PROFESSOR NORTON was a man of magical mystery. He was born somewhere at sometime, but in 1929, he married a girl 20 years his junior in Bishop Auckland, and he seems to have earned a living touring the country performing magical tricks and tattooing people.

Genealogist Margaret Hedley, of Wheatley Hill, is trying to track down some facts about him, and would love any help that anyone can give.

“What makes him interesting is that there seems to be no trace of him in any official records before his marriage in 1929,” she says. “He refers to himself as George Henry Albert Norton, but a check of birth records indicates that there was no birth registered in Great Britain with that combination of Christian names during the 20 year period when he must have been born.”

On that marriage certificate, he says he was born in 1884, although on his death certificate, his date of birth is given as 1878.

The marriage certificate, which shows he tied the knot in Bishop Auckland Register Office, says he was living at 1, Freville Street in Shildon with his wife, Martha Oakes, who came from Rotherham. She was 28; he was 45 or even 51. Freville Street is just round the corner from where the Shildon Hippodrome once stood – perhaps Professor Norton and Martha were appearing there.

His marriage certificate, though, describes him as a “painter and signwriter”, which may well have been his day job, but he was also an out-of-hours tattooist/illusionist.

Margaret has found newspaper articles which hint at his special skills.

For example, at the end of 1911, the Aberdeen Journal announced that appearing in the town was “Professor Norton, society tattooist for New Year Week”, and in December 1913, the Burnley News announced that “Professor Norton, Famous Illusionist” was appearing at the local hippodrome.

And on July 19, 1935, the Sunderland Echo gave details of a curious event that was to be held in support of the Government in the grounds of the Castle at Castle Eden. The speakers were to be Colonel Leonard Ropner MC TD DL MP, whose family of shipowners owned the castle, and Professor G Norton FS SC Magic Entertainer.

The Colonel had been the Conservative MP for Sedgefield during the 1920s and was then at the start of his 33 year representation of Barkston Ash near Selby in North Yorkshire. As the letters after his name suggest, he was also a Military Cross holder and a Deputy Lieutenant.

But the letters after the Professor’s name seem to make no sense, but then, as a magic entertainer, perhaps he just conjured them up out of thin air.

After an eventful life during which he built up a reputation in Bishop Auckland as a fine tattooist, Professor Norton died at Roddymoor, Crook, in 1953.

His wife, Martha, died in 1983 in Darlington.

If you have any information about Professor Norton or Martha, please either email Margaret, margaret@pastuncovered.co.uk, or get in touch with the Memories desk at chris.lloyd@nne.co.uk.