Most Wanted

Let's start with James Roy father of James (c1850-1917), John (c1854-1909) and Thomas (1864-1889). The last mentioned is the grandfather of Maurie Roy. James junior was born in Co Fermanagh, Ireland.
We have two possibilities for the first of these James. Both records indicate that he was a constable so we assume that it is the same person. The Constabulary records list the date of appointment as 19 Jul 1837, aged "22" (meaning he was over 21). Year of birth (in Co Antrim) is therefore about 1815 - but see below. If born in 1815 he was 35 when he married and had his first son, and 49 when son Thomas was born. Other evidence suggests he was born in 1827.
There are two different marriage dates in 1850 but that is probably because one (5 Apr) was registered "on the quiet" since constables were not allowed to marry (and possibly because the bride was pregnant?). Their respective ages are listed as "22" but that is merely "code" for over 21. The other marriage (20 Dec) was celebrated once he had left the Constabulary (18 Dec)
The April Civil marriage records identifies the wife as Catherine Thompson and their respective fathers were both James and farmers. James Roy senior was 32 at the birth of his son in 1827.
So now we have
- James 1 (b. about 1795),
- James 2 (b. 1827?) and
- James 3 (b. 1850).
We can probably assume that James 1 was from County Antrim since that is where James 2 was born.
All three James are a bit of a mystery. We know nothing about James 1 apart from being a farmer, what we know about James 2 is given above but the constabulary enrolment and birth dates need to be sorted out, and we know very little about James 3's family except for his wife and children - were there any grandchildren?
(We also know nothing about Catherine Thompson.)

Sam "Tyson" Royes appeared before the Sydney Court of Petty Sessions on 20th October 1831 and pleaded guilty to stealing 11/1 (11 shillings 1 pence - A$1.11) from his employer, for which he received three months imprisonment. He had references dated August 1829 both of which describe him as "visiting" Australia to make his fortune. His father is described as an eminent London businessman. I have assumed that Sam Tyson Royes is our Samuel Tyssen Royes and that his eminent father is our Solomon Royes, goldsmith. I think we can assume that Sam arrived in the latter half of 1829 looking for work. Did he stay after his imprisonment or ...?

Huguenots, notably French (and French-speaking Walloons) and Dutch, escaped religious persecution by fleeing to England in the period 1550-1750. (Go to http://sag.org.au select "Our Research Guides" in the left margin then select "Huguenots" for a succinct explanation.) Canterbury (where John Royes married Sarah Hougham) had the largest concentration of Huguenots outside London and where they established a silk-weaving centre. (There was a similar centre at Spitalfields in London's East End). John Royes was a silk weaver! And one possible origin for the name "Royes" is French. There is still a French Protestant Church worshipping in the Canterbury Cathedral crypt (the Black Prince's chantry) at 3 p.m. each Sunday. Add to all that the fact that Solomon Royes retired to the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands were places to which French Huguenots fled, and from where many Huguenots moved to England. However...
1. Royes could be an English name, a variation of Royce, though there are early records with "de royes" which suggests a French origin
2. Royes is a common Spanish name. (Royes frequency per thous [USA 0.83 (Oregon 6.12), Argentina 0.4]. The highest Spanish occurrences are in two provinces adjoining southern France.

Where was the film made? Presumably Australia. But where in Australia might give us a clue as to where Billy Royes might come from. The nearest contenders in our data are William Mordaunt Royes (1902-1991) but he seems to have spent his time in North Queensland; Harold William Royes (1916-1976)

This newspaper clipping names her in a car accident in Port Road, Alberton, Adelaide, South Australia. We have no wife named Adeline in our records.