I have been accessing the National Register of 1939 since 16th February 2016. Prior to that it was only available via an expensive credit - purchase option on the Find My Past website.
There was no official census in 1941
because of the war - the
only census that has been missed since they
began in 1801 - but the National Registration Act, passed on
September 5 1939, resulted in a nationwide enumeration that was seen as a
virtual substitute, though it was taken principally for the purposes of
facilitating National Service callup, providing manpower and general
population statistics, and
facilitating proof of identity for the
purposes of claims for allowances and issuing food ration cards.
The actual
registration day was September 29th and the forms were collected nationally by enumerators the
next day. However, serving members of the armed forces were excluded
unless on leave and spending the night in a private house or
hotel.
It has been helpful to a certain extent in confirming exisiting information, but on the whole it is a disappointment mainly due to the fact records of people younger than 100 and still alive, or who died after 1991 are officially closed.
As you can see from this example
The householder at no 10 was in the Metropolitan Police War Reserve which was a source of concern after the war!!
