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Loveday Street Hospital..the search for my sister

williamjukes said:
Shaun

I wonder if "SANDS" may be able to offer information or insight into what may have happened with regards your sisters burial.

Sands Helpline​

t: 0808 164 3332
e: helpline@sands.org.uk

William.
Click to expand...
William

Thank you.

Sadly because I am a sibling none of the charities like Sands will help directly. I have contacted Sands and they have given guidance but no direct help. Charities will only deal with the parents. Both of my parents have long passed on.

Shaun-C
 
Shaun-C said:
William

Thank you.

Sadly because I am a sibling none of the charities like Sands will help directly. I have contacted Sands and they have given guidance but no direct help. Charities will only deal with the parents. Both of my parents have long passed on.

Shaun-C
Click to expand...

I am sure you find (as I do) that that is utterly ridiculous - as you are next of kin - now that both of your parents have sadly passed on, which I presume you told them.

William.
 
William

Had a nice exchange with Sands and other charities who are involved in supporting the mother and father of a stillborn child. The responses from them were kind and understanding. They all have a policy they will only directly help the parents. I find that hurtful in many ways. Jacqueline was a part of my parents life but also mine as well. We would have shared the same DNA. I think the charities take the view when a sibling comes calling it is part of a genealogy crusade. I do feel Birmingham City Council takes the same view. My quest to find Jacqueline has nothing to do with genealogy.

Shaun-C
 
Good morning. Spring is near and the daffodils are out.

Update.

No response from the Church. Freedom of information request to Birmingham City Council - will have a reply near the 15th February. This journey is so frustrating. All the paths one treads lead nowhere. I will try another avenue with regard the church.

Shaun-C
 
Have Birmingham City Council's response to my Freedom of Information request. If you are interested please click the link below. My reply can also be viewed. I am staggered to read it.

www.whatdotheyknow.com

Historical Shared Burials - Stillborn with an adult 1947 - a Freedom of Information request to Birmingham City Council

Historical shared Burials. Request 1) How are shared burials (stillborn child placed with an adult), recorded and reflected in the burial records (actual and online records) of Birmingham City Councils. 2) How many historical shared burials ( Stillborn - adult ) took place in Birmingham...
www.whatdotheyknow.com www.whatdotheyknow.com

I am of the opinion

Babies who are stillborn (born dead) after 24 weeks of pregnancy (until 1992, after 28 weeks), or die during infancy, must be buried or cremated. Cemeteries and crematoria are required to keep records of all such burials and cremations. Key words, required to keep.


I have lost trust in officialdom and their lack of help and support in finding g my sister.

Shaun-C
 
Birmingham City Council have clarified their position which I am grateful for. There are shared graves which will be no surprise for those trying to establish the last resting place of a family member. Importantly a stillborn child who is sharing a grave does have their grave recorded. This was common until at least the late 1960's / early 1970's. Waiting on further information. I find it sad that a sibling trying to trace a family member is on his or her own.

Shaun-C
 
Final update

Birmingham City Council have conducted another search for me. The search shows no record of my sister. Wish to thank the City Council for their time and their patience with regard to my requests over many months. The journey has been one of frustration, trying to understand how a child can simply disappear without trace. Sadly I am left with no option than to bring the search for my sister to an end. I am going round in circles. May I send my best wishes to others on a similar journey to mine and that they achieve what I cannot; the resting place of their lost brother, sister, son or daughter.

Jacqueline, wherever you are, rest in peace; you are not forgotten, I have made sure of that. Not able to place flowers on your grave, however, I look forward to the day when I can give them to you.

Thank you to those who have sent kind words.


END

Shaun-C
 
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Shaun-C said:
Final update

Birmingham City Council have conducted another search for me. The search shows no record of my sister. Wish to thank the City Council for their time and their patience with regard to my requests over many months. The journey has been one of frustration, trying to understand how a child can simply disappear without trace. Sadly I am left with no option than to bring the search for my sister to an end. I am going round in circles. May I send my best wishes to others on a similar journey to mine and that they achieve what I cannot, the resting place of their lost brother, sister, son or daughter.

Jacqueline, wherever you are, rest in peace; you are not forgotten, I have made sure of that.

Thank you to those who have sent kind words.


END

Shaun-C
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I am so sorry that Jacqueline cannot be traced. You have tried really hard and explored every avenue, She would have been proud to have a brother like you.
Carolann
 
Good afternoon, hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather.

Yes it is me again.

Been reviewing my work relating to Jacqueline, my lost sister. I know she must be near the former Loveday Hospital. I may have overlooked something which may be contributing to why I can't find her. Perhaps I've been looking in the wrong place? This afternoon when viewing some paperwork relating to Jacqueline, a line of text seem to suddenly make its presence known. It was weird, to be honest. I have been blinkered in my search looking within the C of E faith up to now. Why, I have no idea.

With the paperwork I was reviewing is a line with the following wording, 'C.R Priest'. My father was a Catholic and my understanding of C.R Priest is - Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Catholic faith. Loveday Hospital would have taken into account the faith of the parents of a stillborn child.

The all-important question. I think Jacqueline was buried within the Catholic faith. I know she is not at rest in the nearby Council cemeteries; the Council have no records of her. Does anyone have any information on Catholic Church yards near the former Loveday Hospital where stillborn children were buried in 1947.

Thank you

Kind regards

Shaun-C
 
Hello Shaun, I'm so sorry you are still unable to find Jacqueline. I haven't got a sub for Findmypast but they seem to have some Catholic burials.
The Stillborn in our family was finally found at Witton after they said there was no trace, the record came online and she was finally found except that there's no-one there to tell you an exact spot. The family had also been told at the time that she was at a different cemetery!
Please don't give up trying.
rosie.
 
rosie said:
Hello Shaun, I'm so sorry you are still unable to find Jacqueline. I haven't got a sub for Findmypast but they seem to have some Catholic burials.
The Stillborn in our family was finally found at Witton after they said there was no trace, the record came online and she was finally found except that there's no-one there to tell you an exact spot. The family had also been told at the time that she was at a different cemetery!
Please don't give up trying.
rosie.
Click to expand...

Dear Rosie

Thank you. Pleased you found the child in your family. Closure is so important. I cannot accept that Jacqueline simply disappeared without trace. She is at rest somewhere near the former Loveday Hospital. I am reviewing my work and in doing so have identified new lines of enquiry. Have contacted the local Catholic Church. Sadly I never got a reply from the Church of England church I contacted. Very sad.

So the record just popped up? I have to say, I do not believe the City Council’s online database is without error. I take a look at Findmy past, thank you for that.

Good wishes

Shaun-C
 
hello shaun have you tried contacting st josephs RC church nechells.. ?.its not that far from loveday st hospital...like you i have had no luck in finding your sister..i have even been putting in either infant/female cunningham but no luck

lyn
 
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Astoness said:
hello shaun have you tried contacting st josephs RC church nechells.. ?.its not that far from loveday st hospital...like you i have had no luck in finding your sister..i have even been putting in either infant/female cunningham but no luck

lyn
Click to expand...
Lyn

Thank you. I contact the church later this morning. Have a good day.

Shaun-C
 
Hi Shaun
There was a very interesting article in yesterday's Guardian newspaper about a woman who helps families locate the graves of stillborn babies. Her name is Gina Jacobs. She managed to locate her son's grave after 53 years. The article makes very interesting reading.
Carolann
 
cba said:
Hi Shaun
There was a very interesting article in yesterday's Guardian newspaper about a woman who helps families locate the graves of stillborn babies. Her name is Gina Jacobs. She managed to locate her son's grave after 53 years. The article makes very interesting reading.
Carolann
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Hi Carolann

Thank you.

Brings it home to every family searching for a lost child, son, daughter, brother or sister. The pain, the frustration and sometimes the coldness we have to endure in seeking straightforward answers to basic questions leaves one numb.

After reviewing all the information I have assembled on Jacqueline I came across new lines of research. One particularly was staring me in the face. Jacqueline's stillbirth certificate had an entry "CR Priest" under the column registrar.

Jacqueline was born at Loveday in October 1947 when the former Loveday hospital was a charity. The NHS did not exist until July 1948. Jacqueline was born in a world where parents had to pay for medical assistance like a midwife resulting in many mothers having their child born at home with no medical support.

Loveday Maternity Hospital was part of a Lying-In charity founded in 1842. The history of this charity is fascinating. Early maternity and women's care was provided at a base in Loveday Street long before the NHS was born. The charity provided help to mothers who were badly in need.

CR Priest is a description rooted in the Catholic religion which was my father's religious faith. Contacted the Catholic Church in Birmingham and the Diocesan Archivist has been so helpful in that it has led to two possible leads in finding Jacqueline. I cannot say any more at this stage but will update you soon.

To all those who are searching for a lost child, I wish you well on your journey and hope you find the answers you are looking for.

Link to the article shared in the above post.

www.theguardian.com

The woman helping families find where their stillborn children are buried

Gina Jacobs, from the Wirral, is calling for the government to apologise to parents of stillborn babies
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Shaun-C
 
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The latest leads have all come to nothing. It is difficult to put into words how I feel. How can a child simply disappear? The Catholic diocese has searched their records and I thank them for that. The Protestant church was not able to answer emails. Why?

Of all the charities that offer help, not one will help a brother or sister of a stillborn, only the parents of the child. How bizarre is that?

It seems I will have to search every individual churchyard. In today's interconnected world, one would be forgiven for thinking that some kind person in the administration of the deceased could email all their locations and ask a simple question - Can you please check your records? What a fool to think today's world is that simple.

Shaun-C
 
Shaun-C said:
The latest leads have all come to nothing. It is difficult to put into words how I feel. How can a child simply disappear? The Catholic diocese has searched their records and I thank them for that. The Protestant church was not able to answer emails. Why?

Of all the charities that offer help, not one will help a brother or sister of a stillborn, only the parents of the child. How bizarre is that?

It seems I will have to search every individual churchyard. In today's interconnected world, one would be forgiven for thinking that some kind person in the administration of the deceased could email all their locations and ask a simple question - Can you please check your records? What a fool to think today's world is that simple.

Shaun-C
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hi shaun i really feel for you..no one has tried harder than you to find your sister...i still cant find my friends full term still born sister...the only conclusion i keep coming up with is that they were buried with someone else but not recorded..in which case we have no chance of finding them..having said that something may turn up yet...

lyn
 
Astoness said:
hi shaun i really feel for you..no one has tried harder than you to find your sister...i still cant find my friends full term still born sister...the only conclusion i keep coming up with is that they were buried with someone else but not recorded..in which case we have no chance of finding them..having said that something may turn up yet...

lyn
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Hi Lyn,

Thank you for your kind words. I'm feeling frustrated, especially when others treat siblings searching for their brother or sister differently than a parent. It shows a level of apathy that I find deeply bizarre. Those of us searching for our lost family member do so out of respect, not just to build a family tree that some believe.

I'm not convinced that Birmingham City Council's online burial records are free of errors, especially for shared graves. I strongly believe that Jacqueline is buried near the former Loveday Hospital.

I have Jacqueline's date of birth, time of birth, birth weight, and eye colour, yet she has disappeared.

One area of my search is to locate the undertakers that Loveday Hospital used for Stillborn. If anyone has information, please post or send a personal message. Meanwhile, I will have another go at contacting the local Church of England, which is proving difficult.

Peace to all; difficulties should be seen as a challenge, they can be overcome.

Have a good day everyone. Summer starts on Saturday, honestly!

Shaun-C
 
hi shaun i just wondered if you had seen this report which just proves that you are far from alone in your search and may give you some comfort to know this....you will need to keep scrolling right down to the bottom to see the end of the report

i have also edited the thread title to include "the search for my sister" which seems more appropriate and wont be confused with our general loveday st hospital thread

lyn
www.birminghammail.co.uk

Mum's heartache as she calls for apology in search for lost twin brother

Stourbridge-born woman says government should say sorry for scandal of stillborn children
www.birminghammail.co.uk www.birminghammail.co.uk
 
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Astoness said:
hi shaun i just wondered if you had seen this report which just proves that you are far from alone in your search and may give you some comfort to know this....you will need to keep scrolling right down to the bottom to see the end of the report

i have also edited the thread title to include "the search for my sister" which seems more appropriate and wont be confused with our general loveday st hospital thread

lyn
www.birminghammail.co.uk

Mum's heartache as she calls for apology in search for lost twin brother

Stourbridge-born woman says government should say sorry for scandal of stillborn children
www.birminghammail.co.uk www.birminghammail.co.uk
Click to expand...
Hey there!

I appreciate the article. It seems to me that many stillborn burials did not follow the law. When I spoke to someone knowledgeable about this, it was mentioned that investigating stillborn burials can be quite a challenge. Should today's politicians apologise for the wrongs of the past? I'm not sure. Today, we live in a different world where we expect those in power to be held accountable. This wasn't the case 70 years ago. I believe the answers are out there, but authorities may want to bury the past because it's painful.

My thoughts are with everyone searching for a family member.

Shaun-C
 
Hello Shaun, I have just noticed this website on "Rootschat" Forum
Welcome
I don't know if it has been mentioned before, maybe they can help?
Best wishes,
rosie.
 
Just a thought. I have a friend who gave birth to a stillborn baby in 1968 (not in Birmingham). She thought at the time that the hospital arranged the burial, but didn't know where.

Many years after my friend's mother died, she found out that her late mother had requested the child's body from the hospital and had her buried in an existing family grave. She had never told her daughter she did this. It was found out when doing other genealogy. I don't know how common a practice this was.

May therefore be worth looking into other family graves, to see if there are any records of them being opened again. This would be on the grave deed, you could cross reference the dates if the name wasn't shown.

Just an idea.
 
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