As a family historian I can’t wait to see where my family were and what they were doing. While they are always exciting, this census release is especially poignant to me as it will be the first containing people I knew myself. This release is also moving for me as a local historian. I’ve got a raft of queries to follow up and some big questions about the social and demographic impact of the First World War, the Spanish Flu and the advancement of Women’s Rights. While there is no such thing as a quiet decade, the 1910s were surely one of the loudest.

As a BALH trustee I thought it would be useful to gather some information about the census as we await it. While I did this it became clear that the census itself has a history, and a very interesting one at that.

Looking back to the spring of 1921 the British Isles were in an unsettled state. The Irish War of Independence had been fought since 1919 and it was not until December 1921 that the Anglo-Irish Treaty ending that conflict was signed. Britain was also in the midst of a coal miners’ strike.[1] As March turned to April things remained tense. A state of emergency was declared following the calling of the Black Friday strike with workers in other industries coming out to support miners. From the beginning of April there was coal rationing. The census that should have been taken on 24 April was delayed by nearly two months in the wake of Black Friday, with industrial action rumbling on to the end of June. Pete Benton, director of population and policy operations at the Office for National Statistics said in May 2021 that ‘from my perspective as somebody responsible for census operations, [it] must have been a total nightmare’.[2]

When the census itself was finally taken on 19 June the population of Britain were asked some difficult questions. It was the first survey after the First World War and the Spanish Flu and children were asked whether their mother, father or both were living. The population had suffered huge losses, especially noticeable of young men in their 20s and 30s. The birth rate had dropped dramatically during the war with so many men away and then a large number of children were conceived as men returned from the war.

You see a similar pattern going on after the Second World War. It’s poignant. One of the most striking statistics I’ve ever seen in all of my 25 years doing statistics is how the population has changed as a result of the First and Second World Wars.[3]

This was also the first time people were asked about divorce and the workplace of their employer, both incredibly interesting as we research this society. You can download a copy of the 1921 Census household schedule for England here, courtesy of the Office for National Statistics website.

Our brief history resumes close to the present day. It has taken years and considerable financial outlay to prepare and digitise the original 1921 Census paper records for release online. In 2019, it was announced that following a tendering process, Findmypast had been selected as The National Archives' commercial partner to make the 1921 Census of England and Wales available online. The Covid-19 pandemic halted work for some three months and there is an irony that work to digitise the census was delayed just as the taking of it was. The date for release is set for 6 January 2022 with £2.50 for each record transcript and £3.50 for record images. Researchers will also be able to view the images online for free at The National Archives in Kew, at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and at Manchester Central Library.

You can read/listen about the physical census and the process of digitising it here:

1921 census release: brand new update from FindMyPast - Family Tree (family-tree.co.uk)

What does it take to bring the 1921 Census of England & Wales online? | Blog | findmypast.co.uk

Counting down to the 1921 Census | The National Archives (with BALH’s own Vice-Chair Dr Paul Dryburgh)

N.B. The Scottish 1921 census is being released by ScotlandsPeople. This was originally planned for the summer of 2021 but the present expected date is the latter half of 2022.[4]

As we come ever closer to seeing these records ourselves historians are on tenterhooks for what emerges. 1921 is a past that seems so distant and yet not so far at all. Whatever we find, it will have been well worth the wait.

[1] Black Friday, 1921 | History Today; Why publication of the 1921 census will matter to labour historians – Society for the Study of Labour History (sslh.org.uk)

[2] When will the 1921 census be available? - Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

[3] When will the 1921 census be available? - Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

[4] 1921 census, Scottish census, ScotlandsPeople - Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the British Association for Local History (BALH). Any content provided by our contributors is of their own opinion and is not intended to malign any individual, group, organisation, or entity.