General Chat

Can anyone tell me how I view divorce records and do they have to be after a certain date.?
from poodlepatch

It depends on when the divorce took place. You can look for some on the National Archives site:-

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/divorce.htm

However this is what they say about how many records survive:-

1858-1927: almost 100%
1928-1937: 80%
After 1937 : less than 0.2%

Kath. x

There are some on ancestry up until 1911 I think?

Do you know that these people divorced?

Those on Ancestry are not a complete list/records. Very hit and miss

I have several divorces in my family and only 1 appears in the Ancestry records, the other 2 are in the National Archives, but luckily the 1 on Ancestry was the one I really needed so I save some money there!!! :-D

DIVORCE RECORDS Many thanks to all who replied ref the above

Custody of children - my father got custody, through the courts of me when I was about 9 yrs old. This would have been around 1949/50. I have never been able to find out the reason and would like to know. No relatives to ask now. Is there any way I could find out?

As you can see from the posts above not many have survived after 1937....I also think that more recent ones are destroyed after so many years

Found this by googling

Since 1937 only a representative sample of case files (less than 0.2%) has been kept. No files survive from the district registries set up in 1927 (only that of Wallis Simpson in 1936 has been preserved) and all the more recent divorce records, apart from the centrally filed decrees, are now destroyed after twenty years. The sad and widespread destruction of modern divorce records stems directly from the Report of the Committee on Legal Records (HMSO, 1966) chaired by Lord Denning.

The courts were keen that there was no collusion between the parties and if collusion or deceit were suspected the Queen’s Proctor might investigate the case and cancel a decree. Seventeen volumes containing summaries of cases in which the Procurator General intervened (usually to prevent a decree from being made absolute), 1875-1977, are at The National Archives (TS 29) but closed for 75 years.

In cases after 1938 where the official solicitor acted on behalf of one of the parties (usually because a child or person of unsound mind was involved) a two per cent sample of the files has been retained. The 210 files, 1938-1973, at The National Archives (J 132) are similarly restricted.

Hi Valerie,

We also have the Divorce Index on Genes Reunited (though not the period which you have specified).

We have over 82,000 records dating between 1858 and 1873.

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/articles/world-records/full-list-of-united-kingdom-records/births-marriages-and-deaths/marriages-and-divorces/divorce-index

My parents were divorced (1951) and my father was granted custody of me and my sister, but not my 5 year-old brother. My sister and I are mentioned on the divorce papers but, to quote my mother, my brother was overlooked!!

The reason for custody is not stated, but I know that it was a practical arrangement between my parents. My father had the house, a steady income and the means to support us. My mother had no permanent home (new boyfriend in the Army) no income and no way of looking after us. My brother went with her because he was only 5 and it was felt it would be better for him.

Unless you know the reason for the divorce, which might shed light on the custody question, you may never find out. Back then, fathers rarely got custody of young children, unless the mother was totally unable/unsuitable.

I'm sorry this isn't more positive.

Many thanks for replies.

Andys mum - the reason for the divorce was adultery. Would this have been a reason for my father to get custody?

Perhaps. It really depends on the individual circumstances. If your mother went to live with her new partner, and he was willing to take you on, then she might have been granted custody.

If he disappeared into the blue, and she had no means of supporting you, then your father would have been a better choice.

If you know anything about your mother's circumstances at the time, you may be able to make an informed guess, but sadly, that's all it will be - a guess.

Andysmum - all I know is my mother did go and live with her new man and she apparently did want to keep me. The man she was with was still married, so I suppose that could have been the reason. Also my father had just come back from war, possibly a court took all this into account. I do remember I was only allowed to see my mother for a few hours every Saturday until I was 16. Like a lot of people in those days we never asked for the reasons, never wanted to upset anyone we. leave a lot of things until it is too late.