Why would someone use a wrong birthdate despite knowing his correct one?

[Dundee]

I think you are all missing the point here.

In 1911, when he would be in his early 30s, he travels from Germany into Belgium. On his entry documents, he originally gives his birthdate as 23 Sept 1880, but this is crossed out and 16 Sept 1879 written in a different hand

....who else in Antwerp would have access to records to have the date on his Belgian entry papers corrected?

Debra 

[DavidG02]

My Grandfather's elder brother Edward William Wainwright was born on 16th Sept 1879 -- I have his birth certificate to prove this.

He was not baptised as a baby, but as a teenager in May 1896. Here his birthdate is given as 23rd Sept 1880 -- a year and a week later!

This confusion of birthdates continued into later life. In 1911, when he would be in his early 30s, he travels from Germany into Belgium. On his entry documents, he originally gives his birthdate as 23 Sept 1880, but this is crossed out and 16 Sept 1879 written in a different hand

Can anyone think of any reason for the use of two birthdates like this?
I have ruled out the death of a 1879 baby and ensuing re-use of names for a 1880 baby.

The thing that stands out for me is the baptism as a teen. Not for any nefarious reason but simply because thats possibly the 1st time he is aware of any possible DOB. And it is given as Sep 23 1880.

He then becomes his own future informant for any further questions ie travel .

I question why only the Belgian authorities made the change and not any others. I wonder if he was present for the 1911 Census which I think DOBs are given.

Have you checked if Edward travelled with a parent and they informed the Belgian authority of the difference , or maybe he himself realised and corrected it.

Is there a similar German entry?

Interesting puzzle

[groom]

I wonder if he was present for the 1911 Census which I think DOBs are given.

Dates of birth are given on the 1939 register but not on the 1911 census.

[IJDisney]

It sounds like he didn't use the wrong birthdate on purpose. He was either using his baptismal record (he would have heard the date being given, and it would be his easiest document to source - ie from the local church) or he was misinformed by his parents/guardian (who could have originated the wrong date on the baptismal record anyway).

He would have had no reason to double check the date against his birth certificate (why would he disbelieve the church/his parents?). But maybe at some point after his entry into Belgium someone wanted official proof of his age. The easiest document to obtain through official channels would be a birth certificate, which then revealed the true date. The paperwork was then altered accordingly.

Does Edward William Wainwright leave any more birthdate/year records after his Brussels visit? Does he now consistently use the 'new' birthdate/year?

The question becomes - why was the date wrong on the baptismal record? Maybe his parents  had a poor memory, or remembered another event they associated with Edward's birth. Or did his parents die when Edward was young? Could Edward have provided his own date of birth at his baptism, and got it wrong himself because he was misinformed or mis-remembered?

[jaybelnz]

My Grandpa's birthday was always said to be Christmas Day, but when I got his birth record from Boston, it showed that he was born on 23rd December!  I've thought since that maybe it was celebrated on Christmas Day when he was a child, one of a large family, perhaps 2 celebrations in 1.

[IJDisney]

My Grandpa's birthday was always said to be Christmas Day, but when I got his birth record from Boston, it showed that he was born on 23rd December!  I've thought since that maybe it was celebrated on Christmas Day when he was a child, one of a large family, perhaps 2 celebrations in 1.

We were always told my grandmother was born on May Day, and my grandfather on April Fool's Day. It turns out that both were born a couple days out of those dates. Associating a birthday with another special event makes it easier to remember.

The OP, however, is not just the day, but a whole year as well! Does the year tally on the Censuses, I wonder? If not, then the error could reside in the parents (assuming they gave the enumerator the information). If the years do tally, then maybe Edward was the one who got things wrong.

[groom]

Could it be a simple mistake on the baptism record, made by the vicar, especially as it was an older baptism? My great x 3 grandfather was born 6th September 1802 in Yarmouth and baptised the following day. 6 years later for some reason he was baptised again with his siblings in London on 15th April 1808. His date of birth on that record is given as 6th September 1808! Obviously impossible.

I think as suggested earlier that maybe when he was asked for proof of identity he handed over his baptism certificate.  Then when handed back the papers later he looked at them, realised the date was wrong and asked for it to be corrected. As I understand it, those were the only two times the wrong date was given?

[medpat]

My husband's step mother never did know exactly which date she was born on.

Needing a passport in her 30s she asked her parents for her birth cert. and found a different date to the one she'd always celebrated her birthday. The official date was almost 1 week after the birth date she knew.

It was queried with her parents and her mother stated she knew what date her daughter was born (she was 1 of 12 children though)  and it was the date she'd always celebrated her birthday. Her father however said he'd have put the correct date in - it was about 3 weeks after the birth that he registered her. Who do you believe - she got around it by having a family day on the first date and a quite meal out with her husband on the second date

This was a birth in 1928.

[Jebber]

My husband's step mother never did know exactly which date she was born on.

Needing a passport in her 30s she asked her parents for her birth cert. and found a different date to the one she'd always celebrated her birthday. The official date was almost 1 week after the birth date she knew.

It was queried with her parents and her mother stated she knew what date her daughter was born (she was 1 of 12 children though)  and it was the date she'd always celebrated her birthday. Her father however said he'd have put the correct date in - it was about 3 weeks after the birth that he registered her. Who do you believe - she got around it by having a family day on the first date and a quite meal out with her husband on the second date

This was a birth in 1928.

My grandmother’s birth certificate shows her birth as the 25th, six days  later than her actual birth on the 19th, this was to hide the fact that her father had missed the 42 day Registration period. By saying it was the 25th he got it in with a day to spare.