Tracing birth parents WITHOUT original name or birth certificate?

Mrs_Bear

Would any of you have any ideas on how we go about this?

My husband was born in 1961, in London. He was adopted by a couple when he was 3 months old and the husband died about 5 years later. His mother married again and he took the name of her second husband. Before his mother died, she told his step sister that his real mother was American and his father was from Yorkshire and that all the details he needed were in her desk. Unfortunately the documents weren't there - so he doesn't know his birth name nor does he have his original birth certificate.

We got married recently and would love to find his mother - before it is too late, as she must be in her sixties now at least. He's tried to find her through an agency, who charged for the service, but they say that without the original name or birth certificate they can't do anything. Another problem with all this is, of course, that she is classed as a foreign national.

Any help or ideas on what we do now would be really appreciated because we are stuck.

heather38

long shot but does he know what hospital he was born in? he could look up the birth certs for that hospital on the day he was born, i think they list the parents nationality. (the 'long' version) worth a try
good look with your search

Gabriel-Ernest

Does he have any idea which agency handled his adoption? If so, he could write to them or call them to see if they can help. Back in the early Sixties it may have been a church organisation which handled it. Try seeing if there are or were any adoption agencies in the area called 'Moral Welfare' or something similar.

Failing that, the GRO may be able to help:

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/adoptions/

Mrs_Bear

Thanks Heather, but he knows nothing other than that he was adopted at 12 weeks in London and his parents moved to Guildford.

He thinks it will be impossible and maybe it is but I think that maybe his mother wants to find him now and can't and we should do everything we can to find her.

Gabriel-Ernest

Just dug further on the GRO site - he can get access to his records from them but would have to have an informal interview first to make sure he understood the implications. I don't think it will matter that he doesn't know his birth details. I'd go via the GRO if I were him.

Mrs_Bear

And we have no idea of the agency involved nor even which Borough of London. The only ones who did know were the original adoptive parents and both of them are dead now and the second husband knows nothing.

Mrs_Bear

Gabriel-Ernest wrote:

Just dug further on the GRO site - he can get access to his records from them but would have to have an informal interview first to make sure he understood the implications. I don't think it will matter that he doesn't know his birth details. I'd go via the GRO if I were him.

Thanks Gabriel-Ernest! I didn't know that - we had gone through the GRO site and thought it could only do anything if he had some information to go on. I'll search further!

Ms_Chocaholic

May be worth having a look at https://www.norcap.org.uk, an organisation who may be able to offer you help and support in locating birth parents.

Gabriel-Ernest

Norcap charge around £50 for your details to go on their register for a year, if I remember correctly.

Mrs_Bear

Our big problem with this is that we don't know his birth name and his birth mother would not know his (first) adoptive name.

Another problem is, of course, that the mother probably returned to the USA. The GRO info looks most promising so far - I hadn't seen that section when I started looking. Or at least, I hadn't searched the site using the right terms!!!

hardpressed

You say he doesn't have his 'original' birth certificate do you mean that he some other certificate? Does he have an adoption certificate? Are there any aunts or uncle still around who might have any clues? Just had another thought. If he was adopted at 12 weeks, his medical records might have his birth name, it might be worth him contacting his GP and asking if it's possible for them to check.