The answer lies in the acts, as follows.DavidWW wrote:In Scottish terms I'd suspect, but cannot prove, that the short form was introduced by the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965? ........
Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1854
Section 37
Where any Entry of a Birth shall be made in a Register, upon the Information of any Person required to give Information under this Act, the Registrar on making such Entry shall give or transmit by Post to the Informant, within Two Days after the Date of Entry, an Extract thereof, without Payment of any Fee, under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure.
Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965
Section 19
(1) At the time of registering the birth of any child, the registrar shall without charge give the informant, or transmit by post to him within two working days after the date of registration, an abbreviated certificate of birth.
(2) Any such certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed including particulars of the name, surname, sex, date and place of birth of the child, but shall not include any particulars of the parentage.
It is most probable that the 1965 Act came into force from 1st January 1966.
All the best,
Andrew Paterson