The Eve of World War II: The 1939 Register

John, Reg and Joyce Coward c.1934

Recently I was thrilled to be able to access the 1939 Register, as this is the most recent information available. But, unfortunately I soon discovered that anyone born less than 100 years ago has been blanked out due to privacy laws. So this could be the reason some of my relatives do not appear. Also, British Army Barracks, Royal Navy Stations, Royal Air Force Stations and members of the Armed Forces billeted at home were not recorded.

So which ancestors would I be able to find during the month that war broke out in Europe in 1939? 

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced over the airwaves that Britain was at war with Germany on September 3rd 1939. The 1939 Register was taken twenty six days later, over a single weekend and was created essentially for identity cards, evacuations and rationing. Sadly this survey is the only surviving record of the population between 1921 and 1951. The 1931 Census documents were completely destroyed in a fire and the 1941 Census was not taken because of war. So this is the closest to modern times that I will get because of the law protecting confidentiality.

Although this blog is called Our Wait Family History, I am currently researching both my maternal and paternal sides. This is mainly because I have found both branches of my family tree intriguing and could not resist! So below is a list of all my discoveries in the 1939 Register.

The 1939 National Register

Wait and Lacey

Firstly, I searched on my father's side of our family and looked for 50 Welham Road, Wandsworth, London. We know from his army papers that this was my father's last recorded residence, before he joined up. Strangely we see the first name is Wait Jane L.  This is undoubtedly my father's grandmother, Jane Lacey née Stuck (1868-1949). 

Jane Lacey née Stuck (1868-1949)

Jane Lacey's date of birth is given as 7th August 1868 and she is described as a widow. (Her husband Samuel Lacey had died in 1927). It is also noted that she is at home, sick with a broken arm and is an unpaid domestic worker (a housewife). 

Ref: RG101/0585C/023/23 Letter Code: AXGP

So this complete line of Wait surnames for the household is an error. (Both Jane and Lilian, should have the surname 'Lacey'). All the other information, including their dates of birth, are correct.

The names in the register were copied down by an enumerator from the household schedules, which were handwritten by the householders themselves. Perhaps, because of Jane Lacey's broken arm, some one else had filled in the form and assumed all their surnames were Wait. 

Next we see Wait, Edith R. This my father's mother, Edith Wait (1900-1940). She had split up from William Wait in c.1938 and taken her two children Sam and Ruth, to live with her widowed mother in 50 Welham Road, Tooting, London. Underneath her date of birth it is noted that she has separated.

Edith's date of birth is given as 10th December 1900 and her occupation is as a cashier (possibly at County Hall in London). 

On the day he left school in 1937, my father went to visit his mother at County Hall in London. 

Edith Wait née Lacey at Count Hall, London (front row 5th from the left)

Next is Wait, Lillian N. This is Edith's sister and Jane's daughter Lilian N. 'Lacey' (1912-1943). Her date of birth is given as 27th November 1910 and her occupation is a knitter. Lilian was born with a deformed back and worked on a knitting machine in a factory in Greyhound Lane, Streatham, London.

We then see Wait, Ruth J. This is my father's sister Ruth Jean Wait (1926-1946). Her date of birth is given as 8th November 1926 and she is at school.

Descendants of Samuel Lacey

There are five people listed as living at 50 Welham Road. The fifth person is blacked-out and probably my father Samuel Wait (1923-2008). This would be about two months before he enlisted in the army (for the first time). 

Dad remembered a beautiful clock that sat on the mantlepiece in the living room of his gran's house. They knew it as 'Drake's Drum'. The clock face was built into the drum and had the legendary figure of Sir Francis Drake leaning up against it. The whole object was covered in a glass dome.

Welham Road, London SW16

George and Annie Parfitt

Jane and Samuel Lacey also had a son, Maurice (1905-1981) and another daughter Annie (1907-1979). 

Annie Lacey married George E Parfitt in 1935. The register shows that four years later they were living at 1a Westway, Hammersmith in London. At my father's wedding in 1956, George Parfitt was the only member from his side of the family to attend.

Ref: RG101/0219E/002/1 Letter Code: AJCF 

First on this page is Parfitt, George E. This is Annie's husband George E Parfitt and his date of birth is given as November 3rd 1905. His occupation seems to be described as Rate Fixes (Street Metal)? I do know that he was an engineer.

Next we see his wife Parfitt, Annie and her birth date is coincidently November 4th 1907. Next is Leslie Davies, a welder.

1a Westway, Hammersmith, London 1939

Maurice and Mabel Lacey

Jane Stuck née Lacey's son Maurice, had married Mabel Batchelor in Leeds in 1932. Seven years later we can see them living in 53 Talbot Crescent in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Ref: RG101/3430D/006/31 Letter Code: KGBV

The document shows Lacey, Maurice, born on the 7th November 1904. His occupation is School Teacher (Elementary). Below him is his wife Lacey, Mabel and her birth date is given as 11 February 1900.

53 Talbot Crescent, Leeds in 1939

William R. V. Wait (1899-1966)

I know that my grandfather William R. V. Wait had left his wife Edith and moved to Brighton after the birth of their daughter Ruth. The 1939 Register shows him in 29 Campings Coach Garage, Brighton in Sussex.

Ref: RG101/2432E/015/44 

First we see Beach, John an Engineer's Painter and his wife Gwen. Next is my grandfather Wait William R.V. and his date of birth is 20th May 1899. William is described as still married and his occupation is as a bus driver

The exact location of 29 Campings Coach Garage in Brighton was difficult to find. But after considerable research, I discovered it was at 19 Hollingdean Terrace which has now been transformed into art studios and craft space.

Inside the Coach Garage 

The Coachwerks 19 Hollingdean Terrace, Brighton

Hollingdean Terrace, Brighton, Sussex

Descendants of William R V Wait

Ada Coward née Harris

I now looked for people from my mother's side of the family. My Nan appeared straight away.

RG101/09051/012/8 Letter Code: BTBC

Ada is living at 117 Tiverton Road, Tottenham in London with two other people. Unfortunately the other two are not shown. It is possible that it could be her two sons Albert 'Eddie' and John. We see her name as Coward, Ada and her date of birth as 10th January 1903. Her status is 'married' although her husband John Coward had left about four years earlier. 

Because of Operation Pied Piper, which evacuated children out of London, the rest of Ada's children were elsewhere. It is hard to imagine how she must have felt with the storm clouds of war looming heavily on the horizon. 

To read more about the Coward family's experience during the Blitz please click here. 

Her occupation is as a Criptaless (Confectioner). Which was probably at Maynard's Factory in Haringey. I can not find out what a 'criptaless' did, but I do know that she worked in the 'chocolate room' c.1946.

Tiverton Road N15

What is confusing is the later alteration to Ada's surname as Cooper. My grandmother was divorced from John Coward in 1947 and didn't marry Marcus Cooper until 1950. So why was her surname changed? 

It appears that the records of the 1939 Register were subsequently used by the National Health Service at its inception in 1948 and became the National Health Central Register. The records remained with the NHS up until 1991, therefore some changes of names between 1939-1991 are listed in the records. 

Descendants of John Coward

Joyce and Dorothy Coward 

At the age of eight, my mother and her sister Dorothy 'Dolly' (1925-1973) were evacuated from the bombing in London to Wansford in Peterborough. They took with them a tin of corned beef, a bar of chocolate, a gas mask and a large label on their coat with their name and school. Joyce and Dolly stayed with a Mr and Mrs Eric Collier. Mum recalled that the couple owned a garage (the house was also called 'The Garage'). 

Ref: RG101/6357J/002/3 Letter Code: TFEN

In the 1939 Register we see the Collier household in Wansford, North Peterborough, Norman Cross, Huntingdonshire. First is Collier, Eric, born on November 2nd 1911. He is single and the garage proprietor. Next is Collier, Olive A. She is also single, born on December 18th 1897 and on unpaid domestic duties. Olive was Eric's sister.

Then we see Coward, Dorothy H. Her date of birth is given as 4th May 1925 and at School. Dorothy, like her mother, has also had her surname altered. It has been changed to Greene by the NHS during its ownership of the records. Dorothy Coward married Allan Greene in 1946.

There are four people on the register, but only three are shown. The fourth person is probably my mother Joyce Wait née Coward.

Joyce Coward in c.1934

Harriet Coward née Elsden (1863-1947)

I am currently unable to find John Joseph Coward (1902-1962), my mother's father. He had left his wife Ada Coward née Harris (1903-1999) in about 1935. But I did find his mother Harriet Coward née Elsden (1863-1947) the widow of Walter Coward (1861-1936).

Descendants of Walter Coward (1861-1936)

Ref: RG101/0258D/002/31 Letter Code: ALAN

The register shows Coward, Harriet D. Her date of birth is 14th January 1863. She is a widow (her husband Walter had died three years earlier) and living in Ireton Road, Islington, London. Her occupation is described as unpaid domestic duties.

Harriet Coward (1863-1947)

Harriet Coward née Elsden was looked upon as the local mid-wife and neighbours would call upon her if they were pregnant. In her skirt pocket she carried a scroll of the birthdays of all her relatives and grandchildren. Mum said that her card was always first on the mat. 

As a child Harriet  had suffered with rickets which caused her legs to bow. Because of this she wore long button-up boots, a long black dress and a starched white apron. She didn't have any teeth.

Ireton Road, Islington, London

James William Alfred Harris (1879-1964)

James Harris (1879-1964) in his railway uniform

James Harris (1879-1964) was my great-grandfather and the father of Ada Coward née Harris (1903-1999). He was living with his second wife Mildred in Dagenham at the time of the 1939 Register.

Descendants of James W.A. Harris (1879-1964)

The register shows that Harris J.W. A  was living at 11 Freshwater Road, Dagenham in Essex. His date of birth was May 22nd 1879 and his occupation was Goods Checker L.N.E.R. He was living near Chadwell Heath railway station. The rest of his job description is hard to read - perhaps Tonnage S? Heavy Manual Labour. 

Below James is his second wife Harris, Mildred E. Her date of birth is given as 8th June 1888 and her occupation was unpaid domestic household duties.

Ref: RG101/1079I/010/25 Letter Code: CCME

Freshwater Road, Dagenham, Essex

Future blog posts will concentrate on individual families and family members.