1939 Register up and running

[Guy Etchells]

I must register disappointment that the record for anyone deemed to possibly still be alive has been made inaccessible, including one of mine who would be 96 if he were still living.  The onus is on US to pay for a death certificate and then a 25pound fee to get it all sorted out.  And only the death cert will do, not an obit.  No thanks.  They have the death records for most of these people already.

What makes you think you have to pay a £25 fee to get it sorted out, FindMyPast will open the name on the register if you send them a scan of the death certificate

I am annoyed because this restriction was not included in all the advertising and hype that preceded the release.  They made it sound like you would be able to see everything.  They also made it look like you would get photos and newspaper reports included, but I doubt very much if that is the case.  If anyone gets any, please post!

FindMyPast have to abide by the law, put in place by Tony Blair's labour government. If it was not for that laww every single name on the 1939 national Register would be open to view.
If you want to blame someone please blame the right person/people.

I wonder if they will update this annually so as to allow unrestricted access to those who would be 100 years old if alive.

No they are updating it weekly by all accounts.

The only one that I looked up so far, which would have included the person born in 1919, was very difficult to find as the surname of the next door neighbour (whose name is known to me)was used instead.  I went through the address directory instead, in order to track them down. 

So, two strikes, and so far not worth it to me.  It's very expensive, especially if you won't get the entire family grouping as advertised, so I will wait until I have a few families that are really worth my while to look up.

With so many errors, I really have to wonder how did they ever manage conscription?  I know that 2 people in this household where the surname is wrong were conscripted, so how did they identify them?  Surely the children (whom I'm not allowed to see), whom I know were conscripted, were not given different surnames to the parents?

As with any record it is only as accurate as the information given.
Don't forget like most of the censuses the information was written on a schedule then transffered to the register later.
That gives at least two chances of errors to creep in.
Also by scanning in colour we can see later amedments to the information.

Cheers
Guy

[Kay99]

How strange - Viewed my grandmother with my mother and aunt.   My aunt and mother's surnames have been crossed out and replaced with the surnames of their future husbands who they didn't marry until 1858 and 1947 ?   They hadn't met them by 1939

Kay

These records were kept up to date until 1991, so that is to be expected

Thanks - It was the only such change I have come across

Kay

[Romilly]

Some of my relatives aren't shown even though they died many years ago - my paternal grandmother, for example, who died in 1998.
Stephen

If they were born after 1915 then only those who died before 1991 in England & Wales (I'm not sure about Scotland or Northern Ireland)are unredacted.
Andy

It's annoying when people who you know to have died in the 1990's aren't shown

I wonder if they can be unlocked if you provide a Death Cert?

Romilly.

[ShaunJ]

Searched in vain for my family in Caithness Drive, Crosby. A stretch of the street from 22 to 42 appears to be missing.

[Romilly]

The on line 1939 National Register exceeds my expectations in some ways and disappoints in others..
Very quick and easy to search.
The “0riginal image for a household gives not only 1 household but for the address I looked at 60 Holly Walk, Leamington Spa all the households on the page from 54 to 62,
Handy for those who are interested in a village or area of a town.
Some women have their surnames annotated with an additional name in green ink (perhaps a maiden name or a later marriage I haven’t checked that.)

You can also check by address but this is rather odd not all the numbers follow sequentially.
In the main they run odd number first then even numbers, but they seem to have some additional odd numbers between the run of odds and evens and extra even numbers at the end of the evens (possibly late returns).

In my entry of interest there are three redacted people are they family or other people visiting at the time or servants.
An interest entry comes between who I know is the householder and his wife.
From looking carefully at the redaction I suspect it could be their son who was a possibly cadet in 1939.
The second redaction is possibly Nellie Hitcox who according to my FoI request is deceased.
Leaving one other mystery person at the house.
All the children of the family are now deceased, their son JPH Guy was killed in the war and the three daughters died in 1966,1998 and 2004 respectively.
Looks like I will have to send some scans of death certs to FindMyPast.
Cheers
Guy

Guy,-

 The additional Surname in green ink for Married Women must relate to later Marriages... My Grandmother has her Surname from her Second Marriage added, - although this didn't take place until 1952! (She was still Married to my Grandfather in 1939).

Romilly.

[groom]

I wonder if they can be unlocked if you provide a Death Cert?

Romilly.

Yes, is the answer to that and I believe that a scan is acceptable, you don't have to send a paper copy.

[Romilly]

Many Thanks Groom.

However, the Site appears to have crashed now

Romilly

[LizzieL]

Their idea of name variants seems a bit odd.
Looking for my father's cousin surname Eltham with no success, so I ticked the variants box and it came up with.
Far?Ll (E), Lyth (E)  and Slavko,Saric,Sar?E-Slavko   as possibly variants!

But I have found a little mystery.
My grandfather was the landlord of a pub in a village in Berkshire from 1924 until the early 1950's. In the 1939 register, my grandmother is at the pub, but my grandfather is in Northumberland. The only other occupant of the Northumberland house is a lady a few years younger than him. I haven't yet bought credits to see the details, but that what comes up on the free preview. The lady's name isn't familiar at all.

[nestagj]

I'm a monthly subscriber and have been since 2013; previously I used to pay annually.   

I was only offered 10% and contacted them by phone after reading that other people had received 25% but apparently the larger discount is only been offered to annual subscribers - could make a fuss I suppose.

Nesta