This Act was enacted to register all residents of the UK for the purposes of wartime duties - from call-up to factory work, as well as to be able to pinpoint aliens. After the war, it was used as the basis for the NHS registration, and has been used for medical statistical analysis, but never open to public view. I gather that the original cards have been amended and updated for years afterwards, and so it is not clear whether the 1939 Registration data is pristine. No doubt we will eventully know..... Gordon.

Gordon Johnson wrote "this Act was enacted to register all residents of the UK...." For any Canucks looking for kin during the "war years" in Canada: Canada had a similar Act in force 1939-1946. Several years ago I wrote to Ottawa seeking my father who went missing in 1939. They assured me he was not in Canada between 1939 and 1946. Waiting for the 1941 census to be released in 2041 to see if he had stayed in Scotland when he travelled there in 1939 (about September). Mind you, I'll be 105 years old but I am determined to find him! Ed Campbell the body of the message