Find Ancestors

My cousin recently needed to apply for his birth cert. to apply for a passport. He and all us cousins had always known him as John ....... born 1941 Lambeth. He was told at the registry office that nothing could be found for him with the info. he had given but they did have a Frederick ....... with correct MMN born 1939. He thought this must be him and accepted the birth cert. However, recently whilst doing the family tree we have discovered in my mothers wedding photo John/Frederick mother holding a new baby think this must be Frederick and John was born at a later date is definately younger than my sister who was born in 1941.
This leaves us with John whom we don't think could have been registered and have been told that his mother did lose a baby in a fire which we are assuming could possibly be Frederick but there isn't a death registered for him.
What I was hoping is that someone could tell me would it have been possible between 1939 and 1942 to be able to not register a birth or death?
Hope this is clear enough to understand.

As it's so important, he'd be better off talking to the Registrar in Lambeth. Presumably you have checked the GRO index for births with his surname and mother's maiden name?

1939-1941 would have covered the Blitz years - unless we were adults and involved in registering BMD we aren't really in a position to say what might have happened or was destroyed. I'm sure that there is something about Police Stations registering deaths although may not have been in London

Might it be possible that his mother was sent out of London to a place of safety when she was close to her due date?? A birth reg say in Hertfordshire (or anywhere else for that matter) might have been dismissed

This is an old thread, but has some interesting comments. In their case, the poster was looking for a 1944 birth

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/genealogy_chat/thread/799491

was his sisters name dorothy born lambeth

His mum may have been evacuated when he was born have you tried freebmd using just the surnames to see who come up for that time

My brother was born in 1941 SE London and his birth is reg ,another bros was born in 1945 at the same address and reg .folks knew it had to be done as a matter of course

Born in 1941 he must be drawing a pension now did he have any difficulty getting that without a birth registration ?

Try looking for a birth under the mother's maiden name......it was wartime