General Register Office

Registration of births, marriage and deaths in England started in 1837. Copies of certificates can be obtained from the GRO. It was not compulsory to register a birth, marriage or death with the British authorities whilst you were abroad, but if the event was registered with the authorities then a certificate can be obtained from here.

The records of the General Register Office (GRO) are part of the National Archives. Some of the records have a National Archives catalogue reference, series RG, but some of the records in respect of military overseas births, marriages and deaths do not. National Archives or GRO documentation about the latter group of records is very brief.

Overseas Records Series RG

The National Archives brief Research Guide Looking for records of a birth, marriage or death of a British national at sea or abroad

RG 32 General Register Office: Miscellaneous Foreign Returns 1831-1969 Details of the contents Browse the subsections
RG 33 General Register Office: Foreign Registers and Returns 1627-1960 Details of the contents Browse the subsections
RG 34 General Register Office: Miscellaneous Foreign Marriage Returns 1826-1921 Details of the contents Browse the subsections
RG 35 General Register Office: Miscellaneous Foreign Death Returns 1830-1921 Details of the contents Browse the subsections
RG 36 General Register Office: Registers and Returns of Births, Marriages and Deaths in the Protectorates etc of Africa and Asia 1895-1965 includes records for Sarawak, Malaya, including Johore and Selangor, and British North Borneo, commencing at varying dates.

Details of the contents Browse the subsections

RG 43 General Register Office: Indexes to Miscellaneous Foreign Returns of Births, Marriages and Deaths 1627-1960 Indexes to the non-statutory registers and returns in RG 32 to RG 34, and to certain Army and Statutory registers retained by the Registrar-General. Also appears to contain indexes to RG 35 Contents

Indexes to Overseas BMD available on Family Relatives (free search) and FindMyPast (pay to search) appear to be the indexes from RG 43, together with other indexes in respect of military overseas BMD. If you find a reference in the indexes to a record in one of the above returns, the following options are available

Request a copy online from the GRO (see below)
The above returns are available on microfilm at the National Archives, Kew.
RG 32, RG 33, RG 34 and RG 36 records are available online at BMD registers which ia a pay site.(These are the returns available at December 2009, more may be added).