Genealogy Chat

Hi All

I am trying to find information on child benefit claims in the 1940's.

Does anyone know where and if this information is still available?

This would have been in the east London Poplar area.

Many thanks

Shaun

don't think there was child benefits in the 1940's started in 1977

http://revenuebenefits.org.uk/child-benefit/policy/where_it_all_started/

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/beveridge-report-child-benefit.htm

Bearing in mind that the child would be named, even if the records survived its highly unlikely that the records would be available to view. They'd be covered by the 100 year rule as the oldest 'child' would only be c71

What exactly were you hoping to discover? There might be other ways to find it.

Many thanks for the information.

Apparently my Nan went after my mums father for what we would call today maintenance.

My Nan has since passed and while she was alive she would never talk about him. Unfortunately as far as we are aware this maintenance payment is all we have to go on to obtain a name.

** I have just spoken to my mother and she now seems to think her mother took her father to court. This I guess would make more sense as it seems back then they didn't have the child support processes in place as we do today!

You could look at the local archives for the area and check the Magistrates Court Records for the maintenance hearing.

My grandmother took my grandfather to court in the 1920's for maintenance after he deserted her and we found the records (which only have a 30 year closure period). We found how much he had to pay each week, how much he had to pay in court costs and also the name of the policeman who had to serve the order on him.

We enjoyed reading all the other cases around the same time. You seem to find the same people up in court over and over again for such things as trespass, soliciting, being on the railway lines etc.

Kath. x

Ah! That's something completely different. We all assumed you meant the Universal Credit paid by the Government & funded by tax payers.

You probably mean a Maintenance Order or something similar. Dredging through memory, you might need to look for results including the words 'family division' within the Justice System and hope that records have survived.

Edit- one result on GR
http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/general_chat/thread/1297551

Depending on the year, it may also be mentioned in newspapers. I had success finding the father of my Nanna's first born illegitimate child through the newspapers. The alleged father denied paternity but was still ordered to pay maintenance.

EDIT: Sorry, I've just noticed your title says 1940! DOH, was having a senior moment :)

I've just had a quick look at the papers, and yes, some cases were still reported in the papers through the 1940s- so definitely worth a look.

I seem to remember that this was originally called Family Allowance and was only paid out in respect of the second and subsequent children.

The rules were altered to include first children in April 1977.

I have no idea when it began to be called Child Benefit instead of Family Allowance.

JoyLouise - we've established that Shaun was referring to something different.

He means the payments an absent father was ordered to pay towards the upkeep of his child/ren.

Some maintenance orders (sometimes listed as paternity orders) were listed in local newspapers, more especially in the earlier years of the twentieth century.

Good luck Shaun.