I am trying to trace the absent father of one of my ancestors, who paid maintenace for the first 14 years of the child's life. The only information I have is his name and that he came from Southport. The Magistrates Court in Shropshire released to me the entry in the Petty Sessions Court Register for 1927, which just stated that it was a case of Bastardy, the names of the Applicant and Defendant, the amount of maintenace to be paid per week plus costs awarded to the Defendant. There was no information recorded that could help to identify the father. Unfortunately, Shropshire has not retained any Court Minutes for this time period, so no more information is available. I do know that the maintenance was paid into a system/agency by the Defendant in Southport and paid to the Applicant from a system/agency in Shropshire. Does anyone know what system or agency was used in 1927-1941 to handle the weekly payments of Child Maintenance? Any help would be gratefully accepted. Carolyn Sloan