was birth/death registration compulsory?

[shumagh]

Hi. I'm searching for a birth and death reference for a child born in the 1940s. Family history says that it was a boy,born at home, with a congenital condition that caused his death as an infant. However, although I know his name and the locality of his birth/death, I can't find any records.If he died when only days old, would his birth still have been registered? Obviously, he would have had to been buried but how and where? If he died in hospital, would he have been buried within the hospital grounds? As you can see I'm clutching at straws, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks Shumagh

[Little Nell]

At the date you mention, registration was supposed to be compulsory.  I believe that without a death certificate, it was not possible for a burial or cremation to take place.  Is it possible that his name has been spelt incorrectly?

Nell

[MonicaL]

Hi Shumagh and Nell

Could he possibly have been stillborn? May explain why you are not finding his birth/death entries, only live births need to be registered.

All such births would be entered into the Stillborn Register, quite separate from the GRO's birth/death registers. These indexes are not available to be searched by the public. To access this register, you will have to make a special application to the GRO, but only the parents or, if they are deceased, a direct descendant of the parents (such as siblings to the stillborn baby) will be eligible to be given this information.

Monica

[Little Nell]

Quite right.  I assumed that the child lived for a short time, but re-reading it wasn't clear if this was the case.

Nell

[shumagh]

Thanks Monica and Nell. Everything's still as clear as mud. The child wasn't stillborn, but survived at least for a few days. The surname is Butler, so not really likely to be mis-spelt. Both of his sisters remember "the little baby who died" but disagree as to his first name and his date of birth, and despite trawling through Ancestry records for hours on end, we're no further forward, but thanks for your replies anyway. Shumagh

[Glen in Tinsel Kni]

There are times when a child is registered without being named, it could well be worth looking for an entry along the lines of "Male Butler" in the birth and death index.

If it doesn't appear that there is a registration in the GRO index it may be worth contacting the local (to the event) register office and asking them to search the local register for you and supply a cert if available. There are times an event WAS registered but didn't make it to the GRO index for a number of reasons.

[shumagh]

Thank you Glen. Think we may try to do as you suggest. Sorry about the delay in answering, only just got home from work. Shumagh