* 1939 Register

[mjashby]

Gary,

The first 3 letters are the Area Code and 4th Letter identifies the Enumeration District

Mervyn

[Gary_G]

Thanks, Mervyn.
Unfortunately; the noted ED Code doesn't exist in the cross-reference table, even if I remove the 1st or 4th letter

[AdrianBruce]

Thanks, Mervyn.
Unfortunately; the noted ED Code doesn't exist in the cross-reference table, even if I remove the 1st or 4th letter

I think that it'll be the previous visible letter code to that. For instance, the 3-letter code LEO is in the table as Crewe MB (Municipal Borough). But Crewe MB 4-letter codes run from LEOA to LEPT. (To show this, go to TNA Discovery Catalogue, search within "RG 101" - the 1939 Register reference - looking for the text "Crewe Municipal" and sort by Title. )

To look up a specific 4-letter code, use the TNA catalog in a similar manner, looking for the specific 4-letter code. (Possibly a problem if the 4 letters are part of a word!)

The major problem is that the ED letter Codes are defined at a fairly high level. For instance, my great-gran is at 29 New Street in LGJC Nantwich RD (Rural District). The TNA Catalog defines it as "Nantwich Rural District", which consists of a number of villages. Now the FMP Transcript has this as "29 New Street, Haslington" - which is correct - I know that from personal experience. The map also shows it as Haslington. I'm unclear where that information has come from but suspect FMP have access to various files relating to the description of EDs etc. Possibly this was all explained when the 1939 Register came out but, like many things, if I don't need to interpret the codes, I forget how to do it.

Village and hamlet names, along with the Registration District and Sub-district number and other detailed place information, were recorded in the description pages at the start of each Enumeration Book. These were the equivalent of the Enumerators’ Summary Books that accompany the 1911 Census. Unfortunately, these books have not survived, so there is no simple way to identify the area covered by every enumeration district.

From https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hel ... -register/ However, from the same page:

The enumeration districts used for the Register were based broadly on those used for the 1931 Census, adjusted to account for the population movements since 1931.

So maybe FMP used the 1931 EDs and, err, worked on them a bit...

[AdrianBruce]

Re the "overflow" pages. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hel ... -register/ asks:

What does it mean when an entry is crossed out and marked ‘See page…?’

These refer to ‘continuation entries’ where the line in the ‘postings’ column (see section 9.4) against a person’s name was full up, and a new line had to be created for any new entries.

The new line was added at the back of the enumeration book or sometimes at the back of the next book in large enumeration districts that comprised two or more books. You can browse to the page containing the continuation entry if it is in the same book; if it is in the next book you can use the browse function described in section 5.2 to go there, and then browse to the right page. However, this is very unlikely to contain any additional information.

9.4 The ‘postings’ column
Each entry in the Register extended across a double page spread. However, the accessioned digital record does not include the ‘postings’ column on the right hand page which contains various codes used for National Registration and National Health Service purposes. The National Archives does not have access to this column and the information it contains.

So that's one possible explanation that explains why the personal details are unchanged - the mythical right-hand page is full on the original entry. Still doesn't explain why so many of them are redacted...

[mjashby]

If it helps:

- On the main 1939 Register Search Page scroll own to the "Learn about these records" section and click on the "1939 Register Browse" option
- Type in one of the Borough/District names (no other search information needs to be completed unless there are multiple options) Example: Try "Ossett" and it will only allow you to confirm that there is only Ossett M.B., and that there are "21 Results for that M.B."
- Clicking on the "Review 21 Results" link will take you to a list of 21 Piece Nos. (E.D.s) and their corresponding 4 Letter Codes (KNXA-KNXQ) and the number of images available for each E.D. (with links to each 'block' of images)

Unfortunately, unlike the earlier full U.K. Census records there aren't any detailed description pages which describe the individual E.D.s, but the addresses listed for each ED will provide some clues, especially if there is a contemporary map or other reference material available for the 'area'. Of course the 'high level' place identifiers such as M.B. (Metropolitan Borough) alone may not be sufficiently precise as they may cover several separately identifiable towns etc., so it can be useful to track down any contemporary Local Directories, Voter lists etc. if you are not personally acquainted with the geography and history of the area of interest, as the Maps available when you perform individual searches are, in my experience, not always accurate.

Mervyn

[Gary_G]

Thanks, Mervyn. That tip will certainly help.
For me; determining how the UK census/Register was set up is more of a challenge than the actual genealogical research.