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Keeping Children and Parents in Contact since 1974
Finding Your Father
If his name is on your birth certificate it will be much easier to find him with assistance. If your parents were married at the time of your birth his name will be on your birth certificate. Many fathers who were not married will also have their names on the birth certificate if they accompanied the mother to register the birth. Copies of birth certificates can be obtained from:
General Register Office, Smedly Hydro, Trafalgar Road, Southport PR8 2HH. Tel. 0870 243 7788
Website: www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content
(Scotland: Tel. 0131 314 4411 Website: www.gro-scotland.gov.uk
If you were adopted and don't know either your birth mother or birth father, you may want to get in touch with NORCAP (The National Organisation for Counselling Adoptees and Parents)
IF HE IS ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
If your mother and father were married the Salvation Army Tracing Service will assist you. The current fee for an initial search is £45 (£25 unwaged) but averages £150 with any further work involved in progressing potential contact. If the Salvation Army locates him they will not give you the contact details but contact him on your behalf and only if he is agreeable will they put you in contact with one another. In 85% of cases the person sought is contacted.
Salvation Army Tracing Service, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN
Tel. 0845 634 4747 (8.15am to 3:45pm)
Email: family.tracing@salvationarmy.org.uk
www.Salvationarmy.org.uk/en/departments/familytracing/home.htm
IF HE IS NOT ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
(a) Commercial directories: such as 192.com (www.192.com) or UKIG (www.ukig.co.uk/speedsearch/introduction.php) have databases containing the names and addresses of all those on the electoral register, and claim to have additional entries from other sources. The downside of a limited electoral register is, not everyone chooses to register as they are supposed to, and the data is becoming weaker since as of 2003 electoral registers available to the public only contain details of those who consent to their details being made public. Locating your father's old address from an old electoral register can be a step towards discovering where he is now.
(b) Telephone directories: if you know the town where your father is likely to be living you can search these on line by entering his name and town. For example: www2.bt.com/edq_resnamesearch
(c) Genealogical Researchers: these self-employed researchers specialise in family history, tracing family trees etc. but some will also trace living relatives. Their professional organisation can be contacted by post: AGRA, 29 Badgers Close, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 5RU. It is easiest to search out a suitable researcher through the website, choosing 'Relatives, Living' from the categories of research offered under 'Members Expertise'. There are other categories that may also be of help. www.agra.org.uk . As 'professionals' they will charge a fee for their services.
(d) Private investigators: Unless specifically arranged, requested and priced, a PI will use electronic data and the telephone to search for your father. Often a PI will have resourced facilities that are not available toother researchers and may therefore be able to succeed where others fail. A London-based investigator advertises in the McKenzie newsletter. The Assoication of British Investigators can be contacted by telephone on 0871 474 0006 or 01253 297 502 http://www.theabi.org.uk
(e) Professional Associations: Not just professions such as doctors, solicitors etc, but other work associations such as surveyors, genealogists, electrical engineers. If your father was in an occupation where many people joined an association, it might be worthwhile contacting them. Some maintain directories accessible to the public; others might agree to pass on a letter, whilst others might simply confirm that he was a member. It may also be worthwhile considering approaching a trade union – for example, nearly all teachers are members of one of the two main teaching unions. Again, they will not disclose details, but may be prepared to forward a letter from you.
(f) Hobbies & Sports: You may know that your father was a fan of a certain football club, so he may even be a season ticket holder of that club. He may have been a keen fisherman or golfer and may be a member of a club where he lives or of a national association.
Other Links
Families Need Fathers do not take any responsibility for the the following websites:
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Find A Parent Or Child | |
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Help finding your father | |
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Traceline | |
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Tracesmart |
Updated 26 June 2008