What was the 1939 Register?
On September 1st 1939, Hitler invaded Poland and two days later England and France declared war on Germany. This was the beginning of WW2. Later that month, on 29th September, a register was compiled to record the details of every member of the civilian population of England and Wales. The 1939 Register, as it became known, was drawn up using the plans already in place for what would have been the 1941 census. It contains details of around 40 million people recorded in more than 65,000 transcript books. The information was used – amongst other things – to produce identity cards, and once rationing was introduced in January 1940, to issue ration books.
Living at 22 West View (Station Road), Milborne Port are the Smith family:
Frederick dob 2/1/1896, married, occupation Foreman leather grade
Alice dob 18/10/1893, married, occupation Domestic duties
Edward R dob 30/8/1921, single, occupation Wheeler glover apprentice – local Red Cross
Frances J dob 28/9/1927, single, At school
Bertha Hodges (mother of Alice), dob 22/5/1869, single, Incapacitated
Ted (Edward) volunteered for the Air Force and following his training served in the African Campaign and then in Italy. He was away for five years.
His sister Jean (Frances) and other girls from Milborne used to write to the local lads when they went off to serve, sometimes answering 12 – 15 letters a week telling them what was happening at home.
Jean had become a shorthand typist and following a conversation between her dad and an American GI in the King’s Head one evening in 1943, she found a job at the American Hospital which was situated 2 miles south of Milborne Port.
Follow this link to an article about this 228th Station Hospital at Haydon Park.
