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I am trying to find out some information about my mother's birth parents. I confess i don't know how to begin looking.

My mother, Hilary Jane Carter was born in Nairobi, Kenya in December 1957 and adopted in Kenya in June 1958 by my grandparents, Phillip William Carter and Agnes Carter (known as Penny, nee Cheveralls).

My mother's birth parents were of European origin, which was uncommon in Kenya then. Their names were not known and all attempts to find out have failed. There is a veil of mystery surrounding it, as if the birth might have been taboo or had to be kept secret for some reason.

We know that my mother's birth parents may have been very wealthy. The father was a surgeon and the mother was a consultant. They worked in a hospital together, along with Doctor Phil Preston who delivered my mother into this world.

Initially there was an attempt to abort the pregnancy. Apparently they had to go to a 'backstreet' abortion clinic - and obviously, it didn't work. The birth took place in the 'Alice Beeton' hospital, rather than the main hospital.

Apparently the birth was frowned upon: i have heard that the mother was expelled from the Dutch Reform church, and also thrown out of home. I don't know how much of this is just hear-say and embellished tales over the years.

After the adoption, my grandparents were encouraged to leave Kenya quickly. My mother never received a Kenyan citizenship nor British citizenship, which caused no end of troubles when trying to obtain a passport because they wanted to know the nationality of the birth parents, which could not be found out.

About 20 years ago my mother travelled to Kenya and went to the register office. The officials looked up the details and found my mother's original birth certificate. It was on the other side of a table, just beyond vision. My mother could have reached out and grabbed it! But they went away to make a phonecall, and came back saying, "I'm sorry, we can't let you see this" or something to that effect. My mother was ushered out. They would not even accept a bribe to reveal the information.

So where do we go next? How does one go about solving a mystery like this?!

I should say that my mum is very happy and has had a good upbringing. We are just curious to find out more, hoping that my mother's birth parents may still be out there somewhere, and possibly they may also be curious to know what became of the secret baby hushed up in Nairobi in December 1957.

It may be worth contacting the British High Commission in Nairobi or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.
Good luck,
Liz

Thanks Liz, we will try that. Thank you for your help.