My grandmother, born 1942 (adopted)

[Ruskie]

It may be worth digging out the picture in case there is something written on the back of it. There may be other clues within other old records so well worth having a forage around I would say.  Do you know where she got the photograph from?

As you have mentioned her name it is likely that one of the moderators will highly edit this thread I'm afraid.

Even if she is not interested in obtaining her own records maybe you could do the hard work for her and just call upon her to sign on the dotted line if needs be. Does she have any objection to you looking for her family?

It is against the odds but not impossible that her mother is still alive ....

[MacGrigor]

I've no idea where she got the picture from. I had hoped that I would come across the birth certificate today, and I don't really want to put her through having to sign forms. I don't know how sensitive a subject it is for her.

[Ruskie]

I'm afraid that she is the best person to help you. Why not talk to her about it? If you don't know whether it is a sensitive subject or not, you will never know if you don't ask her.

Maybe you could ask her to consider that by not sharing this information with you that she has basically closed off a huge section of your family history. Maybe she will reconsider after she has had time to think about it.

I imagine it will be a whole lot easier for her to obtain her own records than for you, as a grandson, to do so. If you don't want to ask her to sign any forms then there is probably not much that can anyone can help you with. Not everything is on the internet unfortunately.

[MacGrigor]

Yes, I shall certainly speak to her about it. However, it does appear that she knows little more than me. All she mentioned was her mother's name, and she doesn't even have the birth certificate.

[Treetotal]

Was there any indication of how old her Mother was when she had Removed?...it's easy to assume she was an unmarried Mother but there's the possibility that she lost her husband during the war and couldn't cope with bringing up a baby on her own...She was 9 months old when she was adopted so that seems a long time if she was unmarried. The Removed Beaumont registrations for that year that I can find on Ancestry were married.
Carol

[MacGrigor]

No, I'm afraid I've no idea. I'll have to see the photos. I fear I probably won't know the answers for a while.

[dawnsh]

I'm afraid the only person who can now access her file is your grandmother as she is still very much alive.

She can apply here

https://www.gov.uk/adoption-records

Just because her name is now what it is, doesn't mean that that was the name she had when her birth was registered.

Her adoptive parents may have kept it because they liked it or chosen a completely different one as if they had given birth to her.

As the nature of adoptions at the time your grandmother was born was very sensitive, I'm a little surprised she has a pre-adoption surname in mind.

Unless the birth mother had a connection to the parents who later adopted your grandmother, it's highly unlikely any one would have known who the birth mother was.

If your grandmother does not wish to pursue this line of research, then you most respect her wishes.

[Treetotal]

She could have been Removed and the Removed added at the time of adoption to protect her identity.
Life is full of surprises and you never know when or where a breakthrough will come...so talk to her often and gain her confidence and don't give up...I have seen bigger mysteries than this solved on here in the past.
Carol

[MacGrigor]

I don't think there's a problem with confidence. She openly mentioned it in passing to my grandad today, when we were rummaging around. I just wouldn't like to press her.

I think I've learnt quite a bit from this thread. Is it possible to delete it?