RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: nanny jan on Tuesday 08 May 18 12:45 BST (UK)
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Just spotted that the 1939 Register is available on Ancestry; images and transcriptions.
Happy hunting! :)
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Ancestry say "The 1939 Register has been added to the site but has yet to go fully live, please keep an eye on the website tomorrow for more information about this fantastic collection"
"While the 1939 Register has been added to the Ancestry website, we haven't made it searchable just yet, please keep a close eye on the site tomorrow for more information about this."
Stan
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Ancestry say "The 1939 Register has been added to the site but has yet to go fully live, please keep an eye on the website tomorrow for more information about this fantastic collection"
"While the 1939 Register has been added to the Ancestry website, we haven't made it searchable just yet, please keep a close eye on the site tomorrow for more information about this."
Stan
Although they say that, a lot of people on other forums are finding people, so it might be worth trying it today just in case the site crashes tomorrow with everyone trying to use it!
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"While the 1939 Register has been added to the Ancestry website, we haven't made it searchable just yet, please keep a close eye on the site tomorrow for more information about this."
Stan
But it is searchable - https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=61596 (https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=61596)
Just found one of my father's cousins!
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Oooh, thank you for letting us know! :)
(I found some people)
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Interesting, I’ve just searched for my grandfather, who I know is there on FindMyPast. He is there but everyone else in the house is closed, even though they are open on the image on FindMyPast.
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I searched for my grandfather.....and found him!
I found the news, with a link, on a genealogy group on Facebook.
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Could it be that Ancestry have the original and so won’t have all the amendments that FindMyPast have done over the last year or so? I thought it was said that Ancestry wouldn’t have the images, but they do.
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I'm not 100% sure but I think they have the original and will be opening entities annually
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On both sites my aunt who died in 1999 is still closed also her daughter who died 2015.
I put through an amendment to F M P for my mother and one of her siblings they are open on both sites though another sibling who died 2016 is still closed on both.
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I put through an amendment to F M P for my mother and one of her siblings they are open on both sites though another sibling who died 2016 is still closed on both.
My mother-in-law is open on both, although still alive. Her sister and older brother both died last year, and one is open, the other closed, same on both sites. All a bit arbitrary, but at nearly 100 years old, it hardly matters for the sake of a year or two.
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My mother who died in 2008 is closed on both yet her elder brother who died 4yrs later is open on both. ???
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I have just done a bit of testing with people I know are on the 1939 Register on FindMyPast.
When Ancestry say they have not made it searchable yet, I think they mean you are not yet able to select someone in your Ancestry tree, click search, and locate them in the 1939 Register (as you can with census records etc.) However, if you select 1939 Register from the Card Catalogue and input the name/details of the person you are searching for you will find their record.
Edit: Ignore everything I said ::), it is searchable from selecting someone in your tree
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I tested it by putting in my grandfather's name and 1939 in Any Event on the "show more options. "
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it's searchable from your tree but doesn't show in hints
That said my nan (who died in 2014) isn't shown - I can accept that she's still closed as it takes a while to open - however her two sisters one who died last year and the younger sister who is still alive (or was last month and noone has told me otherwise) is open - whether they've opened the wrong sister who knows
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Any one know if there is a way to search by address?
I found them by searching for their neighbour
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They are both showing up on FindMyPast when you search by name. I looked for Isabella.
( did you change your post?)
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I wonder if they'll find the missing houses?
Search for Hinstock Road, Birmingham :P
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I had a look using your hints and nothing turned up, not even the register. I then changed from the Australian site to the English site and there they were. I have noticed this a couple of times, even though I have access to the English records through my subscription there are some that I cannot access unless I am on .co.uk site.
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Very surprised I could add view and attach records to my tree - without a subscription
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They are both showing up on FindMyPast when you search by name. I looked for Isabella.
( did you change your post?)
Yes I did - I found them by looking up the family from 2 doors down - they'd been transcribed on ancestry as Leingson
I didn't want anyone to waste their time helping me - I didn't think that someone would have looked before I had the bright idea of the neighbours - thank you very much though
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Very surprised I could add view and attach records to my tree - without a subscription
From the facebook page.
It's here! Start exploring the 1939 Register today on Ancestry: https://ancstry.me/2rtIzfY
Enjoy free access until Sunday 13th May.
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Very surprised I could add view and attach records to my tree - without a subscription
From the facebook page.
It's here! Start exploring the 1939 Register today on Ancestry: https://ancstry.me/2rtIzfY
Enjoy free access until Sunday 13th May.
Good to know I have a few days. Thanks :)
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Free access on something as exciting as that for people who haven’t got FindMyPast - wait for Ancestry to crash this weekend. ;D
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Edit: Ignore everything I said ::), it is searchable from selecting someone in your tree
By searching "normally" I can find my grandfather in '39, but don't finding him through searching from tree. He has a unique name.
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Hello everyone
I have just had a look at the 1939 Register on Ancestry (using their free weekend) and tried it out - the cover sheet only gave the husband's details and didn't even mention the wife - not even as closed, although on the original she is clearly listed.
I compared it with findmypast, and they both are shown on the cover sheet.
NB Husband died in 1964, wife in 2000.
Jackie
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Is the transcription the same as FindMyPast, or have Ancestry made a new transcription?
BugBear
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My mother and father were there at the right address but not me!! aged 12 and don't know what day it was on as I could be being evacuated at the time....... too young for being 'up the pub'.
Joe
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Can I take it that there is NOT a 1939 Scottish register then??
Malky
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Can I take it that there is NOT a 1939 Scottish register then??
Malky
There is one but not yet online.
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Can I take it that there is NOT a 1939 Scottish register then??
Malky
There is one but not yet online.
Information about it here
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01l0r/
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My mother and father were there at the right address but not me!! aged 12 and don't know what day it was on as I could be being evacuated at the time....... too young for being 'up the pub'.
Joe
You wouldn’t show up anyway, wherever you were, as you are still alive. ;D
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I notice that the positioning of the redactions, and the text used on them, is identical in both versions, so the images are probably from a master copy at the National Archives in both cases. The filenames are the same too, but the Ancestry version uses only lower case letters.
The Ancestry version has a smaller file size, so may lose a little detail in hard-to-read images.
Ancestry's indexing, though, leaves something to be desired. I've just checked an image I downloaded from FindMyPast (I was looking for zig-zag redactions), and NOBODY on it appears in the Ancestry index. The handwriting is perfectly clear, so no excuses.
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Ancestry's indexing, though, leaves something to be desired. I've just checked an image I downloaded from FindMyPast (I was looking for zig-zag redactions), and NOBODY on it appears in the Ancestry index. The handwriting is perfectly clear, so no excuses.
True but at least Ancestry have had a better guess at my grandfather's middle name Timson than FindMyPast. On Ancestry its Timsor, on FindMyPast its Samson. Where they got "a" from I don't know, its a clear "i" but the first letter could be interpreted as S rather than T as its a bit curly so full marks to Ancestry for at least reading that correctly.
That said, some of the others are terrible on Ancestry. My other grandparents surname as an extra "r" on the end which does not appear anywhere on the image. ::)
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Great timing, I use Ancestry for all my research but bought a years subscription to Find my Past last year just for the 1939 register. The subscription run out the same day Ancestry added it to their site ;D
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Great news. I did recently buy a 1 month sub to FindMyPast to access the 1939 register in one of their recent deals but I have an all year round sub to Anc so it will be handy.
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Great News
I've checked out a few of my lot, will have a good look when I get a chance.
I'm not surprised that my wife's Father record is closed as he died here in Australia, 2 of his siblings who died in the past couple of years in Warwickshire are also still closed.
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Spotted the email at lunchtime today and wished the afternoon away until I could get out of work and do some research!
Interesting finds looking at my father and uncle - both born in the same month - my father (dead for over 2 years) can not be viewed yet my uncle who is very much alive can be viewed???!!!
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It seems the Ancestry images are very out of date, numerous redactions that have been opened are still redacted on Ancestry.
Cheers
Guy
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It seems the Ancestry images are very out of date, numerous redactions that have been opened are still redacted on Ancestry.
Cheers
Guy
Agree but in my families case it's the other way round! My uncle age 86 and alive is visible
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It seems the Ancestry images are very out of date, numerous redactions that have been opened are still redacted on Ancestry.
Cheers
Guy
Agree but in my families case it's the other way round! My uncle age 86 and alive is visible
Is that the same on FindMyPast - is he shown on that as well?
I agree with Guy, the image on Ancestry that shows my grandfather is the one that was originally there when FindMyPast first had the 1939 register. It is now different with my grandmother and 3 uncles' details open.
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M
It seems the Ancestry images are very out of date, numerous redactions that have been opened are still redacted on Ancestry.
Cheers
Guy
My friend's uncle who died in 2016 and which FindMyPast opened when I supplied a copy of the death certificate is open on Ancestry and one of his sisters who died last July and was, quite correctly, closed when requested her brother's entry be opened, is now open on both Ancestry and FindMyPast. So there seems to be some anomalies on which data has been updated on the Ancestry copy and which hasn't. Not sure where FindMyPast have confirmed the death as we've not submitted a request for it to be opened although my friend does have a copy of the death certificate.
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It seems the Ancestry images are very out of date, numerous redactions that have been opened are still redacted on Ancestry.
Cheers
Guy
Agree but in my families case it's the other way round! My uncle age 86 and alive is visible
Is that the same on FindMyPast - is he shown on that as well?
I haven't looked at FindMyPast recently but when the 1939 was first released my uncle was NOT visible there yet he is now on Ancestry and is ALIVE.
My aunt was also NOT originally visible on FindMyPast but is now on ancestry (she died around 1995)
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I found a woman on the Ancestry 1939 register that I could not find on FindMyPast. The wife of my 3xgreat uncle. Not found the uncle yet but maybe he was abroad. She said she was married but hubby not with her.
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Hello BugBear
Sorry for the delay in replying - have checked out wife's details on this register (Ancestry) and she has been included in the next household even though the original is clear and legible.
Jackie
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I found a woman on the Ancestry 1939 register that I could not find on FindMyPast. The wife of my 3xgreat uncle. Not found the uncle yet but maybe he was abroad. She said she was married but hubby not with her.
Could he already have enlisted? If so he won't be on the register.
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My cousin was in the merchant navy so he did not show in the 1939 register either Coombs.
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He was born in 1894 so he may have been one of those older soldiers, as also my 48 year old great grandfather is not on the 1939 register and I have an inkling that he enlisted. He had been a soldier in the first world war. When my nan married in 1940 she said her father was a soldier.
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Just opened Ancestry for no particular reason except that I didn't feel like getting on with what I should be doing and saw 40 new recommendations. A very nice surprise as I was finally able to confirm my g grandparents last address.
They don't seem to have completed the indexing yet. Can't find anything on my mother's line so far, only my father's.
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Only just started searching this version of the register but already found my great-aunt who I couldn't find at all on FindMyPast. That's because the Ancestry search revealed her occupation - bakery manageress, which is right. She'd knocked 3 years off her age, which doesn't surprise me (she always regretted her single status) but my FindMyPast search had to be limited to +/- 2 years as there are so many Margaret Morrises. Date of birth is exactly right.
I like that the most relevant birth years are given first, then widening out, in the usual Ancestry manner, rather than starting with those 2 or 5 years older or whatever and going through to those 2 or 5 years younger. But transcription of Welsh place names is as useless as ever.
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Just been browsing 1939 Register for Hindley, Lancashire, (NVCB) and found a page where every entry is redacted, yes all 44! ::)
The previous page had only 10 entries visible with the other 34 closed.
Someone is going to be disappointed. ;D It could even be me as I am struggling to find some relatives even though they were born in late 1800s and were alive in '39.
Added: I earlier found a couple (different area), right names & same address as mine but the birth years are 20 years earlier than the ones I have for them. ???
Added 2: just found a second 'black' page this time in NVCC.
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Just been browsing 1939 Register for Hindley, Lancashire, (NVCB) and found a page where every entry is redacted, yes all 44! ::)
The previous page had only 10 entries visible with the other 34 closed.
Someone is going to be disappointed. ;D It could even be me as I am struggling to find some relatives even though they were born in late 1800s and were alive in '39.
Added: I earlier found a couple (different area), right names & same address as mine but the birth years are 20 years earlier than the ones I have for them. ???
Added 2: just found a second 'black' page this time in NVCC.
Is it likely that they were all evacuated children and therefore born well after 1917?
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My late father is redacted although his sister, who is younger and outlived him, isn't.
Looking at my mother's family 4 of 6 siblings are redacted. Her sister's married surnames are added but the odd thing is that one who married twice has her 1959 remarriage written in in green ink, well after the registration act was repealed.
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Blimey
My mother who only died in February is unredacted on both FindMyPast and Ancestry versions
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Yipppeee!
Found via that entry the birthdate of someone who has been confusing me about that for ever! Gotcha!
TY
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Just when I'd decided to cancel my sub to ancestry - they get the 1939 register.
Decisions, decisions....
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My late father is redacted although his sister, who is younger and outlived him, isn't.
The opening of people born less than 100 years ago depends on whether the death registration can be found. If either is inaccurate or has been mistranscribed, the chances are slim.
Her sister's married surnames are added but the odd thing is that one who married twice has her 1959 remarriage written in in green ink, well after the registration act was repealed.
Don't forget that the same register was used by the NHS until 1991. Marriages and deaths until that time would likely be written in. Some are on the right-hand page, where we can't see.
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Just been browsing 1939 Register for Hindley, Lancashire, (NVCB) and found a page where every entry is redacted, yes all 44! ::)
The previous page had only 10 entries visible with the other 34 closed.
Someone is going to be disappointed. ;D It could even be me as I am struggling to find some relatives even though they were born in late 1800s and were alive in '39.
Added: I earlier found a couple (different area), right names & same address as mine but the birth years are 20 years earlier than the ones I have for them. ???
Added 2: just found a second 'black' page this time in NVCC.
Is it likely that they were all evacuated children and therefore born well after 1917?
Good point! I found another two such pages in the first seven books relating to Hindley NVCA-G , before I gave up looking, and they were indeed toward the end of each book where late additions were entered according to TNA notes. One page where I could see part of the entries (the redaction had slipped) they were in red ink.
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How can you find a certain street? I'm looking for Hinstock Road, Birmingham. On FindMyPast there are loads of houses missing :-\
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Who are you looking for? Looking at FindMyPast there only seem to be even numbers in Hinstock Road. However, if you then click through the pages, there are a few odd ones toward the end. There are also a lot of whole sections which are closed records for some reason.
If you have access to FindMyPast, it is worth contacting them and asking about the odd numbers. I found a whole section of my grandparents' road missing (typically their house was amongst that) so I queried it, they checked and were able to show it.
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I'm looking for No. 26, I did talk to FindMyPast, but they talked a load of turkey :P
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I'm looking for No. 26, I did talk to FindMyPast, but they talked a load of turkey :P
Are you sure there are people there whose details would not be redacted?
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I'm looking for No. 26, I did talk to FindMyPast, but they talked a load of turkey :P
Are you sure there are people there whose details would not be redacted?
My gran and gramps are there in the 1939 electoral register, they died in 1972 and 1950. Can't understand why I can't find them.
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Just when I'd decided to cancel my sub to ancestry - they get the 1939 register.
Lisa, there's a link further up the page & free to view without a sub.
Annie
Add...Found it!
https://ancstry.me/2rtIzfY
Enjoy free access until Sunday 13th May
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That part of Hinstock Road has been redacted:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m1i/
Were they born less than 100 years ago? If not then what did Findmypast tell you?
Debra :)
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Just had a look at various maps and the reason why there are few odd numbered houses is that Victoria Park runs for virtually the whole of that side of the road, there are currently 1-11 odd nos plus Percy Close near the other end on that side.
The entries for the even nos are scattered over several pages throughout the enumeration book QCGY and many of those are closed, I suspect no 26 is one of them.
If you are a subscriber to FindMyPast they will open the records if you supply them with a copy of the death certs. Ancestry will only update their version annually with data supplied by TNA. Opening the records via TNA is expensive, approx £25 a record.
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That part of Hinstock Road has been redacted:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01m1i/
Were they born less than 100 years ago? If not then what did Findmypast tell you?
Debra :)
Aggghhhh They were born in the 19th century, maybe they flyed around in a time machine. There's no way all those records were redacted!
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I've just discovered, by accident I have to admit, that the Ancestry images include the 'Transcript Book' front cover page. I've never seen these before on the FindMyPast version.
The front cover page includes the signature of the person completing the book and the date. I've been having a look to see if any of my family members completed the book for their village, but none so far. I'm starting to suspect the work was done by officials from outside the locality.
To view the cover page, firstly access the image viewer from any record in the location of interest. Then change the page number to '1'. That should then load the first page which usually comes up as a cover (but sometimes a blank page).
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To see your hints for this record set only, use the following link but replace 00000000 with your tree's own unique number (which you can find in the URL when looking at your tree)
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/hints/tree/00000000/hints?hf=record&hdbid=61596
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I've just been quite happy so far noseying round the family I know, checking out what they were up to and with whom at the time. Interesting.
TY
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Just when I'd decided to cancel my sub to ancestry - they get the 1939 register.
Lisa, there's a link further up the page & free to view without a sub.
Annie
Add...Found it!
https://ancstry.me/2rtIzfY
Enjoy free access until Sunday 13th May
My sub runs out on 2nd June, so have a bit of time.
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I have been hunting for hours just using the 1939 registry and found some interesting aspects of my family.
I am finding or rather not finding quite a few family members, all of whom passed away prior to the millenium.
Eg
Found parental Grandmother with one Uncle who was 20 at the time, living with her. Grandmas 3 youngest sons and daughter are nowhere to be found.
I have looked at all older relatives of Grandma and her brothers and sister and found them but nothing about the 3 boys and 1 girl, no redacted entries at the same address as their Aunts or Uncles, nothing.
So whilst the Register is usefull it is not a Census return.
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could they have been evacuated? I believe some areas had already done so by that point
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I have found evacuees on it ;D
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This 1939 register certainly has got people talking on here. And a good thing too that we are discussing this register. Some mistakenly think it is a 1939 census but it is not really a census is it?
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This 1939 register certainly has got people talking on here. And a good thing too that we are discussing this register. Some mistakenly think it is a 1939 census but it is not really a census is it?
It certainly has, and on other forums, where a lot of incorrect information has been given. So far someone has said that it was taken to be used for the NHS - no it was primarily for identity cards and rationing, the use for the NHS came in 1948. Some one else said that the reason some people couldn't be found is because it was only people who could vote who were on it!
I think the problem is that some people are so excited that it is now available on Ancestry, that they have rushed into using it, without reading exactly what it was and how it was used.
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This 1939 register certainly has got people talking on here. And a good thing too that we are discussing this register. Some mistakenly think it is a 1939 census but it is not really a census is it?
It certainly has, and on other forums, where a lot of incorrect information has been given. So far someone has said that it was taken to be used for the NHS - no it was primarily for identity cards and rationing, the use for the NHS came in 1948. Some one else said that the reason some people couldn't be found is because it was only people who could vote who were on it!
I think the problem is that some people are so excited that it is now available on Ancestry, that they have rushed into using it, without reading exactly what it was and how it was used.
Ancestry's recent sluggishness and search engine malfunctions were around before the 1939 register was put on there so I dont think it is to blame for the issues.
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Apologies if this has already been asked and answered (I have read almost all of the replies on this thread but could have missed it) .... the page on the right of the page detailing names and addresses has some additional information for some people, but the page is not shown in full. I presume this is where later information about the particular person is noted. Is this page viewable anywhere?
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No it is not. My understanding is that the information relates to the use of the register by the NHS after it was set up in 1948.
TNA Guide to 1939 Register (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/1939-register/)
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Thanks macwil.
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I've seen some notes that on that page that are connected with the war; ARP Warden etc.
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I've seen some notes that on that page that are connected with the war; ARP Warden etc.
Yes the first column has some notes regarding the war and part of this first column right hand page is open.
The rest of the righthand page has medical information which is not revealed on the online image and would have to be requested through the NHS under a data protection request or a freedom of information request to the NHS if you are the person concerned or their representative.
Cheers
Guy
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Thanks Guy; I learn something every day on Rootschat!
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Ancestry's recent sluggishness and search engine malfunctions were around before the 1939 register was put on there so I dont think it is to blame for the issues.
I use both Ancestry and FindMyPast side-by-side in my local library and for census records Ancestry has always been my preferred choice until the changes over the last year or so, to the point I've given up using it for anything census related and mainly use FindMyPast instead. The recent free Ancestry weekend had me pulling my hair out. :'(
But after a weekend of looking at Ancestry's version of the 1939 Register I'm pleasantly surprised.
I prioritised finding people who were missing on the FindMyPast version, but known to be alive in 1939. The Ancestry search seems far more forgiving of errors in the data, coming up with results that even though they contained errors, were still better than the FindMyPast ones. The Ancestry transcriptions appear to be far more accurate than the original FindMyPast version.
As a result of my weekend I've now found around 70 families who were 'missing'. The common reasons were mistranscriptions of surnames and also the figure '9' in birth years being transcribed as '0', often (perhaps by coincidence/or because?) the line below was redacted and the tail of the '9' was obscured.
Finding the transcription book cover pages was a plus, but they didn't give details of the parish name, which I'd hoped they might. :(
I was also surprised the free access ended within a minute or so of midnight.... in the past it seemed like people didn't get round to flipping the switch until the morning. ;) And it was noticeable that if you are not logged in the Ancestry results page is not much use in comparison to the FindMyPast one. For example it doesn't even give a birth year. I'd need to have a lot more confidence I'd found the right result if I was going to be tempted to renew my subscription on that basis.
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I was also surprised the free access ended within a minute or so of midnight.... in the past it seemed like people didn't get round to flipping the switch until the morning. ;)
I believe the free 1939 Register access was only through the UK site and not all of Ancestry's websites, hence if the free access ended in the morning it was probably to ensure that the subscribers in North America retained access. If only on the UK site its not surprising it ended at midnight.
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I use both Ancestry and FindMyPast side-by-side in my local library and for census records Ancestry has always been my preferred choice until the changes over the last year or so, to the point I've given up using it for anything census related and mainly use FindMyPast instead. The recent free Ancestry weekend had me pulling my hair out. :'(
But after a weekend of looking at Ancestry's version of the 1939 Register I'm pleasantly surprised.
I prioritised finding people who were missing on the FindMyPast version, but known to be alive in 1939. The Ancestry search seems far more forgiving of errors in the data, coming up with results that even though they contained errors, were still better than the FindMyPast ones. The Ancestry transcriptions appear to be far more accurate than the original FindMyPast version.
As a result of my weekend I've now found around 70 families who were 'missing'. The common reasons were mistranscriptions of surnames and also the figure '9' in birth years being transcribed as '0', often (perhaps by coincidence/or because?) the line below was redacted and the tail of the '9' was obscured.
Finding the transcription book cover pages was a plus, but they didn't give details of the parish name, which I'd hoped they might. :(
I was also surprised the free access ended within a minute or so of midnight.... in the past it seemed like people didn't get round to flipping the switch until the morning. ;) And it was noticeable that if you are not logged in the Ancestry results page is not much use in comparison to the FindMyPast one. For example it doesn't even give a birth year. I'd need to have a lot more confidence I'd found the right result if I was going to be tempted to renew my subscription on that basis.
One additional point when using the Ancestry images is the filmstrip facility. If you click on the filmstrip icon you can scroll to the previous film or the later filmstrip which may be a continuation of the district.
Cheers
Guy
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One piece of advice I had to Guy's comment above, is that scrolling to the previous or next page often shows you a street name that's written a little bit more clearer than the one on the page in which you are interested in. Many times I have had an illegible street name on one page, but one on or back and it has been much clearer.
Martin
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I did quite well over the weekend, but it's hardly credible how much Ancestry manages to mistranscribe. Do they think a computer can read handwriting as well as a human, or is it that their humans are as unintelligent as a computer?
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Hugh, at one time I heard that prisoners were to be used for transcribing, but I never heard any more about that project. After years in IT I am still amazed at how badly computers cope with recognising scanned printed text, even recent documents. I can read mirror writing or upside down better.
Martin
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They do use actual humans for the transcription task with handwritten records, but not necessarily English speakers, never mind native English speakers. Your local Family History Society is likely to produce the best transcription. They know the geography, the names of places and spellings of surnames.
When it comes to printed text, OCR can be pretty good. The professional versions are much better than the freebies included with other things like scanners. Often I am amazed how well it can interpret, say, an old newspaper, where the letters are so close together that the ink has actually joined them. A human can see the meaning immediately from the context, but zoom in and see how difficult it becomes.
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I can read mirror writing or upside down better.
Always a useful skill, being able to scan the contents of a document on a high-up's desk when there on other business. :)
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Andrew, reading upside down mirror writing in a train window saves on newspapers.
Martin
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As said I found one lady instantly on the Ancestry 1939 register whereas I had a lot of trouble locating her on the FindMyPast 1939 version. She was in Chichester, Sussex.
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I've found over a dozen families on the Ancestry version who I couldn't find on FindMyPast despite trying repeatedly. They were in various places. Three of them were Publicans - I don't know if there's any significance to that.
What I like about the treatment of future married women is that instead of getting the new surname with the 1939 one in brackets, both (or all) her names seem to be indexed separately.
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Hugh, at one time I heard that prisoners were to be used for transcribing, but I never heard any more about that project. After years in IT I am still amazed at how badly computers cope with recognising scanned printed text, even recent documents. I can read mirror writing or upside down better.
Martin
You must be thinking of the ill fated Kinky Co's (QinetiQ’s) attempts to transcribe and host the 1901 Census.
Initially the 1901 was transcribed by QinetiQ’s contractors the first being prisoners of Her Majesty, the contract was then outsourced to Sri Lanka, it was estimated that the failure rate was about 85%.
QinetiQ is/was a part of D.E.R.A., the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency a wholly government-owned corporation, all in all the whole scheme was a fiasco from beginning to end with the website frequently failing and eventually being taken offline within 4 days, the second launch was kept “secret” to prevent a repeat of the first failures a tactic likened to a bus driver not stopping for passengers in case it disrupts the timetable.
Eventually Findmypast came to the rescue and showed the National Archives just how to host such a database.
Cheers
Guy
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I've just had my first hints for the 1939 register today . Thought there was no point clicking on it as it would just give me the upgrade page but surprised to see it opened the register . I didn't expect to find a living relative though and he's well under 100.
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Can someone please tell me how the register looks when you view it on Ancestry? It is a photo of the original, is it handwritten and what information does it provide?
Many thanks
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Same as FindMyPast; photo of the handwritten sheet plus a transcription of the household.
Name, address, age, status (single/married etc.), occupation plus stated date of birth.....not always accurate; my grandpa got his wrong....no wonder he was surprised to get his pension....he was older than he thought!
When women married their new surname was shown; my mother is shown with her maiden name, then her first married name (husband died) so a second married name. The entry is a bit messy!
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Thank you that is really useful!
Same as FindMyPast; photo of the handwritten sheet plus a transcription of the household.
Name, address, age, status (single/married etc.), occupation plus stated date of birth.....not always accurate; my grandpa got his wrong....no wonder he was surprised to get his pension....he was older than he thought!
When women married their new surname was shown; my mother is shown with her maiden name, then her first married name (husband died) so a second married name. The entry is a bit messy!
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I've seen some notes that on that page that are connected with the war; ARP Warden etc.
Yes the first column has some notes regarding the war and part of this first column right hand page is open.
The rest of the righthand page has medical information which is not revealed on the online image and would have to be requested through the NHS under a data protection request or a freedom of information request to the NHS if you are the person concerned or their representative.
Cheers
Guy
Interesting, Guy, I had't realised it included medical info - was this updated up to the time of their death? Unfortunately the cut off also in my experience often causes detail on the wartime service to be partially obscured.