Genealogy Chat

Can anyone assist please? My Mother In Law was adopted in London in 1947. She was born at the Lambeth Hospital and her biological Mother lived in Lambeth. Mother in Law was given a few scraps of paper by her adoptive Mother one of which has the heading Lambeth Girls Welfare Association written on it. We are, or I am trying to help her in her quest to try and locate where her birth file might be held (if there is one in existence) after all these years. Her adoptive parents weren't Catholics but her biological Mother may well have been. Is anyone able to assist in this quest please? Oops forgot to mention that if this is not the right board to post this message on can you please point me in the right direction

Kind regards

Kathryn

It could have been a CoE organisation.

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
details/rd/e6d5fe13-2e31-4e68-ac09-bcbe75f0a797

As that link (copy and paste both lines) indicates they don't have the adoption/case files, probably a starting point would be Lambeth Social Services.
Your MiL would have to sign the letter.

https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/forms/general-enquiries-form

You could ask for a specific address or department to write to.

Thank you for your reply and the information contained therein.

Regards

Kathryn

I've just emailed the link you gave me to Lambeth, thank you. Hopefully they will reply some time next week.

Regards

Kathryn

If she hasn't already applied for her original birth certificate she should do so from here:

https://www.gov.uk/adoption-records/accessing-your-birth-records

It explains the process (which is free), and she will be provided with a copy of her original BC and her adoption file if it exists. You do not need to know the agency or society dealing with the adoption, they will know from her adoption record.

Hi Flip, we already have a copy of her original birth cert which I obtained via the General Register Office. All we received was the birth cert nothing else. Obviously didn't apply for it via the link you have kindly provided. Perhaps I/we should apply again for it.

Thanks for the information you have provided.

Kind regards

Kathryn

Yes, I would advise you (well her, as it must be your mil who makes the application) to go through the process - you get nothing other than the BC from GRO. I realise she may need to see a councillor but this is no big deal - it takes a little while for the application to be processed as they have to obtain the adoption file from whichever agency arranged the adoption.

Some files contain very little info, but usually give more details on the age and situation of the mother - and if you are lucky it may name the father. Like I said, this service is free so nothing to loose.

Good luck

Hi again Flip, just to say that I found my MIL's birth on Ancestry and then just sent off for the Cert with the usual and volume and page number.

Kind regards


Kathryn

Hi Flip, thank you again. My last message to you probably crossed with the one you sent me. We or MIL will go through the other process. You will see that I have contacted Lambeth, maybe they might come back with something also.

Once again, thanks for your help. I will print off the form and get MIL to fill it out and then send it off. Fingers crossed. I was adopted too but luckily was able to get my birth file which was quite large. Probably one of the lucky ones. I couldn't remember the process I went through to obtain the same but I did have to go to meet a lady who then had a chat with me and then handed me my birth file which amazingly had two black and white photos within it of me when I was about eight months old.

On the form where it says a Local Authority can MIL write down our Local (to Bexhill on Sea) Council Offices as she is now unable to walk and travel far?


Kind regards

Kathryn

Hi Kathryn, you can put down whichever local council you wish - so no need to travel far.

Thanks Flip for all your help. Just one last thing. Does MIL have to fill out the ASA details at the bottom of the page? Sorry to be so thick but does this mean the Council Offices where she would like to be met? Will leave you in peace now.

Kind regards


Kathryn

You only need to complete the ASA section if you wish an agency other than the council to be involved - I would leave it blank and see the local authority advisor.

Cheers Flip. Will now leaved you in peace.

Kindest regards


Kathryn

Hi all. Just to let you know Mother in Law has now heard from someone and she is going this Wednesday to meet with a Counsellor and to be handed whatever they have found. Exciting but she is not being too optimistic as there may well only be a few papers but a bonus if the file is quite large.

Thanks again all for your time and help.

Kind regards

Kathryn

Thank you for letting us know. Hope all works out well for her.