Don't know where to start,can anybody help?

[mommy6]

I'm trying to trace DH family.FIL's mother left the family when Fil was small.We have no idea who his father is,maybe a G.I from world war 2.
FIL is now 63,and found out about 6 years ago he had a sister.He was brought up by his grandmother and his aunt.
How can i try to trace details of his mother.I know she has most possible past away now but would like to fill some blanks in.
We know where FIL grandmother is buried so can get some details from her grave.i.e.date of death.
Thanks for any advice.

Mommy6, the first step would be to check your FIL's birth certificate to get as many details re his mother (same goes for his aunt and grandmother).

Have a look at the Free BMD site or Ancestry.co.uk before ordering certificates.

The GRO site explains what sort of information you can expect to find on a birth certificate.

there may be some family information on the grave - you know beloved mother of x.y.z etc.

Second what mercy said.

Make a list of what you do know for each individual - date/place of birth/death?

If you have the date of death of FIL's grandmother, then you can order a copy of her death certificate. That should give you her maiden surname and how old she was, which (depending on how unusual the name is) may enable you to find her on a census/order a copy of her birth certificate. Also (assuming she was married) you can search the indexes for the relevant period to find a marriage certificate, which would give you the name of her father.

If you would like more specific help, drop me an email (portandlemon at live dot co dot uk) with what details you've got and I'd be happy to do the initial searches for you (I've got an Ancestry subscription) and talk you through what I did and why.

PortAndLemon thats very kind of you.I will email you when Lo's give me more than 2 mins.

Thanks everyone for your help.