Well I didn't want to leave her husband out of the thing, because he is an interesting person and doesn't always get a word in edgeways, so I started researching his side too. The problem is that there is one name with such promise - in other words, it should stand out a mile! - and yet it isn't getting me as far as I had hoped. It is Victor Henry John William Ray. Tim's Grandad's father. I know he was born in 1896 in the registration district of Hemsworth, close to Pontefract. He married a girl called Isabella Clark in Pontefract and that's about as far as it goes - most of the rest is history still in living memory. (Grandad's memory is pretty sharp too, and if I get the chance to speak to him properly it is wonderful to hear his recollections.)
So far I have two possibilities. Either a Thomas Ray was Victor's father, and he either married a Mary Ann Atack (my partner thinks this name should ring a bell more than the alternatives for either possible father) or a Harriet Hopwood (deemed most unlikely; sounds rather too posh). The problem is that on the http://www.freebmd.org two couples show up under the entry with no indication as to who was with whom!
Alternatively, George Ray was Victor's father, and he similarly either married a Susannah Vickers Maugham (c.f. comment about Harriet Hopwood) or a Sarah Ann Wilson. Same reason as to why there are two possible mothers...
I'm sure if some kind person can help me past this obstacle, there should be a clearer path to getting the chart moving again. Please could someone see if I have just not turned the genealogical Rubik's cube through the correct sequence?
And now I've googled it and seen that the village is immediately south of Ponte, all is clear. One very happy beginner genealogist here.
