Author Topic: Closed records 100 years.  (Read 885 times)

Offline zetlander

  • RootsChat Veteran
  • *****
  • Posts: 710
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Closed records 100 years.
« on: Thursday 05 May 22 19:41 BST (UK) »
I am researching the history of a local school football team and hoping to find the dates-of-birth of the team members.
I have located the School Leavers Book at the local Archives and have been told I can access this Register.
The years I am interested in are 1938-1940.

I thought the Register may be covered by the 100 year closure rule but apparently not. 

What exactly is closed for 100 years and what is not ?

Offline Guy Etchells

  • Deceased † Rest In Peace
  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • ********
  • Posts: 4,632
    • View Profile
Re: Closed records 100 years.
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 05 May 22 19:54 BST (UK) »
The so called 100 year rule is non-statutory, that means it does not have the authority of law (statute).

In other words the present 100 year rule is simply a nice comfortable “office policy” rule unlike the previous 100 year rule that was introduced under a statutory power ( Statutory Instrument No. 12 of 1966) this was repealed in 2000 by the Freedom of information Act.
Cheers
Guy
http://anguline.co.uk/Framland/index.htm   The site that gives you facts not promises!
http://burial-inscriptions.co.uk Tombstones & Monumental Inscriptions.

As we have gained from the past, we owe the future a debt, which we pay by sharing today.

Offline brigidmac

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 6,391
  • Computer incompetent but stiil trying
    • View Profile
Re: Closed records 100 years.
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 05 May 22 20:11 BST (UK) »
You will be able to look for names on the 1939 register which gives birthdates and occupations  only deceased people are supposed to show.otbers will be blacked out but family members may show
 it helps if you know their parents. siblings or wives names .

Sometimes you can find people . including living ones on travel documents.but that will usually only give year of birth

Happy hunting
Roberts,Fellman.Macdermid smith jones,Bloch,Irvine,Hallis Stevenson

Offline Rena

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 4,902
  • Crown Copyright: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Closed records 100 years.
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 05 May 22 21:06 BST (UK) »
I seem to recall that the 1966 Act was brought in because names of dead children were being used by criminals and illegal migrants.

I see that since this act was repealed undercover police have been guilty of using the identity of dead children.
Aberdeen: Findlay-Shirras,McCarthy: MidLothian: Mason,Telford,Darling,Cruikshanks,Bennett,Sime, Bell: Lanarks:Crum, Brown, MacKenzie,Cameron, Glen, Millar; Ross: Urray:Mackenzie:  Moray: Findlay; Marshall/Marischell: Perthshire: Brown Ferguson: Wales: McCarthy, Thomas: England: Almond, Askin, Dodson, Well(es). Harrison, Maw, McCarthy, Munford, Pye, Shearing, Smith, Smythe, Speight, Strike, Wallis/Wallace, Ward, Wells;Germany: Flamme,Ehlers, Bielstein, Germer, Mohlm, Reupke


Offline Rosinish

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 14,239
  • PASSED & PAST
    • View Profile
Re: Closed records 100 years.
« Reply #4 on: Thursday 05 May 22 22:15 BST (UK) »
I am researching the history of a local school football team and hoping to find the dates-of-birth of the team members.
I have located the School Leavers Book at the local Archives and have been told I can access this Register.
The years I am interested in are 1938-1940.

Have you thought about joining a facebook page for the area (many have local history pages) where you might even get a photo or 2?

Annie
South Uist, Inverness-shire, Scotland:- Bowie, Campbell, Cumming, Currie

Ireland:- Cullen, Flannigan (Derry), Donahoe/Donaghue (variants) (Cork), McCrate (Tipperary), Mellon, Tol(l)and (Donegal & Tyrone)

Newcastle-on-Tyne/Durham (Northumberland):- Harrison, Jude, Kemp, Lunn, Mellon, Robson, Stirling

Kettering, Northampton:- MacKinnon

Canada:- Callaghan, Cumming, MacPhee

"OLD GENEALOGISTS NEVER DIE - THEY JUST LOSE THEIR CENSUS"

Offline Guy Etchells

  • Deceased † Rest In Peace
  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • ********
  • Posts: 4,632
    • View Profile
Re: Closed records 100 years.
« Reply #5 on: Friday 06 May 22 08:03 BST (UK) »
I seem to recall that the 1966 Act was brought in because names of dead children were being used by criminals and illegal migrants.

I see that since this act was repealed undercover police have been guilty of using the identity of dead children.

Not as far as I know, from what I can gather the 1966 census (the only one taken 5 years after a previous census) was taken due to the rapid changes that were taking place in the population. It was a sample census where 10% of the population was surveyed rather than the whole population.
Having said that Parliament was in fact mislead in a later debate by being given inaccurate information about the legal position of the release of census information and indeed the Registrar General who made that claim, Arthur Roger Thatcher had to write to Parliament to apologise for exceeding his authority by adding a statement on the 1981 census schedules that it would not be released for 100 years a statement he had no authority to add.

The 1921 and later census come under the 1920 Census Act as amended by the Census (Confidentiality) Act 1991. This prohibits the release of personal information from the census without any time limitation. BUT we now know differently, in fact any law can be changed at any time at the whim of Parliament.

I would also point out that when the 1911 census was taken most census were released after 50 to 80 years not 100 years. The 1931 England & Wales census was destroyed by fire due to enemy action.
The statistics from the various census up to 2011 are released after about a year or so but these do not include names so are of little use for genealogy.
Cheers
Guy

http://anguline.co.uk/Framland/index.htm   The site that gives you facts not promises!
http://burial-inscriptions.co.uk Tombstones & Monumental Inscriptions.

As we have gained from the past, we owe the future a debt, which we pay by sharing today.

Offline cuffie81

  • RootsChat Aristocrat
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,028
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Closed records 100 years.
« Reply #6 on: Friday 06 May 22 11:25 BST (UK) »
The 1931 England & Wales census was destroyed by fire due to enemy action.

Slightly off topic but do you have any reference for that, Guy? Any references I've come across in the past state the fire wasn't due to enemy action.

Quote
The National Archives: 1931 Census
The file RG 20/109 contains the following letter from W A Derrick of the General Register Office to F T Stobart, Central National Registration Office, Southport dated 22 December 1942, commenting on the fate of the 1931 census.

..
The fire was not occasioned by enemy action
...

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20130222002225/http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=1931_Census

Quote
The 1931 Census
...
The file on this at the National Archives shows that the General Register Office continued to try and find out what caused the fire - the final word on this seemed to be in March the following year when it was reported that "the fierceness of the fire obliterated all traces of its cause and the only clue is a suggestion in the police report that it may have been due to a lighted cigarette thrown down by one of the fire watchers. There is not sufficient evidence to justify any action".
...

https://www.1911census.org.uk/1931
Anderson Banks Beard Brewer Caves Clarke Clinch Cooling Cuff Denton Gamble Gibson Gunn Hunt Mills Muncey Norris Notzke Reid Robinson Searle Smith Trundle Turner Weedon Wells Wilson

Offline zetlander

  • RootsChat Veteran
  • *****
  • Posts: 710
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Closed records 100 years.
« Reply #7 on: Friday 06 May 22 15:52 BST (UK) »
thanks for the replies - cheers!

Offline Guy Etchells

  • Deceased † Rest In Peace
  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • ********
  • Posts: 4,632
    • View Profile
Re: Closed records 100 years.
« Reply #8 on: Friday 06 May 22 17:46 BST (UK) »
The 1931 England & Wales census was destroyed by fire due to enemy action.

Slightly off topic but do you have any reference for that, Guy? Any references I've come across in the past state the fire wasn't due to enemy action.

Quote
The National Archives: 1931 Census
The file RG 20/109 contains the following letter from W A Derrick of the General Register Office to F T Stobart, Central National Registration Office, Southport dated 22 December 1942, commenting on the fate of the 1931 census.

..
The fire was not occasioned by enemy action
...

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20130222002225/http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=1931_Census

Quote
The 1931 Census
...
The file on this at the National Archives shows that the General Register Office continued to try and find out what caused the fire - the final word on this seemed to be in March the following year when it was reported that "the fierceness of the fire obliterated all traces of its cause and the only clue is a suggestion in the police report that it may have been due to a lighted cigarette thrown down by one of the fire watchers. There is not sufficient evidence to justify any action".
...

https://www.1911census.org.uk/1931

Thanks cuffie81, no what I wrote was incorrect, I had not noticed I had miseed out the "not" I think I'm going a bit senile as I seem to be making many silly errors now.
I am actually getting quite worried about it.
Cheers
Guy
http://anguline.co.uk/Framland/index.htm   The site that gives you facts not promises!
http://burial-inscriptions.co.uk Tombstones & Monumental Inscriptions.

As we have gained from the past, we owe the future a debt, which we pay by sharing today.