need a advice

[Canadian Cousin]

Perhaps it was something to do with his pension?

Possibly, although under under the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908, the minimum age to qualify for a pension was 70 and his widow was only 59 when he died. I believe that my g-gm continued to run the draper's shop in St. Day for some years after his death.

T.

[Little Nell]

It may not have been an old age pension!

[Olde Crone Holden]

Much more likely to do with either life insurance or the Burial Club!

Yes, of course, if you still live in the same area you were born in, someone could nip to the Registrar and get a copy of your birth cert (although not so easy in Cornwall these days as many of the local offices have closed and redirect you to Truro).

But my mother, for instance, was born in Scotland and died in Devon. We had her birth cert so it wasn't a problem, but if we hadn't had it, it would surely have taken more than five days to get a copy. People who aren't interested in family history wouldn't have a clue how to even start finding a birth cert for a married woman.

Also, as we keep hearing nowadays "a copy of a birth certificate is not proof of identity". On balance, I think it is better to isolate registration events, rather than to complicate the issue with (possible) false links and information.

A big exception to this would be, in my opinion, the linking of CHILD births and deaths. This is where the main opportunity for fraud occurs.

OC

[Uncle John]

A big exception to this would be, in my opinion, the linking of CHILD births and deaths. This is where the main opportunity for fraud occurs.

There have been innumerable instances of false identities derived from infants who died.

[SueinKent]

My dad died 2006 and mum 2007 on both occasions when registering the deaths I wasn't asked for a birth certificate or NHS card only for their dates of birth.