Is there a way of finding out if somebody is still alive?

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My Grandma died in November and it's playing on my mind that her brother with whom she lost touch, might be alive and not know. His daughter is the only person I know who is related directly to him and she lost touch with him at the same time.

I know his birth date, full name and place of birth. Is there a way to find out if he is still alive? He doesn't have a distinctive name and nothing on Ancestry such as a family tree with him in it (apart from mine).

i know the Salvation Army find lost people i am not sure of cost or anything but it would be worth trying them

Do you know where he was last living? I see a few posts looking for people on local history photo type fb pages.

I have no information apart from name, birth date and birth place.

I will look at the Salvation Army but I suspect I just won't find him.

They do charge for finding people try Facebook first

Red Cross will do it in certain circumstances. Basic UK though, probably not. Is it England?

It is England.

I searched his name on FB but his name is similar to "John Smith" in terms of how remarkable it is and if alive, he'd be 79 so likely not on social media.

I was going to suggest searching to see if probate has been granted but that might not be easy with a 'John smith' type name. I did it for my uncle starting with year of death as the last time we heard from him then working forwards but he has an less common name. www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

Registry office? To see if he has died?

The GRO index? Not sure if it lets you search for very recent info though.

I'm sure you can search for death certificates somehow online, but can't remember how. If he doesn't have one, in theory he must be alive

This might be a good place to start your research

www.publicrecordsearch.co.uk

There’s a way of using the nhs to pass letters to people via the gp. I’ve done it professionally but not for a few years (solicitor searching for beneficiaries!) so I can’t recall the details but that’s another line of trying to find him. If he has died it will be recorded via the nhs. I always sent a letter asking the person to contact me at such and such address regarding Gladys Smith... it usually worked

Do you know if he had any hobbies or interests? For example you could Google John Smith bowling and see what comes up.

Did he have any family or friends with an unusual name? If so, Google that person instead and see what comes up that way.

@misscockerspaniel that search throws up 4 results, all almost certainly him but it wants my money in order to view the results. Gah.

No notable hobbies I don't think and plenty of oddly named older and deceased relatives whom I know all about. He ran off with another woman and had many more children I think but I know not a single name.