The 1911 census showed that he was the grandson of Sarah Ann Harding but not who his parents were.  In fact his father was unknown and his mother had died a couple of months previous to the census.

His birth index:

First name(s) THEOPHILUS R W H
Last name HARDING
Birth year 1905
Birth quarter 2
Registration month -
Mother's last name -
District DORCHESTER
County Dorset
Country England
Volume 5A
Page 328
Record set England & Wales births 1837-2006

His birth certificate states:

Registration: 1905 in the sub-district of Cerne Abbas, Dorset

Cert No:    448
Birth:      Second May 1905 at Cerne Abbas R.D.
Name:       Theophilus Roland William Hector
Sex:        Boy
Father:     N.A.
Mother:     Agnes Florence Amelia Harding a general Domestic Servant
Occupation of father:  N.A.
Informant:  A.F.A. Harding  mother  Cerne Abbas
Reg date:   Twenty eighth June 1905
Registrar:  Alfred E A Cole, Registrar
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There is no Theophilus marriage with his full initials.

This looks like his death:

First name(s) THEOPHILUS R W H
Last name HARDING
Gender Male
Birth day -
Birth month -
Birth year 1905
Age 31
Death quarter 2
Death year 1936
District BOSTON
County Lincolnshire
Volume 7A
Page 443
Country England
Record set England & Wales deaths 1837-2007
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Havimg found his death, I wonder about this marriage when he would have been 23:

First name(s) THEOPHILUS
Last name HARDING
Marriage quarter 2
Marriage year 1928
Registration month -
MarriageFinder™ THEOPHILUS HARDING married
ELIZABETH MAIDENS
Spouse's last name MAIDENS
District BOSTON
District number -
County Lincolnshire
Country England
Volume 7A
Page 1207
Record set England & Wales marriages 1837-2008
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And this Boston birth is interesting:

First name(s) KENNETH R
Last name HARDING
Birth year 1928
Birth quarter 3
Registration month -
Mother's last name MAIDENS
District BOSTON
County Lincolnshire
Country England
Volume 7A
Page 642
Record set England & Wales births 1837-2006
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As do these two births back in Dorset (they could just be from one couple in the same yar):

First name(s) BRENDA E
Last name HARDING
Birth year 1932
Birth quarter 4
Registration month -
Mother's last name MAIDENS
District BEAMINSTER
County Dorset
Country England
Volume 5A
Page 431
Record set England & Wales births 1837-2006

First name(s) MAURICE R
Last name HARDING
Birth year 1932
Birth quarter 1
Registration month -
Mother's last name MAIDENS
District BEAMINSTER
County Dorset
Country England
Volume 5A
Page 465
Record set England & Wales births 1837-2006

Looks like some certificates might be handy.
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A bit more analysis of the possibilities:

1. In the 1911 ccnsus, there were three Theophilus Hardings alive:

  (a) Plain Thophilus born in 1847 and living ain Blagdon, Somerset,

  (b) Plain Theophilus born in 1885 and living in Swansea, Wales,

  (c) This Theophilus R Wm H born in 1906 and living in Cerne Abbas, Dorset.

  There were also four plain T Hardings, two in London, one in Lancs and one in Yorks.

2. The only Theophilus Harding marriages in England and Wales from 1920 (this Theo might have married at 14) to 1936 when he died was:

  (a) Married Agnes M Falvey in 1922 in Glamorganshire, when this Theo was 17,

  (b) The above marriage to Elizabeth Maidens in 1928 in Boston, Lincs when he was 23,

  (c) Married Constance M Powell in 1929 also in Glamorganshire when he was 24.

3. The children born from 1922 to 1939 to the Theo Harding marriages are:

  (a) To the first marriage there are no Harding births with a mother’s maiden name of Falway.

  (b) The Maidens marriage has two children as above.

  (c) There were twenty Harding births with a mother’s maiden name of Powell, but
      none in Dorset where he was born, nor in Lincs where he certainly died, though
      7 were in Wales.

The conclusion of the above is that the Harding-Maidens marriage may be his and should be worth getting the certificate for.

The next thought is that the two Harding-Maidens birth registrations would probably give the father’s name in full and so confirm or not whether he had any issue.  But in case the marriage cert rules out that he did marry, I will not get these birth certs yet.

(Phew!)
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July 2016: The marriage certificate has arrived.

Unfortunately it does not totally resolve the problem; the data on the groom is:

Marr date: 7 Apr 1928
Name: Theophilus Harding
Age: 22 years
Condition: Bachelor
Rank, etc: Steam Roller Driver
Residence: Savage farm, Washingborough
Father’s name: (None)
Father’s occupation: (None)

BUT, in favour of it being him are:

(a) His age was indeed 22, having been born on 2 May 1925.

(b) His father was not recorded on his birth certificate.

AGAINST, is the fact that he did not give his litany of forenames.

I think this is sufficient ground to get hold of the birth certificates of the two children.
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The children from FreeBMD are one more than the above; certificates have been ordered for all.:

Surname First name(s) Mother District Vol Page
Births Sep 1928   (>99%)
Harding Kenneth R Maidens Boston 7a 642
Births Mar 1932   (>99%)
Harding Maurice R Maidens Beaminster 5a 465
Births Dec 1932   (>99%)
Harding Brenda E Maidens Beaminster 5a 431

July 2016, TFPL: The first birth certificate has arrived, giving the father’s name as Theophilus William (two of his four forenames) and the son’s name as Kenneth Roland, the second of which is the same as the second name of his father.  This gives firm confirmation that this marriage is for this Theo and that this is their first son.
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Obviously after both their parents had died, it is difficult to trace the children in the 1939 Register.  But at marriage they all said they had been living in Frampton West.  At marriage, Brenda had a M J Maidens as one of her witnesses, so she was still in touch with her mother’s family.  A search for Maidens living in Frampton Weest has produced a family of Walker that had an eight year old Albert Maidens stayingh with them in a household of 10 people of whom 3 were redacted.  I would place a small bet that this was where they were living then and that Mrs Walker was herself a Maidens by maiden name.
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Their marriage certificate gives:

Marraige no 73 of 1923 at The Register Office, Boston, Lincs.

Marr date: 7 Apr 1928
Name: Theophilus Harding
Age: 22 years
Condition: Bachelor
Rank, etc: Steam Roller Driver
Residence: Savage farm, Washingborough
Father’s name: (None)
Father’s occupation: (None)
Her Name: Elizabeth Maidens
Her Age: 18
Her status: Spinster
Her occupation: None
Her residence: Frampton West, Near Boston
Her father: William Maidens
Her father’s job: Farm Labourer

Witnesses:  Geo R Comer MBF (where he from?), William Hawkins
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