RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: candleflame on Saturday 18 February 17 18:15 GMT (UK)
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Hi all
I know we are not allowed to do look ups on the 1939 so don't panic.
My question relates to how the Register was compiled , in particular is it possible for a whole family to not appear on it?
As you will guess I cannot locate a Dad, Mum, and child (who was born in 1938). I had thought they would be easy to spot even with name variants. I've tried separately - first name only with variants, first and surname with variants, surname only with variants, dates of birth and or years of birth , possible geographical area, possible other geographical area. All three have died back in the 1980's so is it possible the whole household has been stuck in the 'officially closed' position as that was the only other thing I could think of. The parents were born in 1909 or earlier so after the 100 year rule.
Thanks for reading.
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http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/the-1939-register-is-now-available-online/
65,000 enumerators were employed to visit every house in England and Wales to take stock of the civil population. The information that they recorded was used to issue Identity Cards, plan mass evacuations, establish rationing and coordinate other war-time provisions.
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As far as I'm aware the register is not complete. I can't find my rellies either as several houses in their street are missing.
Pat
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If you're searching for the complete family unit take into account that Dad might be serving in the forces and so not at home.
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Reassuring roopat- not just me then!
Keith no I never searched for the whole family in one go - as with many searches, often 'less is more ' in search terms. The things I outlined in the original message I tried one at a time and still yielded nothing . I had hoped that if dad was not at home then the child would have been home with mum or with another relative or even a neighbour but nothing .
Rosie, yes I knew they visited individual homes and when , but was wondering if anyone knew of any known errors or omissions.
And before anyone asks, they are not known to have ever left the country and dad was believed to be in a protected occupation and so not away in wartime - though I have yet to prove that bit, of which the 1939 would go a long way!
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Have you tried an address search?
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Have you tried an address search?
I don't have the accurate address for 1939 I'm afraid, just two geographical areas as I said. It's not a common surname either - though does come with many variants. The variants usually pop something up but not this time.
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Not much help to you I'm afraid as you don't have an address, but I couldn't find my grandparents on the register and I knew their exact address. I also knew the name of some of their neighbours, but they were also missing. I contacted FindMyPast with information I knew - names, dates and address and they double checked and found a section of the road had been left out. It is now there and shows my grandfather and one of their children, the other two are closed, but I know who they are. My grandmother is still missing though, but I know she was there and as she was born in 1882 she should be on the open register.
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My great grandad is missing yet his wife and youngest son are at home. He was 48 at the time. So it is not just you who has missing rellies on the 1939 register.
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I have 3 umarried sisters missing in 1939-we know their address in Ealing.
Find My Past tells me that a whole page is missing,houses number 814-840 and they lived at 832.
But that was in March 2016,and we are no nearer getting them added >:(
Carol
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These recent comments are making me feel much much better! I was wondering if I'd lost the plot.
I was also surprised to find some of our lot - another twig - open when they should be closed as they are very much still alive, but I know from other threads on here that that is an ongoing issue.
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These recent comments are making me feel much much better! I was wondering if I'd lost the plot.
I was also surprised to find some of our lot - another twig - open when they should be closed as they are very much still alive, but I know from other threads on here that that is an ongoing issue.
The transcribing wasn't done line by line,but column by column(downwards) and it seems as though some have become a bit mixed up ::)
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The address where my parents were living is just not there, and when I queried it with FindMyPast, the response was only generalisations about closed entries. There was no interest that a number of houses in their street did not appear.
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I had the same problem with my grandparents - I knew that they were at that address in 1939 but they and their neighbours were missing. I e-mailed FindMyPast and insisted that they were definitely there and should be opened as they were born in the 1880s, they did look again and opened it. However for some reason my grandmother is still missing!
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In addition to the previous comments, whilst the father may already be in the forces, mother and children may have been evacuated. My dad, aunt and gran were well away from where they traditionally lived. Fortunately, I knew roughly where they'd been sent, so recognised it was them when they showed up there.
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I had similar problems with a cousin and his wife. Eventually found her at an address I knew they had been at. Her birth year had been transcribed as 1871 instead of 1891. I later discovered that he was not on it as he was a merchant seaman.
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My family's entry is completely mixed up. They have named a man lodging at the house next door as the head of the household, so the address is under the wrong name. My father is on there, but my mother isn't, they were both born in 1901 so should be there. My eldest brother is not on, but my younger one is, but the whole household is transcribed out of step.
My sister is on as a child under school age, when in fact she went to school and I am on even though I'm still very much alive. I am the one who was under school age but I have been entered as a 30 year old Domestic science teacher.
My mother and father ran it as a small guest house and we had six guests in that night, including the domestic science teacher. The point is though, that those six people will be missing from their family's entry and after all this time they will have no idea where to find them.
I just hope in the future, people searching for their ancestors don't use the 1939 register, because there are going to be some very mixed up family trees.
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It is possible to report to FindMyPast that they have the transcript mixed up and they will change it. Most of the problems with your family entry probably appears like that as it was transcribed in downward columns so that no one that was transcribing viewed the whole entry on any one person.