Find Ancestors

I am trying to find the names of twins that my G Grandparents had in 1931.
One boy 01 November 1931 and died that same day
One girl 01 November 1931 who lived a few days and died 03 November 1931
I have tried free BDM and no luck, would it have been normal to not name the children as they died so young?
Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated
Joe

The one who died should be on FreeBMD, Oct/Nov/Dec 1931. The births could have been registered later, say early 1932. Deaths had to be registered immediately, births could be later, not sure how much later. I have seen the death of a child registered before the birth.

Have you looked for the birth putting just 'male' or 'female' as first name?
I am not sure if you have found death reg for the girl from what you are saying.
The only other possibility is if the boy was stillborn, in which case neither birth nor death would be registered.
Jan

Have you searched by putting in just the surname and the mothers maiden name?

Are you able to give us these details of do you not want to put them on the public board?

Dea x

Haven't tried 'male' or 'female' instead of name, tried surname only.
Mothers maiden name is Barber, surname is Andrews.
Why would a stillborn child not be registered?
Thanks
Joe

Do we know where this might have taken place?

Dea x

Joanne, From your description the children were not stillborn

If a child born took one single breath then died then it was alive and would be registered as a birth

Roy

I know that the family where living in East London at the time, I think that they lived in Poplar or Bromley Bow.
The other two children where both born in Royal Free Hospital, both are deceased.
Am unsure if hospital births were the norm then or becoming so, or if she went to hospital because of the last birth
Thanks
Joe

Hospital births were certainly not common place at the time. As for a baby being registered even if it took a single breath this isn't necessarily so. I know of at least one twin who was born around that time whose birth and death weren't registered. The Doctor said that they need not register as the child died shortly after birth and there was another child alive no one would know it had been a twin.

Just to answer the question you asked (Why would a stillborn child not be registered)

Stillborn children were not registered prior to 1927, Stillbirth registration was introduced on 1 July 1927

A child who was stillborn would not be registered on the bmd index because a still born child never lived independant of it's mother

the stillbirth would be registered on the stillbirth register held at the GRO

A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. A wide variety of definitions exist.Once the fetus has died, the mother may or may not have contractions and undergo childbirth. The term is often used in distinction to live birth or miscarriage and the word miscarriage is oftentimes used incorrectly to describe stillbirths. Most stillbirths occur in full-term pregnancies.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stillbirth


Roy

May have depended how close to the Hospital that they lived - if they lived in Poplar / Bow then the closest would probably have been St Andrews Hospital (gone now) - my parents born 1931 and 1932 were born in St Andrew's Hospital, as was my Dad's brother (1938).

The other option might have been the Princess Elizabeth of York Hospital for Children (in Hackney).

Janet, I take it you where present at the birth and death that was not registered

I think not: The doctor would have been breaking the law after 1st july 1927

the dead child needed a death cert or a stillbirth cert in order to be buried

Roy

Have you seen this one?

Civil registration event: Birth


Name: ANDREWS, Barbara E
Registration district: [?] Marylebone
County: London
Year of registration: 1931
Quarter of registration: Oct-Nov-Dec
Mother's maiden name: Barber
Volume no:[?]1A
Page no:[?]597

EDIT just tidied it up a bit

How would I research the stillbirth register in GRO?
Thanks
Joe

And this one?

Civil registration event: Death


Name: ANDREWS, Barbara E
Registration district: [?] Marylebone
County: London
Year of registration: 1931
Quarter of registration: Oct-Nov-Dec
Age at death:0
Volume no: 1A
Page no: 630

I didn't see those, thank you, that gives me the daughters name.

Am still looking for the son

EDIT - not finding the son - but if you get the birth certificate for the daughter it may (or may not) give something to go on

You cannot research the stillbirth register, not sure but i think only patents can apply for a stillbirth cert but siblings can also if the parents are deceased

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp

Roy

Don't birth certs of twins/multiple births usually give the time of birth?

Just wondered if this would still be the case if one child were considered 'stillborn'

At least it might confirm if Barbara E mentioned before was a twin.

Joanne

Just a question - how do you know the exact date of birth was 1st November 1931?