how to trace family and old friends
by Kendra Inman
how to trace family and old friends | help and info
help and info
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organisations
Salvation Army Family Tracing Service
101 Newington Causeway
London SE1 6BN
Tel: 0845 634 4747
Fax: 020 7367 4723
Email: family.tracing@salvationarmy.org.uk (to request an initial enquiry form)
Website: www.salvationarmy.org.uk/familytracing
National and international family tracing service, whose mission is to restore family relationships by tracing relatives with whom contact has been lost. They do not undertake enquiries in circumstances where adoption has taken place or where a birth occurred outside of marriage. Enquirers can get in touch with the office in London or the centre nearest to where they live. A questionnaire will be sent to be completed with details about the relative who is sought. The service is available Monday to Friday 8.15am to 3.45pm, and outside these hours by email or voice mail. When writing, please include your name and full postal address. There is a fee of £40 and a concessionary rate of £20 for people on state benefits.
National Missing Persons Helpline
Freephone helpline: 0500 700 700
Helpline from outside the UK: +44 (0)20 8392 4545
Message Home helpline: 0800 700 740
Website: www.missingpersons.org
Confidential support to missing persons and their families. Photos of missing people are on the website. Anyone concerned about a missing friend or relative can contact the helpline or provide the details via an online form. You can also contact the helpline if you have information about a missing person.
Reunite
PO Box 7124
Leicester LE1 7XX
Advice Line: 0116 2556 234
Tel. 0116 2555 345
E-mail: reunite@dircon.co.uk
Website: www.reunite.org
Charity offering help and support in parental child abduction issues. Runs a helpline, and publishes information packs. Their website explains what to do in the case of child abduction and how to proceed if a child has been taken to another country.
The Association of British Investigators
48 Queens Road
Basingstoke
Hampshire RG21 7RE
Tel: 01256 816 390
E-mail: abi@globalnet.co.uk
Website: www.theabi.org.uk
Professional body for private investigators working in the UK. See the website for details of investigators vetted for their reliability and integrity.
British Red Cross
44 Moorfields
London EC2Y 9AL
Tel: 0870 170 7000
E-mail: information@redcross.org.uk
Website: www.redcross.org.uk
An international family tracing and message service. Aims to maintain and restore family links between close relatives, separated as a result of armed conflict, natural or other disasters.
NORCAP
112 Church Road
Wheatley 0X33 1LU
Tel: 01865 875000 (see website for opening hours)
E-mail: enquiries@norcap.org
Website: www.norcap.org.uk
Charity which assists and supports adult adopted people, birth parents and other relatives and other people likely to be affected by adoption reunions. They operate the largest adoption contact register in the UK and a skilled intermediary service to facilitate reunions and provide ongoing support.
Post Adoption Centre
5 Torriano Mews
Torriano Avenue
London NW5 2RZ
Tel: 020 7284 0555
Advice Line: 0870 777 2197 (see website for opening hours)
Website: www.postadoptioncentre.org.uk
Provides independent advice, counselling and support to anyone affected by or dealing with the challenges and opportunities of adoption, including a 'contact and mediation' service and a 'birth parents' service.
Adopt Ltd
7 University Street
Belfast BT1 1FY
Tel: 028 9031 9500
E-mail: adoptni@aol.com
Adopt provides help to anyone involved in the adoption triangle – adoptee, birth parent and adoptive parent.
websites
BAAF – tracing relatives
www.baaf.org.uk/info/firstq/tracing.shtml
This page from the British Association for Adoption and Fostering outlines the resources and procedures available for adopted people who want to trace their birth relatives, and the steps birth relatives can take to allow or prevent contact from adopted people.
Birth Link register
www.birthlink.org.uk
The Birth Link register was set up in 1984 for any person born or adopted in Scotland (or where there is a close Scottish connection), who wishes to make contact with their birth family; any birth parent who wishes to make contact with the child they placed for adoption; or any birth relative who wishes to make contact with the adopted person.
General Register Office: Adoption Contact Register
www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/adoptions/
adoptioncontactregister/index.asp
The Contact Register is a database which allows adopted adults and their birth relatives in England and Wales to register if they would welcome contact. To be eligible for registration applicants need to be 18 years or over. The Register cannot help an adopted person to learn the whereabouts of a birth relative unless the relative has chosen to be entered on the Register.
Guide to Adoption Records
www.nas.gov.uk/guides/adoptions.asp
The National Archives of Scotland is responsible for the legal records of adoptions in Scotland. They have created this guide to help users find the information they need on adoption records.
Friends Reunited
www.friendsreunited.co.uk
Helps people trace old school and college friends through a free registration service.
Look 4 Them
www.look4them.org.uk
Joint initiative of nine UK organisations, specialising in helping to find missing people or those who have lost contact with their families and designed to help make it easier for you to find appropriate help and advice.
Missing You
www.missing-you.net
Website where you can try to locate anyone that you are trying to find, friends or relatives. You can send a free message that will appear on the site and read lists from any area in the UK.
reading
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Where to Find Adoption Records edited by Georgina Stafford (British Association for Adoption and Fostering, 2002)
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Tracing: Information for People Who Wish to Find Relatives (The Children's Press, 1998) |
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