help info regarding birth of kenneth john pound

[elenor62]

Hi i live in Australia and i am trying to find my fathers father or anything about who he is or was as my father's (Kenneth john pound born may 1936 in Exeter, Devon) mother was Edith Doreen Pound born 1903 in Totnes, Devon also, she gave him up and  put him in a home called "Dunbevenes babies home" (for children aged 6 months to 5 years ) and he was there till he turned 5 and was then located to st Budocs till he was 15,at this age he was sent from England  to Fremantle Australia in 1951, (he was what they called a a british home child/ child migrant/ten pound pom/forgotten child) like so many others. i have been searching every place ,site etc to no avail does anyone in england know who he might be as Edith hasn't mentioned anything anywhere or left any clues and she passed away in 1965 from what i found any help would be gratefully appreciated as i need to find this out before my father pass's as he's quiet old now and in fragile health, sincerely elenor62

[DOB7]

I'm probably asking something you have already pursued, but have you obtained your father's birth certificate? Have you searched baptism records for the area to see if his father's name is mentioned there?
Here is a list of children's homes in Devon at that time http://www.childrenshomes.org.uk/list/Devon.shtml I couldn't locate a Dunbevenes Home but there was a Nestling home, Dunraven in Exeter.

[dawnsh]

Hi elenor62

Welcome to Rootschat 

there is a very useful resource online, www.freebmd.org.uk where you can search for births, marriages and deaths.

This looks like you father's birth entry

Births Jun 1936
Pound, Kenneth J, mothers maiden name Pound, district  Exeter, volume 5b page 121

You can apply to the General Register Office (www gro.gov.uk) for a copy which will cost £9.25 inclusive of overseas postage

Unfortunately the style of entry in the index indicates that a fathers name won't be shown on the certificate.

It's a great shame that unmarried mothers at that time were forced to give up their children but I wonder why he wasn't officially adopted by another family but left in care?

You might also find this topic on Rootschat useful

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=720118.0

Hope this helps.

Dawn

[elenor62]

thank you Dawnsh for your wonderful reply its 9.53pm here and i just got on the computer and saw your message,thank you for replying, my fathers dads name was not put on the birth certificate for some unknown reason maybe it was to keep his identity hidden , why i don't know? all the ideas running through my mind are driving me crazy and i have a great imagination which makes it worse. seeing he is my grandfather i just want to know who he was ,what was he like and how he lived ,did he have other children as i don't know my relatives except some cousins(?) from ancestry and they don't know of him either or my father, so she kept him well hidden. i only wish i could be there in Devon to find out any information, this my profile on ancestry.com.au is Sandra Dalton family tree with all information i have , i only found out some of Edith Doreen Pound (now Baker) info(she passed away 1965). she had 2 other children when she got married in 1940 to Walter Douglas Baker born 1941 and  1943 . when i was little i saw one of them and they moved to box hill, Victoria,Australia i was later informed but i don't even know if this was accurate my fathers old now and i would love to let him know who his dad was and for my kids to know their heritage,but i keep hitting walls, sincerely elenor62

[dawnsh]

Hi elenor62

We have a 'no living people' policy here at Rootschat so you should remove any name of people who are still alive.

Dawn

[elenor62]

thank you for your reply as i said to Dawnsh i really appreciate the help given, but he isn't on the birth certificate and you could very well be right in the name of the children's home as over time my father could have gotten the name mixed up as it was along time ago thank you again i keep hitting brick walls but i will still persist , sincerely elenor62

[elenor62]

i'm very sorry , i didn't realize please forgive and i will remove asap sorry again, elenor62

[DOB7]

Elenor62 - It is almost certain that the child would have been baptised. There is a remote possibility that the father would have been named on the baptism entry but unlikely if he wasn't declared on the birth certificate. Records from the children's home may be an option.

[DOB7]

Here's a bit more about the Babies Home which was located at 20 Alphington Rd, Exeter:
In the 1920s No 20 was called "Dunraven". In 1930/31/32 it changed to St Bart, occupied by W. Horton. In 1934 it became "The Nestling Babies Home" run by The Fellowship of Nursing Service. In 1935 it changed to "Dunraven Childrens' Home", run by the Nursing Service Association. In 1948 it changed to "Dunraven Babies' Home", still run by N.S.S. In 1954 it became St Nicholas Home, and the following year St Nicholas House. In 1956 It was St Nicholas House, Diocesan Mother & Baby Home, with Miss E. Cooper as Matron, and it remained such until the 1980s when it became a Residential Home. Although the sign outside say St Nicholas House Hotel, I understand that it is not a hotel as such, more apartments. The building still stands and can be seen on Google Earth.