1939 register abbreviations

[Patricia Houghton]

I am looking at an entry for Ann BLACKWELL on the 1939 register with a Birth date of 26/1/1884, a Maid at 23 Crooked Usage Finchley.
Along her entry line are additional dates written in a different hand and a different pen.
One entry just says 26-10-85 and the other says DFE 18-12-48.

Any suggestions as to what they are or mean, and in particular what the letters DFE stand for, would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks in advance
Patricia

[Deirdre784]

It looks to me like her date of birth has been edited from the actual entry to 26 Oct 1885, plus maybe the initials and date of the person making the amendment. The 1939 register was used by the NHS until the 1980s, and many entries have added names when a person changes their name / gets married, but these are usually in the left-hand box, so this looks different.

[JenB]

DFE was the area code for Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/articles/1939-register-enumeration-districts

It looks as if an amendment was made to her date of birth some time after the register was created, and that the source of the information was from Hatfield.

You can see that a similar amendment has been made further up the page.

[phil57]

"The records of the 1939 Register were subsequently used by the National Health Service at its inception in 1948 and became the NHS Central Register, transferred to the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) in 2007, and now called NHS Digital.

"The records remained with the NHS up until 1991 – therefore most changes of name between 1939 and 1991 are listed in the records. Although all changes of name or address should have been notified, this did not always happen, and it was no longer a legal requirement after the National Registration Act was repealed in 1952. Changes of address were recorded only at the local level, and so do not appear in the 1939 Register."

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/1939-register/#12-the-nhs-central-register

[Girl Guide]

Not sure if this is the right Ann but there is a death recorded for an Ann Blackwell, birth date given as 26.1.1885.

Died in 1975, registration district Hackney.