Trying to find my Dad

Paper_Hearts

My Dad is French and he was with my Mum for around five years, I came along and a few months later they split up, he left and went back to France. I have seen him a total of three times since then, once when I was 6, another time when I was 12, and the final time when I was almost 18.

When I was growing up he would always send cards for my Birthday, and Christmas, and would also send me the odd letter/photograph and would also call me the odd time as well, Since I last saw him there has been no contact from him at all and I am now in my mid 30's. He was ill the last time I saw him, I am unsure what was wrong with him, all I know is he had an appointment with a doctor back in France and the plan was for him to go and see him when he got home. I know he would be 69 now if he is still alive.

I do not know a lot about my Dad at all, only what I have been told by my Mum over the years, which is not much. I know his name, his age and where he was born, I know his Brother's name and also the name of his Niece. I believe he served in the Army, I know his parents are both dead now. The number he used to call me from was disconnected years ago and the number I had for my uncle is no longer in use either so they must have a new number, I never knew the address, only the phone numbers, so I do not have a lot to go on. I know that he travelled around quiet a lot, as in, he wouldn't really stay in one place for a long time, he wasn't the kind of person to settle down so I have no idea where in France he would even be now.

I have tried using google to find him and his family but unfortunately he shares his name with a French footballer so that is all that comes up, there is no birth or death records online that I can find and I have found everyone on facebook with his Brother and Niece's name and sent them all a message and each one came back to me saying I do not have the right person so I keep hitting a brick wall.

I just want to know if he is still alive.

Does anyone have any ideas on anything else I could try with the limited information I have about him?

Thank You

Topcat1982

Paper_Hearts wrote: »

I have tried using google to find him and his family but unfortunately he shares his name with a French footballer so that is all that comes up, there is no birth or death records online that I can find and I have found everyone on facebook with his Brother and Niece's name and sent them all a message and each one came back to me saying I do not have the right person so I keep hitting a brick wall.



Thank You

On google there is a dial icon with the option of advanced search. In the section "none of these words" put football (or the French word). That might bring up something.

I hope he has not passed away but you could check death records in case he has.

TBagpuss

Do you have any idea where he was born? If you do, then you could start by contacting the relevant bureau de l'!tat civil (similar to our registry office). Records are good, but are kept locally, I don't think they are centralised they way they are here, and for records less than 100 years old they are confidential unless you can prove you are a direct relation. If you are able to travel then you might be able to visit the town and see whether there are any members of the family still living there.

If you know anyone who is a member of any genealogical website, you could ask them whether there is a members forum where they could post to ask for advice about accessing French records.

Another option would be to try writing to the French Embassy detailing what you know, to ask whether they can assist. The French do have ID cards so prsumably there is a central record somewhere.

Another option might be to speak to a French lawyer to ask whether there are any companies which carry out tracing work. In the UK there are a number of 'heir hunter' style companies who will trace family relationships. Given that French inheritance law makes it very hard to disinherit immediate family I would be surprised if there are not similar companies there, as I would expect that situations where a child needs to be traced come up quite often.!

It might even be worth contacting a UK company and ask whether they undertake iternational work. You could also contact a karge private investigation company and ask about whether they deal with international cases.
Obviously those option would involve (potential significant) costs, but they should be able to give you an estimate.
Good luck

whitewing

Does anyone in your mum's side of the family know you are looking? A sympathetic relative may know more details that you don't know.

Would your mum know more?

Could you contact a local newspaper over there and do an appeal for info (eg in the town of his old telephone number).

How did you meet him age 6, 12, 18? Where? How was it arranged? Write down everything that you can remember about it. That may prompt some new ideas.

Paper_Hearts

Thank you all for the replies. I never would have thought of contacting a local newspaper so thanks for that, been looking this morning and found a couple, I emailed one of them and found the others on facebook so have sent a few messages.

Whitewing, He used to come over to England to see me, and would stay at my Mum's house in the spare room until he went back to France, he would only stay for a week. He would call my Mum before coming over to see if it was ok for him to come and see me or if any other time would be better, then he would travel over.

I asked my mum if she has any other information she has not told me and the only other thing she said was he did used to have a flat in Paris when they met but he gave that up when he moved to England to be with her. She also remembers his best friend's name but unfortunatley she can't remember his surname so that is a no go.

Thanks again.

kingfisherblue

Presumably the French telephone system is like ours and has area codes. Were the codes for dad and uncle the same, or did they live in different areas? If your dad moved around, did his number change? You might want to contact newspapers local to the area codes.

lizzy85

You can also put his picture. If you have one. It might help. I hope you can find your father soon.

selloptape

This Facebook page might post your story for free -

https://www.facebook.com/Jeremy-Kyle-doesnt-care-1594914914058496/?fref=nf

I_Love_comps

I used to watch 'Long Lost Family' on ITV channel where they find past relatives .

They are looking for people for there next series . Here is the page link on it you will fins a link to apply (if you so wish too) and further down another link to help with searching for long lost relatives.

http://www.itv.com/beontv/shows/long-lost-family




Good Luck x

Cindy12

Paper_Hearts wrote: »

My Dad is French and he was with my Mum for around five years, I came along and a few months later they split up, he left and went back to France. I have seen him a total of three times since then, once when I was 6, another time when I was 12, and the final time when I was almost 18.

When I was growing up he would always send cards for my Birthday, and Christmas, and would also send me the odd letter/photograph and would also call me the odd time as well, Since I last saw him there has been no contact from him at all and I am now in my mid 30's. He was ill the last time I saw him, I am unsure what was wrong with him, all I know is he had an appointment with a doctor back in France and the plan was for him to go and see him when he got home. I know he would be 69 now if he is still alive.

I do not know a lot about my Dad at all, only what I have been told by my Mum over the years, which is not much. I know his name, his age and where he was born, I know his Brother's name and also the name of his Niece. I believe he served in the Army, I know his parents are both dead now. The number he used to call me from was disconnected years ago and the number I had for my uncle is no longer in use either so they must have a new number, I never knew the address, only the phone numbers, so I do not have a lot to go on. I know that he travelled around quiet a lot, as in, he wouldn't really stay in one place for a long time, he wasn't the kind of person to settle down so I have no idea where in France he would even be now.

I have tried using google to find him and his family but unfortunately he shares his name with a French footballer so that is all that comes up, there is no birth or death records online that I can find and I have found everyone on facebook with his Brother and Niece's name and sent them all a message and each one came back to me saying I do not have the right person so I keep hitting a brick wall.

I just want to know if he is still alive.

Does anyone have any ideas on anything else I could try with the limited information I have about him?

Thank You

You could try The Salvation Army. They have been very good at helping people. Good luck I hope you find him.

tom9980

I would try contacting the French footballer and ask him if he would help spread the word, especially if he has a decent following on social media.