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I have I think been able to trace my father's birth record to Birmingham South. He had 2 brothers and three sisters, his mother was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales and was probably called Jones.
The only record I have found listed is the birth of a Bernard Pocock in December 1924. The registry office covered Balsall Heath where my father was born, but the month and probably the year is not in agreement with what I was told.
If anyone is able to research, or has records of the Pocock family that lived in Balsall Heath for decades. The father may have come from Framlingham, but I am unsure. He could have been from Sussex, Suffolk or Norfolk and I believe was a woodcutter before moving to Birmingham to work in a factory. Bernard Pocock served in the army during WWII, I am told both in a Secret Service role and also as a Chindit in Burma. He later took part in the Korean War, being called up as a reservist. He married Phyllis Johnson in Aldershot, Hampshire, shortly after WWII I believe, and remarried a woman called Gwendoline in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

I am looking for both ancestors and descendants on the Birmingham side of the family. If anyone could help, please.

how far out is the birth record? Often a birth is registered in the months following the birth, which sometimes runs into the next year

The first marriage:-

Name: Phyllis M Johnson
Spouse Surname: Bernard E. Pocock
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1948
Registration district: Aldershot
Registration county (inferred): Hampshire
Volume Number: 6b
Page Number: 155

Kath. x

I can't find a birth for a Bernard E. Pocock after 1916.

Kath. x

What birth date have you been told?
Jan

Will send the marriage to Gwendoline by pm as it's more recent but I'm not sure that it's the same Bernard as there is no middle initial given on this record.

Kath. x

Sorry for the time taken replying. I'm new to this site and thought I'd be notified of replies here.
In answer, I was told by him that he was born in November 1927. But with a search on freeBMD I could only find one person with that name, from the December 1924 records. Nothing else 10 years either side, and the names are the same.

Thanks. That is the one I'm researching. Bernard was married to Phyllis until her death in 1986. He remaried within three years.
The 'E' initial in Bernard E. Pocock stands for nothing. He thought he had a middle name, Edward, after his father, but learned that he never had more than one name late in life. So birth records will not have the E, or second marriage or death record.

Lesley

I have some information on the birth.
December 1924.
Birmingham S.
Volume Number 6d
Page Number 601

The E never existed officially. I'll PM details.

You might be right about that birth:

Marriages Mar 1923 (>99%)
Jones Hilda F Pocock King's N. 6d 14
Pocock Edward Jones King's N. 6d 14

I sent these marriage details to Lesley last night and the message has been opened.

Kath. x

This looks like Bernard's death which confirms the birth year of 1924:-

Name: Bernard Pocock
Birth Date: 3 Nov 1924
Death Registration Month/Year: Oct 2003
Age at death (estimated): 78
Registration district: West Surrey
Inferred County: Surrey
Register number: C17B
District and Subdistrict: 761/1C
Entry number: 62

Kath. x

That is the correct year of death. Gwendoline, who I assume is still alive, had all the certificates for my family and wouldn't let me see them. He died just before his 78th birthday, assuming he was born on 3rd November, and I took his widow to help her with the paperwork. After which she told me she never wanted any contact with me ever again. So she had all the paperwork for both my mother and father and I can only trace family by getting copies from the correct places.
I now have somewhere to look for Edward and Hilda Pocock, and as far as I know all there children were born in Birmingham. I don't knowe if any died in childhood, was never told, and I can't remember the name of the youngest who emigrated to Australia, but this information is a big help. Finding the birth of a Hilda Jones in Wales, even if Merthyr Tydvill was her birthplace, won't be easy.

Have sent a pm with the possible birth and marriage of Bernard's youngest sister.

Kath. x

Bernard was the first born I think, so it's probably correct. The 'E' was a mistake on Bernard's part, which is why it is given in his first marriage, but not in the second.

From the birth records Renee was born first - the year before Bernard.

Kath. x

I've had flu so not looked here recently.
If Renee had have been born first it would have been the same year as her parent's marriage. Could be, I've done no research for a while and can't remember what the family said about who was oldest. Renee married Alex Burton and had a son, Laurence. Renee died of a brain haemorrhage, I think in the 1960s.

This is Renee's birth:-

Name: Renee Pocock
Mother's Maiden Surname: Jones
Date of Registration: Jul Aug Sep 1923
Registration district: King's N.
Registration county: Warwickshire
Volume Number: 6d
Page Number: 210

I can't find a marriage for her to an Alex Burton, nor can I find a death for her.

I thought this might be her marriage but not sure:-

Name: Renee Pocock
Spouse: John Hinton
Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1946
Registration district: Birmingham
Registration county (inferred): Warwickshire
Volume Number: 9c
Page Number: 131

Can't find a death under the name Pocock, Burton or Hinton, although I can find the birth of the son you said she had.

Kath. x

I haven't looked here for a while due to ill health.
Renee may not have been married to Alex I suppose. If she wasn't then Laurence could have had the name of Pocock. She died fairly young, in her 40s I think, from a brain haemorage. As far as I can remeber she died in the 1960s. She only had the one child, father should be Alec or Alex, who worked at the car plant, and spent most of her life in Balsall Heath, Birmingham.
Assuming that Edward and Hilda were married in 1923, then if Renee was born in the same year she'd either have been born illigitimate or only just made it as legitimate.
Birth place of both Hilda and Edward I'm unsure of, was told the Hilda was from Merthyr Tydvil, but she had a strong Birmingham accent when I knew her. Maybe she developed it or her mother was from Wales. I was told that Edward was a woodcutter before moving to Birmingham but am unsure if he was born in Norfolk, Suffolk or Sussex. Going from memory both Hilda and Edward died in the 1970s, Hilda before Edward.
I can get copies of basic entries if I know where and when to look, but I'm stuck there, and also stuck on descendants of Renee, Jean and Norman. Renee had one child and so did Bernard. I know the later history if Bernard as I'm his only child, but don't know if Laurence married and had children, or the same for the children of Jean and Norman.
Although I'm researching my ancestrry I am more interested in finding my Birmingham family, the children of my father's brothers and sisters, as I no longer have contact with any living family.

Hi Lesley.
Sorry to hear you've been unwell, hope you are feeling better. Are you aware there might be a son to Renee and John Hinton? Will PM the name to you. Hinton isn't an overly common name so you might be able to track this person down using Facebook, Friends Reunited or the electoral register.
Regards
Jan