1939 Register up and running (Part 3)

[KGarrad]

In my mind,the difference is this:

A census is a snapshot of who was where at midnight on a specified day (e.g. 31st March 1901).

The 1939 Register, taken on 29th September 1939, also contains lots of changes, that were added up to 1991. Such as changes in surname.

[clairec666]

Yes, that's a good way of explaining it

I love the changeable elements of the 1939 register, it's helped me find out what happened to so many people, e.g. people who married/remarried after 1939. I've tied up so many loose ends re when/where people died. Makes my tree feel so much more complete!

[coombs]

I managed to find my grans older half brother's life once he was sent back to London after his mum died in 1930. His Durham born stepdad, my great grandad remarried and the stepson was surplus to requirements so sent to relatives back in London. He was right under my nose all the time as I already knew all his mums siblings and where they lived, but looked at one of them on the electoral rolls and found grans half brother in 1936 living with his uncle in Greenwich. Sometimes they are right under your nose all the time.

The 1939 register has paid dividends.

[ReadyDale]

Just to revisit a topic covered in the second iteration of this thread http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=734467.msg5799930#msg5799930 regarding the 4-letter codes. The list linked to seems to be the FIRST THREE letters of a batch of codes allocated for each area, with the fourth being sequential, A through to Z. To give the examples for mine:
AFBD - Chelsea - [In the table as AFA]
AGPB - Fulham - [AGA]
AMPO - Kensington - [AMA]
WOUD - Weston-super-Mare - [WOT]
So using Chelseas as an example, I suspect that someone in Chelsea could be anything between AFAA (as listed) and AFFZ (as AFG is the next area on the list).
Obviously, this is based on a small sample.

With regard to ID cards, for my grand father's which I have, the card bears the number of the four-letter code above, the schedule number (household) and schedule sub number (person within the household. So ABCD-123-1 .... where ABCD is the four letter code, where 123 is the household number within that borough/Reg.Dist/Sub Dist and where 1 is the person ID within the household.
This seems to hold true for a few ID guards that Google Images displayed.

[Rena]

I haven't been able to find my mother's brother Jack born 1916.  He should have been living with his parents but there were only his parents living in the family home.

I think he was probably still in the UK but with a transcription problem.

I have learnt something I didn't know in that there was a 6 month compulsory military training :-

"During the 1930s some men still chose to enter the armed forces after leaving school and in 1937 there were 200,000 soldiers in the British army. The government knew that this was not enough to fight a war with Germany and in April 1939 introduced the Military Training Act. The terms of the act meant that all men between the ages of 20 and 21 had to register for six months' military training. At the same time a list of 'reserved occupations' was published. This listed occupations that were essential to the war effort and stated that those employed in those jobs were exempt from conscription.

Conscription was by age and in October 1939 men aged between 20 and 23 were required to register to serve in one of the armed forces. They were allowed to choose between the army, the navy and the airforce".

http://www.historyonthenet.com/ww2/conscription.htm

[Mean_genie]

Yes, that's exactly how the area codes worked, there is a full list of the 3-letter codes on FindMyPast:

http://www.findmypast.co.uk/articles/1939-register-enumeration-districts?_ga=1.71679703.551440129.1437955750

When you unlock a record you see the full reference including the 4-letter enumeration district code (this isn't always in the transcript but you will always see it at the top of the page itself). Identity Cards issued after the 1939 enumeration might have a different letter/number format.

[iolaus]

I haven't been able to find my mother's brother Jack born 1916.  He should have been living with his parents but there were only his parents living in the family home.

I think he was probably still in the UK but with a transcription problem.

Anyone born after 2015 we can't see unless their death is proven (ie before 1991 - and not in hospital) or someone has sent a death certificate

[ScouseBoy]

I haven't been able to find my mother's brother Jack born 1916.  He should have been living with his parents but there were only his parents living in the family home.

I think he was probably still in the UK but with a transcription problem.

Anyone born after 2015 we can't see unless their death is proven (ie before 1991 - and not in hospital) or someone has sent a death certificate

  Why does  a death in Hospital make a difference?

[Rena]

I haven't been able to find my mother's brother Jack born 1916.  He should have been living with his parents but there were only his parents living in the family home.

I think he was probably still in the UK but with a transcription problem.

Anyone born after 2015 we can't see unless their death is proven (ie before 1991 - and not in hospital) or someone has sent a death certificate

Thanks, but what I meant was his name wasn't redacted from the family home (e.g. "and one other") and that definitely was his home until he married after WWII.

I'm lucky in that Hull City archives have put all their local WWII Civil Defence members online (Wardens, Fire Fighters, etc) and they don't seem to have bothered about death dates,  but maybe they didn't know the ages.