I've cleared up the mystery surrounding who Richard's father was. According to Richard's marriage certificate his father was Thomas Ward.
However, the birth certificate I received for Richard did not have the middle name Lawrence and the father was Samuel. I think that this was a different person but I cannot find a record of any Richard Lawrence Ward born around this time. This makes me think that he did not take the name Lawrence until later (perhaps as a confirmation name, the family is Catholic) and he was born as simply Richard Ward but not in Salford.
Another interesting fact I learned from my mother this weekend was that Richard was a boxing referee.
Damian
