Born in India - no UK birth registration

[Patrisia]

Not sure if I have posted this in the right place but here goes.

This question came up because a friend is about to apply for his bus pass, which requires a birth certificate for proof of identity and age.
A problem arises because he was born of British parents in January 1945 in Quetta, Baluchastan, India, just before India and and Pakistan partitioned.
He only has a certificate of baptism, which gives his date and place of birth. The same applied to his elder brother, born in 1939.

i) Is it likely that this would be acceptable to the relevant bureaucrats?

ii) If at this late stage, he wished to apply for a passport, how does he prove who he is?

His father was born in India about 1905 of British parents, possibly from Norfolk; possibly with Indian Army connections.
His mother was born in India about 1916, with an Irish father in the British Army, and an Anglo-Indian mother.

Did the British system of registration apply in India for British subjects?
Not just service families, as his father was an engineer working for the Indian Railway.
Lot's more questions but I will leave it at that for now!

I don't think I am going to offer to research his family history! ;)

[Peter Goodey]

i) Is it likely that this would be acceptable to the relevant bureaucrats?

ii) If at this late stage, he wished to apply for a passport, how does he prove who he is?

Wouldn't it be best to ask the Passport Office?

My Dad used to claim that he got a passport on the basis of a baptism certificate (he was born abroad).

But then that was many years ago and times and attitudes have changed.

[Geoffers]

You might try the Indexes to Consular Registers of Births, and Marriages, and Deaths 1849-1965

I think these are included in the overseas records on 1837 online

Apparantly the UKHC Registers of Births include a few births from the 1940's (although they officially commence from 1950).

TNA has registers of births for many Indian States in RG33. I've never used them so cannot say how easy/difficult a search of them may be.

Geoffers

[johnpritt]

You might try the Indexes to Consular Registers of Births, and Marriages, and Deaths 1849-1965. I think these are included in the overseas records on 1837 online
I can confirm that the indexes (at least) are available on 1837online -- or were the last time I used the site last year. I was looking for relatives born in India in the 19th century and found them fairly easily.
I was happy just to find the names and places of birth, however, and didn't try to get any copies of certificates.

[Peter Goodey]

Although I have no personal experience of it, the India Office Collection at the British Library is said to be the place to go to track down BMD evidence for Europeans in India in that period.

[Patrisia]

Thank you Peter, Geoffers and John, for all that help.

This started off as a relatively light hearted query but as I suspect that I may have triggered Michael's curiosity, I guess it will end up as a serious search! |shakehead