Another update here.
When I first installed the site I installed flexibility tempplate and its these pages that do not have dates on, some of the pages I have created since do appear to have dates on and by testing with them using the code
[[+pagetitle]] - [[[[*publishedon:is=`0`:then=`*createdon`:else=`*publishedon`]]:date=`%a, %d %b %Y %T`]]
that output:
- Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:33:33
I tested this on a page that I just created so a step in the right direction I just think I need to find a way to convert this timestamp thing!
Thanks do much for all help