1950s birth certificate/father's name missing

[cah1958]

Hi Pam - I see you added a comment. As you say it is a shame that she hasn't expanded on the situation after 1953 as there may have been some way his name could have been added even without being present.

[AntonyMMM]

As a (former) registrar:

The law in the 1950s was essentially what it is now..... an unmarried father would have to be present to sign the register as a joint informant for his name to be entered on the register.

A re-registration to add him as the father could have been done at any time afterwards - quite a common process.

Both parents would need to sign the application to re-register.

Another process exists to re-register the birth (under the Legitimacy Act) of children when the parents later marry so that was another opportunity for it to happen .... in fact it is now a legal requirement for parents to do that, not just an option (although many don't realise).

Getting mixed responses to the query about my dad as some people say that if she was still married to someone else she wouldn't have been able to name my dad on the certificate whether he attended or not back in the 50s. Still not clear as to whether she would have had to produce a marriage certificate. Sounds like some registrars just put down what they were told. .

Her being married to someone else is irrelevant - his presence to sign the register is the key factor.

Registrar's do put down what they are told - that is what the law requires them to do. Registration is an informant led system, any questions asked by the registrar are required to be answered truthfully (as the mother obviously did) otherwise an offence of perjury is committed. There is no requirement for marriage certificates to be produced, and that is still the case today.

[Guy Etchells]

First there is a big difference between what was legally required to register a birth and what people did in real life.

My grandfather was married and his wife refused to divorce him as a result he and my grandmother did not marry until his first wife had died (12 years after the birth of their last child).
During the course of their relationship and eventual subsequent marriage my grandfather and grandmother had 4 children, three daughters and on son and their birth certificates are quite telling.

Their first child a daughter was registered in 1912 in the conventional manner for an unmarried couple with her mother using her maiden name and her father being present and shown as an informant as well.
Their second child also a daughter was registered in 1915 in the same manner, by the time their third child (a son) was born in 1919 things had changed.

My grand mother is shown on the register using my grandfather’s surname; also my grandfather registered the birth without my grandmother being present. In a similar manner when their fourth child (another daughter) was born in 1922 my grand mother is again shown on the register using my grandfather’s surname, also my grandfather registered the birth without my grandmother being present.

These last two births imply my grandmother and grandfather were by then living as man and wife.
I think it will be interesting to see if this is borne out on the 1921 census; Harriet, my grandfather’s first wife died in 1933 meaning my grandfather was then able to marry my grandmother in 1934.

I mention the sex of the children as my grandfather had some “old fashioned ideas”, to him it was important for his sons birth to have all the appearances of a legitimate birth, which were not as important for a female child.

Note: For all those paranoid about mentioning living people all the above mentioned people have died.

Cheers
Guy

[geneius]

Just go with the flow do not question what when & why!

Your parents did what they thought was right in the 1950's, just as mine did, same scenario short birth cert! Mother married a GI in 1944 then went thru another marriage 4 years later and before I was born???? no waiting for the 7 year divorce rule.....upshot what is my status? I presume illegitimate.

I asked my parents when I found out in the late 1980's they said they did what they thought was correct.