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Some years ago a Registrar in London told me that unregistered births were quite common in the UK until 1948. Whilst before that there had long been a legal requirement to register a birth, there was no obvious immediate practical benefit and so people occasionally didn’t bother. He cited illegitimacy as a common factor in unregistered births. The behavioural change in 1948 came with the introduction of family allowance (modern tax credits) paid by the state. You needed a birth certificate to make a claim. As a result, from that time onwards people would nearly always register births promptly.

The Registrar told me that the Superintendent Registrar has discretion to register a late birth, even if that was 5 or 50 years later. However to do so, normally someone present at the birth (not necessarily the parents) has to be able to swear to the event, and explain why it was not registered at the time. I suspect that in your case there was no-one who could do that and so swearing an affidavit, linked to school records which would provide a fairly accurate indicator of age, was the best alternative the family could come up with.

Hi, that is very interesting and really makes sense to my particular case, the Declaration does mention education on top left hand corner too. Thanks for your input it's really helped towards a possible explanation of why I can not trace her birth reg/cert.

The declaration was probably needed to prove her age for a prospective employer.

There was a similar situation with my Dad who was informally adopted by a couple in 1911 and known by their name until he left school when he needed a birth certificate for his first employer. That is when he found out he was adopted.

However he had been registered in his married! parents' names so not quite as hard to fathom as your grandmother is concerned.

You have a Stat Dec but if it had been registered and then changed on the GRO site her birth reg should be there in the correct year and quarter. Could she have been registered under another surname?  Or unfortunately not registered at all and this is why a Stat Dec was used as proof of her birth.

Maybe a search of the June 1/4 1905 for an Elizabeth - no last name - will show one with a surname you recognise as a link to your family? A longshot.

Hi,

Sadly I don't think that her birth was ever registered I've spent years looking for it to no avail, BUT like you say  I guess there is a chance that she was registered in another surname so I will try that route. Because I've been unable to find her birth reg/cert I've no idea what her mother was named or whether she was Illegitimate or not, her marriage cert states Edward Handley, (a market porter) as her father but I can not find him in right area on census either arrrgghhh. Its a shame the signature of her parent on the Declaration is not readable, that would have been the key I need to move forward. Actually just thought, do you know if you can get copies of  Declaration's?  And yes I think the Declaration was more than likely needed for employment purposes as I know she was brought up in one of the poorest area  of Manchester at the time - Angel Meadow so I guess money was desperately needed to survive.

Thanks for your in put it's much appreciated and it's spurred me to keep on going

Hello every body...

I'm new to this site so apologies If I've posted in wrong section.

Ive been researching my family history for some time now and hit a brick wall where my paternal grandmother is concerned. Iv'e obtained most of my information via family members and B.M.D certs. However my grandmother and her family are proving to be quite elusive. I can find no trace of them on census records. 

My grandmother  (Elizabeth Handley c1905) doesn't appear to have been registered at birth, I have trawled birth entries 5 years each side of her supposed birth date of 12th May 1905. In the end I gave up!!

However I have recently come across a document that was found amongst my deceased aunty's paper works (Elizabeth's daughter) unfortunately it's not in very good condition but I can make out that it reads - " Statutory Declaration by parent 44 & 45 Vict? ???68 and on the top left hand corner I can make out the word of education.

It then goes on to say "I hereby solemnly declare that "Elizabeth Handley" was born on the 12th day of May 1905 at D???ty street Ancoats Manchester. And I make the above Declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of Declarations act, 1835.

It is signed by Justice of the peace for the county borough of Salford on the 11th day July 1919. There is also a signature by a parent but this is difficult to read due to handwriting and condition of the document.

Can anybody tell me what this Declaration would be needed for? and why it took place some 14 years after Elizabeth's birth year??? I'm totally baffled by this but then I'm thinking perhaps this is why I can't find any birth entry for her? Would Elizabeth's birth been registered on the 11th of July 1919 some 14 years after her actual birth?  Hope I've not confused anybody lol thanks for reading, Traycee