Adoption 1930s

[EllenBan]

Hello,

My Father was adopted in the 1930s, I don't know his birth name or birth parents names. I Just have a certified copy of an entry in the Adopted Children Register. How can i find out more about his birth name and parents. The court is listed as '' Petty Sessional Division of The Forest,County of Berks'' . Im not from the UK so i have no idea where to start with my research. He lived in Wokingham,Berkshire with his adoptive parents.

[Andy J2022]

The rules in the UK say that descendants of adopted people can have access to the same records as the adopted person would have been entitled to see if they had applied for them during their lifetime. However the system requires you to make your initial application through an intermediate contact service, such as an adoption agency. I'm not sure how that works when you are not resident in the UK. For instance could you do this using an intermediary service in your own country or would it have to be one based here? I suspect it's the latter.

The point of requiring an intermediary service is that there are risks and implications in revealing long-hidden family details, and whilst you may be ready to deal with these, surviving relatives in the birth mother's family may not be ready for the shock of discovering a new branch of the family. Hence the professionals are there to guide and if necessary provide counselling to all parties who may be affected.

Sorry to be vague, but it might be helpful for you to look at this link and ask for advice there: http://www.adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk/search/dap/

[amondg]

Have you found him in the 1939 register?
You know his adopted name and parents.
This will give you additional information such as date of birth and address.

[EllenBan]

Thank you for the explanation and the link, I think the way you have described it is the best way to get more information. Let’s see how it works for people who live overseas.

I thought that the Petty Sessional Division of The Forest was the Court who dealt with the adoption, maybe Court records about the adoption still exist

Have you found him in the 1939 register?
You know his adopted name and parents.
This will give you additional information such as date of birth and address.

- Yes, I have date of birth, address where he lived with his adoptive parents and I’ve found him on the 1939 Census

[Gan Yam]

My mother in law was adopted in the 1930s, but she knew all the circumstances of the adoption.  She did, however, also have the original Court Adoption Order and this does give all the information you want. It has the  biological parent/s names and also the reference of the original birth entry and place of birth. As you know the which court made the order, this would presumably make it easier for the adoption intermediatory to find and access the info you want.

[EllenBan]

Thank you! I've contacted some agencies and services and will try my best to trace my fathers birth family