British Army birth in Germany in 1960s

[John915]

Good evening,

My son was born in Germany at BMH Rinteln in 1978. To register the birth one had to travel to the British Consulate in Hannover. The birth is recorded in the Consulate register which is then photocopied. This copy/ies is/are then signed in ink by the British Consul and a red ribbon with wax seal attached at the bottom.

As such they cannot be used to obtain passports etc because they are copies. Whether you can obtain further copies I don't know. The original registers will presumably be kept at the relevant Consulate. I don't know if that is what people refer to as a military birth certificate. To obtain a normal British birth certificate the birth would also need to be registered in Britain to generate the neccessary entry in a register here.

We were unable to get a passport for our son because of this. Fortunately he went on a school trip to France and obtained a one year passport from the PO. These are no longer available but he was able to use it to obtain a full passport.

John915

[Jebber]

John915

If you were in the Forces, I’m surprised that you say you couldn’t get a copy of your son’s birth certificate. Friends whose children were born in BMH Rinteln have their births listed in the British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptism Index, those registered at the Consulate are indexed both in the Consular  volume and the Armed Forces volume, copies can be obtained from the GRO.

One of my sons was born in Malta and a granddaughter in Hong Kong, both indexed in the Armed Forces volume, neither had any trouble getting copies to apply for passports.

[BenRalph]

My uncle was  born in Germany in the 1960s with a soldier father. He has a German and a British cert which he can get a copy of from the GRO

[Jebber]

My uncle was  born in Germany in the 1960s with a soldier father. He has a German and a British cert which he can get a copy of from the GRO

Most likely if his mother was German?

[John915]

John915

If you were in the Forces, I’m surprised that you say you couldn’t get a copy of your son’s birth certificate. Friends whose children were born in BMH Rinteln have their births listed in the British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptism Index, those registered at the Consulate are indexed both in the Consular  volume and the Armed Forces volume, copies can be obtained from the GRO.

One of my sons was born in Malta and a granddaughter in Hong Kong, both indexed in the Armed Forces volume, neither had any trouble getting copies to apply for passports.

We had no problem getting copies of the birth certificate. I purchased them when I registered the birth. What we couldn't do was get a passport with them because they are photocopies of the entry in the register. The passport office will not accept copies only originals.

Any copies obtained from GRO will also be photocopies.

John915

[Jebber]

I’m sorry if I appear argumentative, but there is a difference between photocopies and Certified copies.

 You only get photocopies from the GRO  if you order a cheap PDF copy,  Paper ones  are Certified copies and that is all you ever get, even when you register a birth or  death. I  have my original certificate issued when my father registered my birth, that clearly states it is a Certified copy, that was used for my first passport application. When we registered the birth of our eldest son, what the Registrar handed us was a Certified copy.

 It is the same with marriage certificates, the one you are given is a Certified copy.

If you need further proof, check out the Government website on how to order a passport, it clearly states if you don’t have your original birth certificate, you need an official copy, it goes on to tell you how to apply for a copy from the GRO.

Addendum
The requirements changed for people born after January 1st 1983.