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My mother was born Mollie Cuthbertson on April 29, 1932 at Wellhouse (now Barnet General) Hospital, Wellhouse Lane, Barnet, England. She was fostered out when she was a baby and her birth was not registered. There were in 1955 records at the hospital of her birth. She used to mention two brothers, Ron and Len, but I am not sure if they were real brothers or foster brothers. Her father's name on her wedding certificate is listed as William John Cuthbertson (Deceased). She may have been fostered by a woman named Davies. I only knew her as Nanna. As we moved to Australia when I was a baby, I never knew her and as she and Mum have passed on, so I cannot ask either of them for anymore details.
Would anyone know how I could get access to the records kept by the hospital or the agency handling the fostering?

This is the link to Barnet Borough
http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/health-social-care/fostering-adopting-and-looked-after-children.htm
they may be able to point you in the right direction. I guess it depends on the circumstances of the foster placement.

You could also try Barnardos http://www.barnardos.org.uk/who_we_are/contact_us.htm

Tracing family: [email protected]

"""her birth was not registered"""


She must have been but most likely not under the name she later had.

Babies even if they are abandoned are given a birth certificate

I have to agree with Fairthorn, all babies are registered, it's an offence not to in the UK.

I have come accross a child baptism whereby the child was called Karen Monday. name after the lady who found her and the day she was found. (note on the baptism record)

Keep looking, and as Fairthorn said she's most likely not registered under the name you knew her as!

Do you know when she was fostered? Fostered child rarely change their name! It's only Adopted children that may change their name!

So if your relative was fostered you already have her real name.



Tracey x

ok there is a Mollie E Cuthbertson, born 2Q 1930 mmn Chalkley, born Hitchin, 3a 1318.

Could you have the year of birth wrong?

Going to see if i can find a marriage


Tracey x

Sorry the husband isn't William :(

Marriages Jun 1926
Chalkley Ada S Cuthbertson Hitchin 3a 1711
Cuthbertson Arthur Chalkley Hitchin 3a 1711


Tracey x

We have a letter from the Surrey County Council to my mother saying there is a record of her birth on 29 April 1932 at the hospital. So the year is not wrong. It says that the hospital record may be enough for her to get her birth registered and have a certificate issued. So we know where, when , what her name iand her father's name from her marriage certificate. What I do not know is her mother's name and her parents ages and if there were any siblings.

Sorry I seem to have accidentally deleted someone's post. I clicked add and it deleted instead. Thanks to all who have gone to so much trouble to help me. It is much appreciated.

But HOW did Mollie know WHO her father was ??

Cos IF the mother abandoned the baby after the birth HOW has Mollie got the name of her father ???
Her father must have known who the mother was, to claim Mollie as his own !!!

PLUS how can they foster out an unregistered child ?

Plus if the hospital wrote to your mum, did they mention the circumstances WHY she was not registered ?
Did the mother walk out of the hospital leaving Mollie ?

You have 6 weeks in which to register
( there is more need now cos of the child benefit claim )
& if you did not, you could be prosecuted.


Very Strange

PS what year was the letter from the hospital to Mollie

In 1955 when my mother was going to get married she wrote to the Surrey County Council Children's Department and they told her there was a record of her birth and I assume that her father's name was on that record. She was not abandoned. There was talk of her being beaten and her being removed from her mother because of it. She said something about her mother suffering from post-natal depression.
Was it the law to register a birth in 1932?

"The compulsory registration of births with governmental agencies is a practice that originated in the United Kingdom in 1853" - Wikipedia.

If the hospital have a record of the birth then the birth must have been registered....

It is impossible for the child to be born in a hospital and for the birth not to be registered. So maybe the birth was registered with the mother maiden name and not the fathers....

Did the hospital say what name the child was registered in?

If i were you i'd contact the hospital and see what they can tell you. or even the local registry office whom can see who was registered at that point in time. They can be very sympathetic in these circumstances...

I'd not give up, but i agree with what has been said, a child cannot be fostered without a registration, maybe the cert has been 'lost' to hide the identity of the mother/father by another family member?

I would suggest this all seems to be centered round the fact the child was illegitimate even tho the fatehr was known.

The authorities whom handled the fostering will/should have full details of the events and the names of the parents involved, and also the full name of the child.

Looks like Molly may not be whom you think her to be, but not formally reregistered as such?


Tracey x

Who are the witnesses on the marriage certificate?
Do their names mean anything to you?
Just wondering of there may be anyone stil living who can help you with this
Sam

MOLLIE CUTHBERTSON
married John D JENNINGS
in Worthing
A/M/J 1955
5h 1082

Could you get a PASSPORT in the 1960's when Mollie went to OZ
without a birth certificate ??

I do not think her marriage certificate would have been enough proof
& how could she marry without a birth certificate in 1955 ?


A real mystery.

First up, many thanks to all of you who are helping me with this. I really appreciate it.
I have found where the hospital records are kept and my sister, who is going to England soon, will follow up on that. So hopefully we will find out what is in the hospital record. I got the strong impression from the letter my mother recieved from the Surrey County Council that her birth was not registered.
My sister will also check up on the fostering end of things as well when she is in England.
The witnesses on the marriage certificate seem to be my father's mother and brother. Gran is no longer with us but my uncle is still alive and I will tell my sister to ask him about the wedding when she is in England.
When we moved to Australia, my parents had a document of identity rather than a passport. I don't know what happened after Mum received the letter from the Surrey County Council.
If the birth had to be registered by law, I don't know why Mum couldn't find a certificate.

Fairthorn -I have been married twice, never had to produce a birth certificate, just 2 forms of ID
Sam

Smiley

I had to produce my birth certificate to get married in 1990. I was lucky cos i didn't have a physical copy, but i was getting married in the same place my birth was registered so they just looked me up!

Seems a little weird...


Tracey x

I married in 1983 & 1991, perhaps different counties have their own rules
Sam