1939 Register - Annotations and What They Mean?

[poissonrouge]

Hi and thanks for the welcome Rosie. Have been a member for a while to occasionally view topics but this is the first time I've posted. Yes it was Lancashire, Manchester in fact, which also had me wondering about the MC.

Cheers

Roger

[rosie99]

Hi Roger
I hadn't looked to see when you registered 

Mine was on Heysham, Lancashire so it probably is the county reference.  I am sure someone will advise us if we are wrong. 

[MarkyP]

Hoping someone might be able to help with an annotation in red after an entry name plus some odd looking characters over a date of birth. Any clues would be gratefully accepted. 

[MarkyP]

Also, just noticed to the right of the name, can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks.

[upstream]

This is a fascinating thread which raises the question 'Who did the annotations and why?'.
It is understandable that, as the 1939 Register was used as the basis for Ration Books, it would be worth while continuing to update it through to the mid 1950's.  But to 1990?
I guess the work was done by or in conjunction with GRO and funded by the taxpayer.  Bearing in mid the Register was not digitized, this must have been a major task and presumably, someone thought it was worthwhile keeping tabs on people all this while.  Sounds a bit Big Brother-ish to me.
Having said that, the annotated notes have been a help to me in identifying relatives.

[josey]

The register was used as a resource for the NHS which is why it was kept up to date with name changes for women.

[upstream]

Thanks Josey, Good explanation, although you would have thought that keeping track of people through National Insurance Numbers would have been easier.

[CarolA3]

I guess the work was done by or in conjunction with GRO and funded by the taxpayer.  Bearing in mid the Register was not digitized, this must have been a major task and presumably, someone thought it was worthwhile keeping tabs on people all this while.  Sounds a bit Big Brother-ish to me.

Thanks Josey, Good explanation, although you would have thought that keeping track of people through National Insurance Numbers would have been easier.

None of this had anything to do with GRO.  As Josey says, the NHS 'inherited' the Register after rationing and identity cards ended in the early 1950s, and continued to update it until 1991.  It was simply a record of people's names, addresses, and dates of birth - a customer database on paper - nothing more sinister than that.

Obviously NINOs would be of no use to the NHS as they are issued by HMRC for entirely different purposes.

Carol

[upstream]

Thanks Carol,  You are right, guess I should have said National Health Service Numbers.  I wonder why these are not annotated on the register.
The more I learn about this, the more surprising it becomes.  By 1989 there would have been 50 years worth of new-borns not included on the register so its usefulness must have deteriorated year on year.  Someone must have thought this was appropriate use of NHS manpower ..............