1939 Register up and running (Part 2)

[Guy Etchells]

To be honest I wasn't expecting much more than unhelpful standard replies from FindMyPast but it would be nice to think that someone there would read the information I am sending and take a look themselves. After all they are in a position to page through the images in their database - we are not.

What makes you think the people manning the reply desk have access to the database, it is highly unlikely that they do?

I would think it is more likely they have a basic guide as to how to conduct searches for names, streets and similar searches plus hints about possible faults and causes.
I very much doubt they have experience of the databse or access to the database.

But like you I am just guessing
Cheers
Guy

[carol8353]

I emailed Find MY Past and asked the following question....

"Could someone please explain why this entry for Rebecca Miller (later Berzon) has 2 dates of birth?
What is the significance of the date in the address column 23/5/45 and why do BQ/RM 80 mean on the right?

Ref: RG101/0266J/003/10 Letter Code: ALEC
Beazon (Miller) Household (3 People) 161 Stroud Green Road , Islington, London, England"

Last night they replied....

" Dear Carol

Thank you for your email.

Although I can't explain why the person who completed the form originally will have noted two dates of birth, I can confirm that the amended reference will likely have been part of a medical note - we will never have access to these and they will never be divulged.

I do hope this helps a little.

With kind regards, "

So I'm actually no wiser 

Carol

[StevieSteve]

To be honest, I don't know why you thought they would be the ones to ask - they put the records online, not wrote the things

Somewhere in the NHS, there might be instructions on how the records were meant to be updated, but FindMyPast aren't going to have them

[Guy Etchells]

I emailed Find MY Past and asked the following question....

"Could someone please explain why this entry for Rebecca Miller (later Berzon) has 2 dates of birth?
What is the significance of the date in the address column 23/5/45 and why do BQ/RM 80 mean on the right?


Carol

What amazes me is why you thought they would know the answers to your questions.
All FindMyPast have done is scan and index a large document, they like you have never been allowed to see the document before hand yet you expect them to know all about it.

They gave you a reasonable explanation about the "BQ/RM 80" code and explained they did not have access to the medical information.

There are many alterations and additions on the register some with knowledge of the family can be assumed to relate to a specific occurrence such as a date of subsequent marriage or a date of subsequent death, but I would suggest it is asking too much to expect a company to have knowledge of such specific details.

For instance on my mother’s entry on the 1939 there is a subsequent date in the address field in blue ink (25/11/1946 SAA.  M.)
I assume that refers to her change of name as she remarried on 21 October 1946 in Scotland and it would take a while for the information to trickle through the system.
The is also an entry in the address column next to her son in green ink (7_12_57 then the symbol for a half ½ followed by something I cannot make out and the initials EDB) this could possibly be when he changed doctors as he went up to Edinburgh University in 1957) there is also a change of name in green ink.
It could be that the first notification of change of name they had came with him going to university, but that I will never know.

I do know that some amendments on the register were in blue, some in green and some appear to be in pencil by do not know if this is significant at present.
Perhaps when others have downloaded images we might get a clue to the significance of colour or whether it just depended on what pen was to hand at the time, maybe time will tell.
Perhaps someone who worked on the register when it was used by the NHS may know and reveal the details.

Cheers
Guy

PS I have also seen snippets of alterations in Red ink but these were under a closed record so don't have further details.

Green ink seems to be used for changes of name on re-marriage I have seen

[carol8353]

I'm sorry that you are all so amazed that I emailed Find My Past.
I did it because they advised me too on their Facebook page.
I asked a general query about who would I ask to know more about the results I have found.
And they said email us @ support etc.

So I did!!!!!!

I am sure they didn't transcribe all those documents with out being told a little about them?

[KGarrad]

I am sure they didn't transcribe all those documents with out being told a little about them?

There are over 41 million records - how much time do you think they spent looking at each one?!

[Guy Etchells]

I'm sorry that you are all so amazed that I emailed Find My Past.
I did it because they advised me too on their Facebook page.
I asked a general query about who would I ask to know more about the results I have found.
And they said email us @ support etc.

So I did!!!!!!

I am sure they didn't transcribe all those documents with out being told a little about them?

I think you will find that perhaps some of the management might have been told a little about the general reason and subsequent use of the register no specific information was given and certainly no specific information was given to those who actually worked on the scanning and indexing.

The reason I say that is because it was so hush hush the register was transcribed in columns rather than in lines so that the transcribers could not see the entire record of an individual.
Cheers
Guy

[ShaunJ]

A 5th unhelpful response from FindMyPast

"There are a number of potential reasons for people not showing up on a first search of the Register:

•   If the person was born less than 100 years ago, they are deemed to still be alive unless proven otherwise so the record is closed.
•   Transcription errors – Findmypast have committed to an accuracy level of 98.5% across the whole dataset but with an index that links to a database containing details of millions of individuals it is inevitable that some errors will occur .
•   Names listed differently than anticipated. As with many large databases you may need to be flexible and even creative with your searching.  You may need to carry out your search a number of times but vary the information slightly, or try using surname only to find the correct family. To narrow down your search you may wish to carry out an address search.
•   Individuals listed in a different location to family groups. On 29th September 1939 mass evacuation of the population had already occurred so the records of many individuals in particular may be listed in an entirely different location to the rest of the family group. You may need to review names and dates of birth of individuals in areas where individuals were evacuated to in order to find the correct record."

[Old Bristolian]

Guy, I understand your points in defence of FindMyPast, but surely with such a major piece of data and considering the undoubted costs involved, they could have taken a little more time and done some analysis (perhaps using people like yourself and others experienced in genealogy) in order to identify topics and pitfalls that might show up when the public were allowed to view it. It all seems a bit rushed to me - returning to a point I made earlier, why are complete lines redacted and not just the personal details - someone didn't think it through before release

Steve