This collection was given to the SoG by the Civil Service Commission.

Candidates for Civil Service examinations between 1855 and 1939 had to provide proof of their age: A birth certificate for the post-Civil Registration period or something like a certified extract from a baptismal register for the period before this or in countries of origin which did not have civil registration of births. The period covered is therefore people born from the early 19th to the early 20th centuries. The geographical spread is extremely wide - there are many births in Ireland, the Channel Islands, Malta and Gibraltar and others for British people born all over the world especially in India:- Everything from Russian baptismal certificates to Indian horoscopes drawn up at the child's birth.

Thanks are due to the many SoG volunteers who have worked on this project over the years.