The 1939 Register is a snapshot of live in England and Wales at the beginning of World War II. It was taken on Friday, 29th September, under the National Registration Act of 1939, an act of parliament introduced as an emergency measure preceding the start of World War II. The register’s importance to genealogists is increased because there was no 1941 census, and the 1931 census was destroyed in a fire in 1942.
What does the register show us?
- Address, including the house number
- Name – surname (including later amendments for surname changes) and forenames
- Gender
- Date of birth – day, month and year
- Occupation
- Marital status
- Occasionally some further notes might be viewable in the right-hand page
Records for persons who could still be alive at the moment (generally under 100 years old) are blocked. You can request to have them unblocked by proving that that person is deceased. The first time I searched for my grandmother her sister-in-law’s entry was blocked, when I checked a few weeks later it was viewable so it’s always worth checking back.
A detailed explanation of the 1939 Register, including search tips, can be found at Lost Cousins.