The English birth certificate

From 1 July 1837 every birth in England and Wales was registered by the registrar of its district in a book whose columns the Act of 1836 printed in its Schedule A: when born, the name, the sex, the name and surname of the father, the name and maiden surname of the mother, the rank or profession of the father, the signature, description and residence of the informant, when registered, the registrar's signature, and a baptismal name added afterwards. A certified copy of the entry, signed by the registrar, was what an heir or a claimant produced.

The columns and the registrar's certificate are the Act's; the heading and the layout of the copy are ours, since no certified copy of the period has been found.

Bearer makes an investigator's papers for Call of Cthulhu and any 1920s or 1930s tabletop campaign: the passport a consul would have filled in, with the visas and frontier stamps a campaign leaves in it, and the permits, certificates and tickets of the period, to print or to share.

An example

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The paper

Parts reconstructed

• the heading of the certified copy and its layout: the columns are the ones the Act of 1836 prints in its Schedules, and the certificate at the foot follows its Schedule D, but no certified copy of the period has been found, and the changes the Act of 1874 made to the columns (the place of birth or death, 'Occupation' for 'Rank or Profession') have not been found either

The same paper elsewhere

• Birth certificates by country

Still to be confirmed

• England and Wales only: Scotland and Ireland kept registers of their own. What would settle it: nothing: a choice of scope.

Sources

• Parliament of the United Kingdom; text at legislation.gov.uk, An Act for registering Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England, 6 & 7 Will. 4 c. 86 (1836), Schedules A to G, Schedule A (births: No., When born, Name if any, Sex, Name and Surname of Father, Name and Maiden Surname of Mother, Rank or Profession of Father, Signature Description and Residence of Informant, When registered, Signature of Registrar, Baptismal Name if added after Registration of Birth); Schedule B (deaths: No., When died, Name and Surname, Sex, Age, Rank or Profession, Cause of Death, Signature Description and Residence of Informant, When registered, Signature of Registrar); Schedule C (marriages: No., When married, Name and Surname, Age, Condition, Rank or Profession, Residence at the time of Marriage, Father's Name and Surname, Rank or Profession of Father; married in … according to the rites …, by me; this marriage was solemnized between us; in the presence of us); Schedule D (the registrar's certificate of a true copy) (read directly)

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