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1939 Register
11 Upper Richmond Road, Wandsworth, Wandsworth, London, England

Household members (3 people)
First name(s) Last name(s) Birth date Sex Occupation Marital status Schedule Schedule sub number
Eileen M Woods 31 Mar 1915 Female Unpaid Domestic Duties Married 328 1
Frederick A Woods 15 Nov 1907 Male Master Greengrocer Married 328 2
The record for this person is officially closed.
Ref: RG101/0611B/023/20 Letter Code: AXWN

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Frederick A Woods
Death Age: 60
Birth Date: abt 1908
Registration Date: Apr 1968
[May 1968]
[Jun 1968]
Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun
Registration District: Wandsworth
Inferred County: Greater London
Volume: 5e
Page: 523

Please delete the lady’s DoB. You are putting her at risk of identity theft

As she is alive, can’t you ask her how the ‘adoption’ was arranged. It sounds very much as though she just handed over the child, but it would help to be certain.

The above two comments are the correct details for Eileen and fred Woods.

What does it mean if a record is officially closed for an individual on ancestry?

As Eileen took over the care of Barry very early and millicent cannot remember registering Barry. Is it possible he was unofficially adopted and never registered at all? Would there be hospital records I could access?

Eileen said to Millicent she would "adopt him as at the time thought she herself was unable to have children". It all happened very quickly and unfortunately she is unable to fully remember.

A closed record indicates that the person is alive - or that his/her death has not been ‘picked up’

Thank you!

You asked:
"Is it possible he was unofficially adopted and never registered at all? Would there be hospital records I could access?"

It's highly unlikely that there would still be hospital records in existence after so long.


Whether or not a child is adopted doesn't make any difference to his birth registration.
Every birth is (or should be) registered, in either the father's or the mother 's surname, depending on the situation.

If a child is then legally adopted, an adoption certificate is issued - but that's confidential, and not available online.

If a child is just taken on by a family member, without any legal paperwork, there would be no adoption cert, but there should still be the birth cert.

It is possible that his birth was never registered, but it is a legal requirement, and currently (in England) failure to register a child's birth within 42 days can lead to a £200 fine.

You say his birth was "around April 1946 approx".

Is it possible that the 1945 birth registered in Amersham is his - about 30 miles from Wandsworth?

You can find it on FreeBMD -
https://www.freebmd.org.uk

and then order a copy on the GRO site, quoting the reference numbers given on FreeBMD:

https://www.gro.gov.uk


As mentioned already, that's the only Barry E Taylor with mmn Taylor registered anywhere near London about that time, and there is no birth of a Barry E Woods with mmn Taylor..

Thank you so much for your help. I'll give that a go! Really appreciate all this help!