Ancestry and 1939 register

[lindy]

I have relatives that I could find in 1939 at Findmypast (no subscription!) but no amount of searching would find at Ancestry. With the news of free access at Findmypast I successfully sought the missing image. Then went back to Ancestry and 'browsed' with the relevant E D Letter code and Schedule No. No wonder I failed to find my family, the relevant Ancestry image is totally 'closed' except for 2 lines. The Findmypast page has 26 names open.
To compare the two images search for Robert R Cluett, born 1921, location Dorset. Anyone come across anything similar?

 

[Sandra837]

I have, but only to the extent of the odd name or two. I wonder what the technicalities of opening a 1939-register record involve on either site. I guess the 100-year-rule is relevant but it seems haphazardly applied.

 

[Stuart]

I have, but only to the extent of the odd name or two. I wonder what the technicalities of opening a 1939-register record involve on either site. I guess the 100-year-rule is relevant but it seems haphazardly applied.

FindMyPast worked with The National Archives to digitise the 1939 register for England and Wales. Since then they have continued to work with TNA to maintain the image and data set, mainly by unblanking entries when the person listed has died or could have reached the age of 100.

Ancestry were given a copy of the image/data set several years later, but have no system for making requests for changes. The relevant TNA guide says Ancestry users without FMP access can make an FoI request to TNA, and pay £24.35! Ancestry's on-line data collection would then update much later. TNA say:

The version of the 1939 Register on Ancestry.co.uk is updated less frequently. Ancestry open previously closed records once a year, on average, and there is sometimes more than a year’s lag between the notification of a death and the opening of a record on their website

That explains why a few entries are blanked out after they have been revealed on FMP, but not how most of a page might be. I guess the most likely reason is some processing error during transcription, affecting the initial image, leading to a lot of entries being closed in error. When FMP or TNA discovered this, they corrected the whole page, but that change has not yet propagated into Ancestry's copy.

 

[Sandra837]

Ancestry were given a copy of the image/data set several years later, but have no system for making requests for changes. The relevant TNA guide says Ancestry users without FMP access can make an FoI request to TNA, and pay £24.35! Ancestry's on-line data collection would then update much later. TNA say:

Very interesting. £24.35 indeed. I've found it generally fairly easy to guess who the blacked out records are but of course you miss the priceless details of occupations, birth dates etc. I wouldn't pay that much to reveal them though.

 

[peter]

FoI requests are normally free. Perhaps ask the basis on which they are charging?