St Catherine’s House Index 1837-2000: indexes to births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales. Held in Middlesbrough Reference Library on microfiche.Records arranged in years, within year by quarters and within quarters arranged alphabetically by surname up until 1984 when they change to being arranged in single year sequences by surname.
Age at death from June 1866
Mother’s maiden name in births from September 1911
Spouse’s surname in marriages alongside that of the bride or groom from March 1912
Date of birth in deaths from 1969- this may be an estimate.

Note also that Middlesbrough Libraries have taken a subscription to Ancestry Library Edition from Proquest Information and Learning.This includes for England and Wales the indexes to the Civil Registrations of Births, Marrages and Deaths 1837-2000. Ancestry Library Edition is a web delivered research tool offering comprehensive geneaological information online, with more than 1.5 billion names in over 4,000 collections. The resource is available in all Middlesbrough branch libraries as well as the Reference Library. The librarians will log you on.
 

As early as 1833 -Session 1833,(69) vol14 p5- a Parliamentary Select Committee on the General State of Parochial Registers and the Laws relating to them; and on a general Registration of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths and Burials, in England and Wales was flagging up the defects in the system of parochial registration and recommending the establishment of a national civil registration of births, marriages and deaths, to be open to persons of every religious denomination. Just such a system was introduced under the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1836. The effect of this was to ensure that from 1st July 1837 the state took responsibility for the registration of all births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales. The system continues to this day and the indexes to these events, called the St Catherine’s House Index after St Catherine’s House in the Kingsway, London for long the home of the General Register Office, are available on microfiche in many large reference libraries including Middlesbrough Reference Library. The very first microfiche is dated September 1837 and includes the first quarter, July August September inclusive
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During the early days of civil registration many deaths and births were not registered,It was not until 1875 that the rules governing civil registration were tightened up so that everyone became aware that all births and deaths should be registered. Deaths being registered after the burial had taken place were not at all unusual. In the early days of registration all deaths were uncertified. The informant simply gave the cause of death as they saw it, e.g. consumption or inflammation of the lungs, and they were probably not far off the truth. By 1845, most of the causes of death are followed by the word certified. Where these words are not found, then a doctor did not write a certificate of cause of death. Plenty of families who had sick and dying relatives would not necessarily have called a doctor to see the patient- after all, Doctors had to be paid.

Note: For material covering the years 1698-1968 for India and related countries i.e. Aden, Burma, China (Macao and Whampoa), Kuwait, Pakistan, St Helena, Straits Settlements (Penang, Singapore, Malacca) and Sumatra see the British Library’s Oriental and India Office Collections at http://www.bl.uk/collections/oiocfamilyhistory/familyeccles.html

Note also that the Overseas Section of the General Register Office for England and Wales (http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/research/searchingforoverseasrecords/index.asp#0)holds the volumes containing overseas records at the GRO's Southport head office, the vast majority of which are indexed and on view to the public at the Family Records Centre (FRC).

Enquiries to either location should be able to help you find details of births, marriages and deaths of British citizens that have taken place abroad since the late 18th century, including regimental registers 1761-1924, including British Regiments in the UK, Ireland and overseas covering births/baptisms, deaths and marriages from 1761 to 1880. Please note, the Overseas division does hold some records of regimental marriages taking place between 1761 and 1924 which have never been indexed ;chaplains' returns compiled by chaplains to the forces (these maybe duplicated in the Regimental registers) covering births/baptisms, deaths and marriages from 1971 – 1924; war deaths, including World Wars I and II, and the Boer War.