The 1939 Register

Why the 1939 Register fills the gap between the 1921 census and today, what it records, why some entries are closed, and how to search it.

On 29 September 1939, four weeks into the war, every household in England and Wales filled in a form listing the people living there. The government needed it to issue identity cards and ration books; family historians need it because it is the only census-like record between 1921 and the present, and the one most likely to include people you actually knew.

What it records

For every person: full name, address, sex, exact date of birth, marital status, occupation, and whether they were a member of the armed forces or in reserved work. That exact date of birth is the prize; the census only ever gave ages. The Register was later used by the NHS, so women's married names were added when they married after 1939, which is why you often see a surname crossed out and another written in, sometimes with a date.

What it doesn't

• No relationships: you infer them from surnames, ages and the order of the entries.
• No birthplaces.
• Men already serving in the forces were enumerated by the military and are not in the civilian Register.
• Scotland and Northern Ireland took their own registers; Scotland's is not open online, and extracts are available from National Records of Scotland on request for people now dead.

Closed entries

Anyone born less than 100 years ago and not known to have died has their entry closed ("This record is officially closed"). Entries are opened as deaths are matched to the Register or when the person would be over 100. If you know a relative has died, you can ask for the entry to be opened by supplying proof of death, which the hosting website processes.

Where to search

The 1939 Register is held by The National Archives (series RG 101) and was digitised with Findmypast, where it is searchable by name, birth year and place; Ancestry and MyHeritage also now have it. Searching the index is free on Findmypast; seeing the full household needs credits or a subscription. Many public libraries give free access to Findmypast or Ancestry on their premises.

How to use it

• Bridge the gap. Find the family you knew in 1939, read off exact birth dates, then take those dates into the GRO birth indexes and the 1921 census.
• Find the right person in the GRO index. An exact birth date tells you which quarter to look in and distinguishes two John Smiths.
• Catch later marriages. The annotated surnames show who a daughter married after 1939, which the Register otherwise couldn't.
• Locate evacuees and movers. Children were often with host families or relatives in another town; a neighbour's address may be the clue to a lost branch.

Common surprises

Dates of birth sometimes differ from the GRO record by a year or more; people gave the date they had always been told. Occupations are very precise ("heavy worker" annotations relate to rations). Whole households can be listed under a lodging house or works hostel. And a crossed-out entry with a later surname can reveal a marriage the family never mentioned.

From here, go forwards with the GRO indexes or backwards with the 1921 census.