What do the letters mean?

[montie]

Isn't it the code found on Birth Certificates issued by the GRO? I imagine in the context of an electoral roll it would have been used to differentiate two people with the same name.

All the GRO birth certificates I have only have six numbers. BXHV/194/2 is a National Registration Identity Card Number mine is JBDE/222/4

Stan

Ah! thanks for the clarification

[Alexander.]

So if BXA is Willesden,where is  BXHV ?

National Identity Cards were issued based on the "census" taken 29 Sep 1939. The registration number on the card was of the format ABCD/12/3, where ABCD is the enumeration district code, 12 is the schedule number, and 3 corresponds to the 3rd person in that household.

I'm guessing that post-war they started using the 3 digits district codes, though I could not find a list of the 4 digit district codes used in the National Registration census (there were 65,000 enumeration districts). Presumably BXHV was an area in or near Willesden.

Alexander

[stanmapstone]

I'm liking Arthur's suggestion.

BXA was the district code for Willesden, which formed the prefix of National Identity Card numbers in 1939.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0156d/

Alexander

Many thanks for this.

So if BXA is Willesden,where is  BXHV ?

I lived in Sunderland CB, according to the list the code for which is FDA but my number was  JBDE/222/4

[carol8353]

I lived in Harrow and mine was MJBF ( I think)

Which isn't at all the right code according to the link below.

But the BXA one does fit Willesden 

[stanmapstone]

My wife's, who also lived in Sunderland CB was FDPL

Stan

[stanmapstone]

The numbers are obviously to identify people with the same name when they come to vote, and one is apparently the National Identity Card Number, but why aren't they both given that reference? There is this entry where they have.

[carol8353]

With my original example,the men are John C and John C .C. Gould,so you'd have thought the different initials would have been enough to differentiate them?

Is it just in 1948 I wonder (the first year of the national health service)?