Adoptions at Birdhurst lodge Croydon April 1948

[Linda29]

Just found out I have a brother ^(*) birth certificate says adopted, born at Birdhurst Lodge for single mums but Croydon adoption archive have no record of this. Mothers name was Olive Palastanga any ideas on my next step. Surely if you have adopted stamped on your birth certificate someone stamped it
Contact ^(*)
Grateful for any advice 

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[dawnsh]

Hi Linda29

Welcome to Rootschat 

As it appears he was adopted shortly after birth, he most probably had his name changed by his adopted parents to one that they would have chosen had they given birth to him.

He may also not know that he was adopted.

Unless you know the name he was adopted into, there is no way of linking an entry in the GRO birth index with an entry in the GRO adopted childrens index (an adoption certificate will confirm his date of birth and the names of his adopted parents but not his birth mother), and virtually no chance of finding him through the normal channels.

At this stage, if you haven't done so already, the best way forward is to register your name on the GRO adoption contact register here

https://www.gov.uk/adoption-records/the-adoption-contact-register

or here

http://www.adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk/default.htm

or here

http://www.missing-you.net/categories/adoptions.php

in the hope that he too has registered to find his birth family.

I had a look at the birth index and note that there are other children with this surname/mothers maiden name combination but he was born away from the area the family were living in Berkshire. It is possible that he was adopted away from the Croydon area which is why Croydon adoption archive couldn't help further.

The entry in the birth index would have been amended by order of the Registrar General on completion of the adoption.

Also be mindful that we have a 'no living people' policy here so information can only be of a general nature. Anything specific should be sent to you by the personal message system but you need a higher post count to be able to use it.

http://www.rootschat.com/help/pms.php

Good luck

Dawn

[taffie01]

hi Linda29, and a warm welcome from me too

I googled Birdhurst Lodge and found it an interesting read, found that

'No day to day records of the care of birth mothers and their children at The Mission of Hope (Birdhurst Lodge and other homes)....have survived. It is not clear what records were kept other than those now held as archived adoption files'

you might find this a useful site,

https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default/files/articles/downloads/adoption_history-croydon.pdf
 
it gives insight to dates and practise over the years. apologies if you have already found it.

dawnsh has given you some excellent advice to help you with your search.

if you make two more posts, replies to us would be enough, then other chatters will be able to contact you by pm if you need further help.

good luck with your search
taffie

[Linda29]

Hi Taffie
Thanks for you reply.,I had found that site and have already had someone check through all surviving adoption records, and have found record of my brother in 1948.
Although it has adoption on his birth certificate his mother Olive Palastanga could have made private arrangements for the adoption.

Well that's my first reply
Thanks

[chempat]

Slightly confused, as your Mother was married, not a single Mother?

Have you also looked on other sites to see if any has your Mother and /or your brother in their trees (also surname interests under Your Tools, on the boards here?)

[Linda29]

Yes so are we she was a Mrs Hawkes husband was in the Canadian army lived in Moncton New Brunswick .she already had one child 2 yrs old and in 1948 had Removed as we have a copy of his birth certificate the adopted stamp was on the right hand side.I have been in touch with Croydon adoption services and they have checked and double checked their archive and can find no record of them her maiden name was Palastanga. They suggested she may have arranged a private adoption he may have been brought back to Windsor we just don't know . I am going to register with the GRO Office he will be 67 years old hope he kept his name

[groom]

I'm afraid the chances of him having the same name are very slim, especially if adopted when a few weeks old. He will definitely have a different surname. As Dawn said, the best thing that you can do is register with the different sites and hope that he, or some of his family are also looking for his birth family.

[dawnsh]

Hi Linda

Please take a moment to read our guidelines for posting if you haven't done so already.

http://www.rootschat.com/help/posting_guide.php

We have a clearly defined 'no living people' policy and I keep removing references to the child's name under the terms of that policy.


Also, there is a related tropic here

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=734120.0

[taffie01]

Hi Linda,

Have you considered that the baby was not her husband's? ..she did after all give birth in special home, or perhaps she just felt she could not cope with two children on her own if her husband was living elsewhere. The adoption appears to have been pre-planned.

In any case you will not find the proverbial needle unless your brother has obtained a full birth cert and decided to make a search himself. Also I have a feeling that a short birth cert was acceptable in the past for passport applications , thereafter it would be just a case of renewal.!

I am sure someone can confirm that on adoption in 40s  the child could have been given a new birth cert with the adoptive parents names on and therefore unless told otherwise would never know :oo

Wish I could be more positive but don't give up hope , he's out there somewhere

Cheers
taffie