Ages on the 1939 census

[JAKnighton]

Birth dates are often wrong* on the 1939 register. Especially in transcriptions. It's always worth checking the original image. Ancestry's transcriptions are worse than FindMyPast's in my experience.

*I say wrong, what I mean is they often don't match with what we 'know' through other records like birth certificates. I know one of my relatives thought his birthday was a couple of days after it actually was. So that's the date he provided in the register.

[LizzieL]

My grandmother celebrated her birthday on 8th April, her birth cert has 5th April, but she said it was 7th April on 1939 register, unless it was mistranscribed onto form by enumerator. She would have filled in her own form as she was at home with youngest child while my grandfather was working away from home. 

[carol8353]

Birth dates are often wrong* on the 1939 register. Especially in transcriptions. It's always worth checking the original image. Ancestry's transcriptions are worse than FindMyPast's in my experience.

*I say wrong, what I mean is they often don't match with what we 'know' through other records like birth certificates. I know one of my relatives thought his birthday was a couple of days after it actually was. So that's the date he provided in the register.

Years are often wrong too.The older generation always liked to add a year on! My mum's birthday was in November,but come the new year she'd do the maths and take her birth year off the current year and tell evryone she was older 

When my mother in law died in early 1997 (her birthday was in Aug) her sister in Ireland told everyone that she was 80......but she was in fact only 79......and 5 months.

There was a war on,people weren't THAT concerned about giving the authorities an exact DOB.

Back then, having to give your DOB on every occasion wasn't used so much as we have to today.

Carol

[Jill Eaton]

All very interesting and informative answers. Sorry I haven't responded but I'm in Santorini trying out my supposed 2.8 Greek dna and attempting to type on my phone

[jfchaly]

One of my Granduncles Christopher was born on 9th Dec 1897, got baptised on 25th Dec of same year.
On school register, his birthday was given as Christmas Day. So BAPTISM date became known as his birthday.

Jfch

[macwil]

I have three entries where the years are 20 out.
One could be a simple transposition 86 instead of 68, the other two are 54 & 56 instead of 74 & 76 which is harder to explain.

[KGarrad]

I have three entries where the years are 20 out.
One could be a simple transposition 86 instead of 68, the other two are 54 & 56 instead of 74 & 76 which is harder to explain.

 
There are no ages quoted on the 1939 National Register?
What IS there is a date of Birth, supplied by the person themselves.

[macwil]

I have three entries where the years are 20 out.
One could be a simple transposition 86 instead of 68, the other two are 54 & 56 instead of 74 & 76 which is harder to explain.

 
There are no ages quoted on the 1939 National Register?
What IS there is a date of Birth, supplied by the person themselves.

I didn't say they were ages I said they were years!
The day and month were correct but the years were out by 20.

[Jill Eaton]

I ordered the birth certificate for John James since I only had his supposed birth date from his catholic baptism record. The baptism was in September and his date of birth is down as the 25th August 1889. The birth wasn't registered until October 1889

The birth certificate has his birth as 31st august 1889 which agrees with the corrected date on the 1939 register.

I'm certain they are the same person - both born in Westminster. Father Cornelius, Mother Mary Williams (it's Williams on his baptism record and his godmother is Hanora Williams)

Very odd that the DOB on his baptism is incorrect though