa Barbara, USA in the early 1930s. She also informed me that the name Zahra was Arabic, which indeed it is, and that it was a family name on her father's side, stating that he was of Irish, French and Moorish descent. She adopted the name Zahra for the rest of her life.

In my possession are some quality promotion photographs of my mother contained in Landseer folders. There are also a number of photographs relating to her acting and gala performances, often accompanied by her assumed manager Arnold Mason, an accomplished portrait painter who had a studio in Chelsea in the 1930s. He painted her portrait and appeared with her admiring it at the Royal Academy.

Arnold Mason and Zahra Karina
admiring his portrait of her at the Royal Academy.

Many years later, just prior to my mother's death, I travelled up to London with her. She had tracked down the portrait which was still held by the late Arnold Mason's companion. We met the lady who was still custodian of many of Arnold Mason's paintings. The painting was rolled up and had never been oiled and we managed to purchase it. We subsequently had it restored and a fine framed was acquired. For reasons unknown the mirror in the painting had been erased.

Portrait of Zahra Karina.

Here are the links to the photographs and cuttings:-

It may well be that her husband Douglas Trieb promoted her as an actress and 'fashion modeller' and may have acted as her manager. One vital clue in proving the connection between mother, Zahra Karina and Margaret Joyce Trieb was the discovery of a note on the back of one of her photographs: "To be returned to Douglas Torrington", his second persona.

Zahra Karina actress, is the actor Douglas Trieb?

1938 Electoral Roll.

1939 was a dramatic time for my mother and not just because of the war, events that changed her life for good. A newspaper cutting dated 16th January 1939 recorded she was still in fashion mode and the electoral roll of March 1939 stated she and Douglas Trieb were still in Westbourne Grove.

1939 Electoral Roll.

Something however was going wrong with the marriage and we can only speculate at the underlying causes of the separation, but it was dramatic and final. In the 1939 Register taken at the beginning of September they are living apart and there are two separate entries for them:-

Douglas Alfred Trieb under Torrington-Douglas, single, Press Agent, born 5th August 1901, living at Cartwheel, Amersham, which appears to be lodgings. Was 'Alfred Torrington Douglas' his stage name?

1939 Register for Douglas Trieb.

Margaret Joyce Trieb under Zahra Karina (her stage name), widow, born 31st May 1909, living at 207 Park West, Marble Arch, Paddington as Zahra (spelt Lahra in 'Find my Past') Karina, a widow on independent private means, in lodgings on her own.

1939 Register for Zahra Karina.

Clearly they had separated and it appears that my mother's career had ended. Up until 1937 all appeared to be normal, she was Margaret Joyce Trieb née Mulvey born Eastbourne 1909. Then came her second persona as Miss Zahra Karina, a visiting American socialite actress apparently born 1918. By March 1940 she was on her third persona as Margaret Zahra Rawes née Muley, born 31st May 1918 and was known as Zahra! Her husband or ex-husband Douglas Alfred Trieb became Alfred Torrington Douglas - they both appear to have entered a world of deceit.

By April 1940 Douglas Trieb had moved to 17 Porchester Place, London by April 1940 where the following unsavoury episode came to light with an item reported in the Daily Despatch on 29th April 1940:-

"STOLE DINNER SUIT, FIND
West Bromwich magistrates to-day declined to accept the story of Alfred Torrington Douglas, aged 37, whose address was given as 17, Porchester Place, London, that he took a four guinea dinner suit by mistake from lodgings at West Bromwich, and fined him 40s, on a charge of stealing it.

Douglas, who was manager for one of the artists at a recent production at West Bromwich Theatre Royal, resided during the run of the show at a West Bromwich boarding establishment and shared a room with another man.

It was stated that the suit was subsequently found in a case at [the] defendant's London address, the tab bearing the maker's name having been removed."

Either Douglas Trieb/Torrington Douglas had a poor moral upbringing or his action was the result of drink or the separation which he may have taken badly. In 1947 he finally changed his name by deed poll and three months later married Dorothea Hill. Note what is written on his marriage certificate: "Formerly the husband of Margaret Joyce Trieb formerly Mulvey spinster from whom he obtained a divorce", which does imply divorce proceedings had taken place. Douglas died on 23rd February 1986, 23 Lodge Drive, Palmers Green, London.

1947 Change of name and marriage of Douglas-Trieb.

My mother married my father in Amersham on 26th February 1940, apparently living in Post Office Flats in the High Street, the same town where amasingly Douglas Torrington was living - why? My parents subsequently moved to Cheltenham after sticking a pin blindly in a map and started a new life. It is unknown what my father knew of my mother's former life but my mother was clearly attempting to hide her past, even from me.

Marriage of Bernard Frederick Rawes ad Margaret Zahra Muley.

My father's address was 99 Stoddens Road, Burnham on Sea, Somerset, the home of his parents, but judging the date his real address would have been a military barracks.

My mother was apparently living as Margaret Zahra Muley, at Post Office Flats, High Street, Amersham, was this actually where she was living? She was aged 22 and single - both not true. Her father was Albert Muley instead of Sydney Albert Mulvey. The marriage was by licence which suggests short notice. From now on she was Zahra Margaret (Marguerite in one document) Rawes née Muley (note the subtle change in surname).

My father's family was not informed of their marriage until it was signed and sealed. There does not appear to be much time for a divorce! My mother for as long as I can remember was cagey with officialdom and she and my father were always on the move. They apparently had no ration books during the war and lived a pre-hippy existence and subsistence life on remote smallholdings. An unanswered question is why did they choose to marry in Amersham of all places where her first husband was living? In 1939 there had been a large influx of Londoners to Amersham in an attempt to avoid wartime bombing. Were Douglas and Margaret involved in something albeit separately? On the 27th February 1940 six bombs fell on Amersham, only a month after my parents were married. My mother was terrified of the war and didn't want my father to take part. Was this another reason for them travelling west to Cheltenham and beyond?

My original versions of my mother's story prior to DNA testing: the first resided on my websites for many years; the second was an internal version dealing in more detail with my mother and her supposed family. Clearly I was living in a world of fabrication, half truths and facts all mingled together and trying to make the best of it. Although many details are clearly incorrect, there are a number points that have proved to be true. This suggests that there were some details that my mother wanted hidden, some of which she only had a hazy knowledge: her father dying when she was very young of a heart attack, her grandfather Benjamin Henry Mulvey whose first name was lost, an uncle Arthur Mulvey, the name of whom she did not know, who died in or near Cape Town, South Africa, there were connections with Liverpool in England and Boston in America. And then there was her mother, had they rejected each other and at what stage.