1939 National Registration – My celebration

[Guy Etchells]

Why am I celebrating, this year marks 8 years since my successful Freedom of Information request that enabled the 1939 National Registration to be released to public access and finally FindmyPast have opened every individual in my Grandfather’s household.

It was this address that I used in my Freedom of Information request that managed release the 1939 National Registration to public access which eventually allowed Findmypast to bid to digitise and host the 1939.
The last person to be unredacted by FindmyPast was a lady who the NHS Information Service had recorded as deceased in 2009 when they provide the information to me to comply with the Information Commissioner’s order.

It really means a huge amount to me that every individual in my grandfather’s house has now gained their rightful place on this record.

With a bit of luck I hope to have a real celebration in 2040 when every last entry is open and this ridiculous censorship is removed.

Cheers
Guy
   

[panda40]

Thanks for all the hard work you put in to achieve this and other record releases Guy.
Regards
Panda

[suey]

I also applaud your tenacity in having this valuable record released for our perusal.  I too find it incredibly frustrating to find my families with half the household members blacked out owing to the 100 year rule.

However...

With a bit of luck I hope to have a real celebration in 2040 when every last entry is open and this ridiculous censorship is removed.

I'm unsure that I agree that all censorship is ridiculous.  I know someone who for many reasons would like to see their own particular record buried forever.   

[cuffie81]

Enjoy your celebration Guy, you fully deserve it for all the work you've done. It's nice to know that you've got as much out of the records as the rest of us.

On a personal note, I had my own mini celebration a couple of weeks ago when my maternal nan's record was finally unredacted. It had become something of a weekly ritual to look her up and it was a nice surprise when she finally appeared.

Thanks again.

[pollymann]

Yes, excellent work Guy. I have found a great deal of information and a few surprises looking into my family and that of my husband.
Pauline

[Blue70]

Well done Guy. I'm happy these records are available now but kind of unhappy about having paid for the pricey NHS version of these records only for FindMyPast to come up with a better and cheaper option. So I have no regrets for being one of those free searchers who initially didn't throw money at FindMyPast but used the search instead. It's great to have records available but the transition from NHS to FindMyPast made me feel like I had a raw deal.


Blue

[Guy Etchells]

Thank you to all who have replied and all who congratulated my efforts in getting the information released.
I should mention my reason for posting was not to gain plaudits but rather to mark the time taken between the first release to the full information being made available (even though every person in the household was deceased at least 40 odd years prior to the FoI request).
I can understand the NHS to spending time to make additional checks if their database did not show the individuals were deceased but feel the GRO/National Archives could be more flexible than they are.

Snip

I'm unsure that I agree that all censorship is ridiculous.  I know someone who for many reasons would like to see their own particular record buried forever.   

I did not say all censorship but certainly the censorship as applied to the 1939 National Registration is over the top.
There is absolutely no sensitive personal information given on the 1939 just Address, Names, Sex, Date of Birth, Married or Single, and Occupation.

All of that information would have been public knowledge at the time (even the individuals age would have been fairly obvious if not accurately known), and is publicly available today.

Even things like relationship to head of house was not recorded; there was no requirement to add the individuals in any set order so relationships could not even be assumed from that so.

In this case I am convinced the censorship imposed was ridiculous, but I would be happy to hear of any arguments in support of it.

Cheers
Guy

[suey]

Well, I certainly cannot argue with any of your comments Guy.   Do you think the situation will ever change or are we stuck with this ruling ?

 
I know that records are being opened as when people reach 100 + 1 month is that right, but then one has to ask, what about those people who are still alive past their 100th birthday    Makes a bit of a monkey of the whole thing.

[Guy Etchells]

Well, I certainly cannot argue with any of your comments Guy.   Do you think the situation will ever change or are we stuck with this ruling ?

 
I know that records are being opened as when people reach 100 + 1 month is that right, but then one has to ask, what about those people who are still alive past their 100th birthday    Makes a bit of a monkey of the whole thing.

I think we are stuck with the ruling, not to protect the privacy of individuals but in reality to protect those in power who, I find often have much to hide.

What people seem to forget is laws such as the Data Protection Act were first put in place to -
1, Ensure the retained data was accurate.
2, Prevent retained data being passed between government and local government departments and thence used for purposes it was not collected for.

It was never the intention to turn it into a backdoor Privacy Law which we do not have in the UK.
The reason we do not have a Privacy Law in the UK is because it is next to impossible to determine what privacy is in the same way as it is next to impossible to determine what Public Interest is.
So it is left to case law to determine precedents for future judgements to balance.

Cheers
Guy