Find My Past have just announced that they will be making the 1939 Register available online for the first time on Monday 2 November 2015.
The Register was a survey of the population taken in September 1939 at the start of the Second World War – almost like a census – and it contained the names, addresses and occupations of everyone living in the country at the time. It was used as the basis for rationing, the issue of identity cards and, in post-war Britain, the creation of the NHS.
However, for reasons we don’t know, only people living in England and Wales are covered by this Find My Past release. Those in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not included. And it’s also important to note that the names of any people in a 1939 household who were born before 1915 will be blanked out so their details cannot be seen. If you can prove that a blanked-out person has died since 1939, then Find My Past may be prepared to ‘unlock’ their record within the household.
We also understand that searches of the Register are free but that researchers will have to pay a fee of £6.95 to see the record of each household, even if they are already Find My Past subscribers.
We’ll bring you more news as soon as we know it. In the meantime, read more at the Find My Past site here.
