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This is slightly old news - by a couple of months - but…

 

For anyone doing family history research, one of the difficulties is that the censuses available online only go up to 1911. However, on Ancestry and Find My Past, you can now see something called the 1939 Register.  Technically it’s not a census, but it’s fairly close.

 

The National Archives explain it all.  http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/1939-register/#

 

As it’s relatively recent, it can include people within living memory - I’ve already solved a couple of mysteries within my own past.

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Being a member on Ancestry.com I have now got access to the 1939 register, it has been very useful for information about people in my tree. I don't know how reliable this is, but I was told it is something to do with a people count and where they were on that date, as we were going into war. I have found some very interesting information, and locations of my relations. Turned up a few surprises as well!

 

I have been trying to find out when my maternal family moved from Mansfield to Nottm, and didn't know how, without it costing me a fortune. I know they were still in Mansfield on the 1911census, but now thanks to the 1939 register I am a bit closer as they were in Nottm by then. Granddad was in his Blacksmith job at the top of Alfred St North and also in the ARP.

 

Some members of the family including my mum are not on the register, it just says This record is officially closed. Is there anyone who might know why some members of the family are missing.?

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I also found that problem - not seeing people who have died, and seeing people who are still around. 

 

You can do something about it, but it's a pain and costs a lot.

 

If you see a record that is open, but which you believe should be closed because the person is still alive, you can ask for the record to be closed using the ‘close an open record’ button on the respective transcription page on Findmypast. If you do not have access to Findmypast, you can make a request direct to The National Archives using our Your views form.

 

 

Findmypast.co.uk subscribers can request a check of the closed records free of charge and if successful, the record will be made available via the online service. Please note in order to access this service you will be required to provide proof of death, mostly commonly by providing a death certificate.

Non-Findmypast.co.uk subscribers should use The National Archives Freedom of Information (FOI) request form to request a search of closed records from the 1939 Register. If the record can be opened, we will send you a full transcription of the information held in the record. The opened record will be available to view on Findmypast.co.uk ten working days after the notification of a successful request. Please note there is a fixed charge of £23.35 for this service.

 

Who's going to go to those lengths ?

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Not me. I'm quite happy to see information about people who are still living...and so are they. It jogs their memories! Whereas the 1939 register isn't going to tell me anything about my mum that I didn't already know.

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I thought I knew all about my Mum, but in the 1939 Register, when I expected her to be living with her Mum on Western Boulevard, as I thought she always did, showed me that she was at my Dad's sister's house, not very far away,in Kennington Road, 2 years before she married my Dad.  Very surprised, but too late to ask

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The register is so useful for finding where people lived, and for giving married names for females that were added later. This register was used for NHS records up to the 1990 s. I worked through the register for the village where my husband was born to get the whole population. My husband and brother in law found this very interesting to see families they remembered and where they were in 1939 (before their time!).

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