1939 National Register

[ScouseBoy]

There's an extra closed person with my grandparents.  My father was too younger to remember and his elder brother isn't aware of anyone that it could be and he would have just about been old enough to remember, so will have to wait until that person is opened.  I'm just wondering if perhaps they've wrongly attributed someone from another household when redacting out anyone that is closed, but I am unwilling to pay to view the entry at present to see if that could be a possibility as I know all the details and address for them.

Could the mystery person have been a military person billeted with them?

[LizzieW]

Not many military people billeted into Hale, Cheshire in 1939, so I doubt it was a member of the military, in fact my dad's occupation is shown as a restaurant waiter - which is correct - rather than soldier which it would have done once he was recruited, I think at the time of the 1939 registration, it would have been a bit early for military personnel to be billeted anywhere.  I do remember American GIs at the drill hall which was a few yards away from where I lived but that was around 1943/4.

[smudwhisk]

I think in my grandparents case its unlikely to be a billeted soldier, not least because my uncle, who was 6 at the time, doesn't remember anything and I would have thought he would at the age. I know I can remember some things about a relatively memorable event when I was that age. From what has been said about recording all those at the address on that day as with the census, rather than at their normal place of residence as I originally though, I suspect it was probably a visitor and someone whose presence wouldn't have been out of the ordinary to have made a lasting impression on my uncle. Mind you its always possible its my grandmother's brother who doesn't show up anywhere and someone's interpreted his year of birth as 1916 instead of 1906. He did join up but we don't know when so could have been with them. Only time will tell.

[Mean_genie]

Billetted soldiers were not included in the 1939 Register. The only active service personnel who were required to be enumerated were those who were at home on leave. Conscription did not begin until later, since one of the purposes of the register was to create an accurate list for this purpose. So the people already in the forces were regulars, volunteers, and reserves who had been called up.

[ScouseBoy]

Billetted soldiers were not included in the 1939 Register. The only active service personnel who were required to be enumerated were those who were at home on leave. Conscription did not begin until later, since one of the purposes of the register was to create an accurate list for this purpose. So the people already in the forces were regulars, volunteers, and reserves who had been called up.

I have reason to believe that some men were asked to volunteer for certain specialist jobs in several different corps.   They may have worked as civilians doing various jobs in support of the Armed Forces, It was envisaged that they would be needed to be sent overseas, so they were asked to volunteer to do the jobs which they had done as civilians, but to be able to be sent overseas to perform those duties in Uniform.

[James18]

One of the reasons I am loathe to unlock any of my family's 1939 Register records is because I've found a number of people who died before 1991 but are still closed for reasons unknown to me. In one case, a cousin of my mother's died in 1946 as a young man and is still closed.

[andycand]

One of the reasons I am loathe to unlock any of my family's 1939 Register records is because I've found a number of people who died before 1991 but are still closed for reasons unknown to me. In one case, a cousin of my mother's died in 1946 as a young man and is still closed.

I don't think there is anything sinister about deaths before 1991 still being closed, it would likely be that the NHS were not advised or the death wasn't recorded in the Register. It would also depend upon where they died, for example if it was overseas then it wouldn't be recorded.

Andy

[James18]

I'm not suggesting there's anything sinister behind it, simply that it makes me question the value of the purchase.

[clairec666]

I've found quite a few people whose deaths are in the index (pre-1991) but are still redacted... I know some people have suggested that deaths in hospital are less likely to have been recorded on the register. Hopefully Findmypast can cross-reference the 1939 register with the death index so more records can be revealed. I don't know if this is in the pipeline,  but it would be nice!

For now, I'm disinclined to pay for records where some people are closed... it feels like I'm missing out on something! I'll stick to the households where none are redacted. And there are plenty of them to keep me busy for now!