TheGenealogist adds over 185,000 individuals to vital 20th-century resource
TheGenealogist has today announced a significant update to its 1939 Register collection, adding 185,396 individuals from newly opened records. Most of these additions relate to people born in 1924 and 1925, further strengthening one of the most important resources for tracing families in 20th-century Britain.
Created at the outbreak of the Second World War, the 1939 Register provides a vital snapshot of the civilian population, capturing names, dates of birth, occupations and addresses at a key moment in modern history. For many researchers, it helps bridge the gap between earlier census returns and later post-war records, offering new routes to confirm identities, locate relatives, and place families in a precise time and place.
The update will be of interest not only to family historians but also to social historians and those looking to better understand the everyday lives and circumstances of well-known figures and the communities in which they lived.
“This update opens the door on nearly two hundred thousand more lives in 1939, giving family historians a much better chance of finding relatives who were previously hidden by privacy rules,” said Mark Bayley, head of online content at TheGenealogist. “For many of us, the 1939 Register is the bridge between the past and people we still remember, revealing the addresses, households and details that bring family stories to life.”
Born in 1925 and found in the 1939 Register is Ernie Wise, one half of the iconic comedy partnership Morecambe and Wise. Read the related article exploring Morecambe and Wise here: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2026/eric-morecambe--ernie-wise-8866/
The updated 1939 Register records are available now at TheGenealogist.