Military Chat

Does anyone know if at the beginning of WW2 if a Soldier was "At Ascot Under Canvas" if I could find him on the 1939 Register here. He was not at his home address with his wife and children as I have found them on the 1939 register. His name was James McCarthy and he was born on 21 July 1902. Thank you Pam

You won't find the majority of Serving Personnel -

Info about the 1939 register, found by googling

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/1939-register/

Relevant paras. shown, there is lots more about the Register


The 1939 Register was designed to capture the details of every member of the civilian population on a specific date – military personnel were not recorded (see below for more information on who was and wasn’t recorded). It contains details of around 40 million people, recorded in more than 65,000 volumes (transcript books)

Registration of members of the armed forces was dealt with by the military authorities, so the 1939 Register does not include service personnel in military, naval and air force establishments. Nor does it include members of the armed forces billeted in private homes, including their own homes. However, since conscription did not begin in earnest until January 1940, most people who subsequently served in the armed forces during the Second World War were still civilians in September 1939.

The records do include members of the armed forces on leave

Thank you for your reply Pam

my dad was not on 1939 reg but i found his attestion papers for 1939 on find my past

Thank you Maddie. I have checked Find My Past but nothing on there. Pam

Service personnel were put on a separate register which is still with the MOD. Only servicemen on leave would be on the civilian 1939 Register.

Thank you everyone who replied.