Hi Jim No two separate events Some on the 1940 loss of service records here <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=18> And on the loss of the 1931 census Quote Letter from W A Derrick of the General Register Office to F T Stobart, Central National Registration Office, Southport dated 22 December 1942, commenting on the fate of the 1931 census. TNA ref: RG 20/109 (part). "You will regret to hear that in a fire last Saturday evening which gutted the Office of Works store containing our Census records at Hayes, the whole of the 1931 schedules, enumeration books, plans of division and miscellaneous material stored in cupboards etc were completely destroyed. Mr Farrow and I went down to inspect the remains yesterday and we are both satisfied that it would be useless to attempt any sort of salvage operation; we are leaving the Office of Works to clear and dispose of the debris in any way they think desirable." "The fire was not occasioned by enemy action and how it achieved such dimensions in a store in which special hydrants had been fitted and said to have been in charge of a fire guard of 6 paid watchers, is a mystery which will need investigation. It is hardly possible to imagine a more complete state of devastation than the scene presented to us in which it was impossible to see where some of the racks had stood and where the remains were nothing more than shapeless mounds of paper rubbish dragged outside the building by the firemen who tackled the fire and where even the least damaged sheets that were recognizable were charred to the depth of two or three inches on all edges....." Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) > Hi Marie > > I think this was the destruction in an accidental fire of the UK 1931 > census > records. > > Jim >> Hi All, >> >> Quite recently someone posted a very interesting TNA link re destruction >> of WW1 records during WW11. It was a letter detailing the fire damage >> etc >> and possible cause. >> >> Unfortunately I must have deleted by mistake, cannot find in Archives as >> unsure of subject line. >> >> If someone could re-post this link I would be very obliged. Thank you in >> hope ! >> >> Marie

Hi Jim & Nivard, Thanks very much to you both for your responses. Obviously the old memory is not what it used to be ! The letter you quoted from Nivard is definitely what I read on TNA from the link posted, but for some reason was sure it related to WW1 service records (not at the time of course!). Even told my cousin, who is now interested in the link, as both thought these were destroyed by fire following a bombing raid during WW11. Seems we were correct all along, will put it down to the weather ! Now have to apologize to all listers, and my cousin, for the confusion I have caused. So sorry, >From a very red-faced Marie PS Thank you Nivard for the other TNA links, will have an enjoyable read. ----- Original Message ----- From: Nivard Ovington To: eng-surrey@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 10:54 AM Subject: Re: [SRY] TNA link re WW1 records Hi Jim No two separate events Some on the 1940 loss of service records here <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=18> And on the loss of the 1931 census Quote Letter from W A Derrick of the General Register Office to F T Stobart, Central National Registration Office, Southport dated 22 December 1942, commenting on the fate of the 1931 census. TNA ref: RG 20/109 (part). "You will regret to hear that in a fire last Saturday evening which gutted the Office of Works store containing our Census records at Hayes, the whole of the 1931 schedules, enumeration books, plans of division and miscellaneous material stored in cupboards etc were completely destroyed. Mr Farrow and I went down to inspect the remains yesterday and we are both satisfied that it would be useless to attempt any sort of salvage operation; we are leaving the Office of Works to clear and dispose of the debris in any way they think desirable." "The fire was not occasioned by enemy action and how it achieved such dimensions in a store in which special hydrants had been fitted and said to have been in charge of a fire guard of 6 paid watchers, is a mystery which will need investigation. It is hardly possible to imagine a more complete state of devastation than the scene presented to us in which it was impossible to see where some of the racks had stood and where the remains were nothing more than shapeless mounds of paper rubbish dragged outside the building by the firemen who tackled the fire and where even the least damaged sheets that were recognizable were charred to the depth of two or three inches on all edges....." Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) > Hi Marie > > I think this was the destruction in an accidental fire of the UK 1931 > census > records. > > Jim >> Hi All, >> >> Quite recently someone posted a very interesting TNA link re destruction >> of WW1 records during WW11. It was a letter detailing the fire damage >> etc >> and possible cause. >> >> Unfortunately I must have deleted by mistake, cannot find in Archives as >> unsure of subject line. >> >> If someone could re-post this link I would be very obliged. Thank you in >> hope ! >> >> Marie