Number codes written on death registrations

[Stuart]

I saw a question in another (not family history) forum about a code number written on a death registration: next to "Formerly a locomotive engine driver" was written "512/1". On checking the images I've got I found a couple of examples I'd not noticed. I'm talking about the handwritten copy sheets sent from the local registration offices to the GRO itself: the ones we see in the PDFs and online images we buy. The numbers look like the occupation codes written onto the 1911 and 1921 census sheets. The examples I have are from 1910-11, and not from all of them, suggesting a sample was selected for whatever purpose this served.

Here are my two, to show what I mean:



I've found what the numbers mean - they are occupation codes (similar to the 1911 census ones) and the ones under the age or sex are cause of death codes (probably from ICD-2). I can guess what might be going on here, but does anyone know what the purpose of this coding exercise was?

 

[ChalfontR]

Shows statistical analysis being done at GRO.....just as gets done today.

Nowadays registrars collect quite a lot of extra information when registering births/deaths, such as if parents are married, date of marriage, number of children born to a mother, details of employment beyond just the job title, and more, which doesn't appear on the register entry but gets sent to the ONS ( Office for National Statistics) and they use it for reports & forecasts on population patterns/trends etc.