Princess Mary Maternity Hospital..... sensitive subject!

[Liam59]

Maybe one further possibility - that the baby was buried with the mother but wasn't included in the records for some reason?

[River Tyne Lass]

Or could the baby have survived?  Father may have felt or been persuaded that he could not look after an infant on his own so baby may have been adopted and registered under another name.  Perhaps family only told the baby had been born and died?

What was the Mother's religion?  If RC perhaps she had last rites and the baby an emergency baptism - in which case there might be Church records.  I have come across a RC baptism before which also gave the info that the child had been adopted.

I think the patient records may get to the bottom of solving this.   

[erin31]

I did wonder this myself Liam but I can think of no reason why my mum and uncle would not know this or why the child was never mentioned.

I am not sure who would baptise a baby in hospital at that time... the family where R.C. but I have not found a baptism record in the St Joseph's baptism records.
The Holy Name Jesmond was the closet Catholic church but the baptism records only go up to 1929.

I think that the baby being adopted is a possibility I have not given enough thought too.
I have the obituary notice and memorial notices from two other years and there is no mention of a child in any of the notices which I could not understand but you have given me a possible reason River Tyne Lass.

I now hope I can access the patient records.
Thank you everyone for your replies. 

[River Tyne Lass]

Just to say this is a very interesting thread and I think we will all wish you success and please keep us updated .. I know this is a sensitive thread so even just a brief 'I have found my answer' or 'I have received the help I was after at the archives' would be nice.  It would be good to know you have got to a conclusion even if we don't know the details.  Or even 'unfortunately, got nowhere with this one'. I think we are all rooting for you, I know I certainly am.

It is a good while back but I once looked up something for someone and it appeared that after this person's RC ancestor's wife died all their children were taken from the home.  I would imagine back in those days, a husband left in this situation might have been persuaded by the Church or hospital that a child might have a better life in another 'whole' family.  It then might have been easier (especially to younger members of the family) to give the impression that the baby had died.  This is all just conjecture but might be a possibility.  I hope you can access the patients records too via staff research - I think it might be possible.   

[KGarrad]

Don't be put off asking the GRO

6 or 7 years ago, I asked about my mother's twin sister's record (from 1931).
I had to apply in writing.
Then they sent me an application form, which I filled in and sent back.
The certificate cost the same as a Birth Certificate and the response was relatively quick.

[panda40]

Just to give an insight from another point of view. My grandfather had a sister who died when she was 10 years old. Years later I met up with the son of my grandfathers brother. I was showing him pictures of his father and my grandfather as children. He asked who the young girl was. I explained that she was his aunt and had died as a young girl. He was shocked his father had never mentioned her and at 60 years of age he learnt this truth.
Some families bury family information and don’t share with others so it gets lost along the way.
I hope you find out soon what happened to the baby.
Regards
Panda

[Guy Etchells]

From my research many still-borns were not registered in the stillbirth register even up to the 1960s.
It is an utter disgrace!

Cheers
Guy

[justmej]

My mother's baby brother was born in January 1935 and died 13 days later also in the Princess Mary Maternity Hospital.  I have both his birth and death certificates and yet have never found where he is buried.  My mother thought he might be in the local churchyard to where the family lived at the time but enquiries there came back negative.  I was told that it was possible he had been buried at the foot of a stranger's grave if their burial happened around the same time.  I was also informed that it was possible that no record had been made of this at the time.

justmej

[Guy Etchells]

My mother's baby brother was born in January 1935 and died 13 days later also in the Princess Mary Maternity Hospital.  I have both his birth and death certificates and yet have never found where he is buried.  My mother thought he might be in the local churchyard to where the family lived at the time but enquiries there came back negative.  I was told that it was possible he had been buried at the foot of a stranger's grave if their burial happened around the same time.  I was also informed that it was possible that no record had been made of this at the time.

justmej

It is a legal requirement that every burial was recorded in the burial register since the Burial Act of 1880, however I have noted in my research over the years that some registers recorded in the grave register are not recorded in the burial register and some recorded in the burial register are not recorded in the grave register.
It is important to search both registers. (It is also best to view the registers oneself rather than depend on others to check.)
In a similar way it is important to check both Parish Registers and Bishop's Transcripts.
Cheers
Guy