51,884 people on the Isle of Man were recorded in the census taken on the night of Sunday, 2 April, 1911. After nearly 100 years, the Isle of Man census records are now available to view at www.1911census.co.uk. 

Due to public demand for access to the 1911 census, the records have been released as soon as each region’s records have been digitised. Following the initial release of the first collection of 1911 records in January 2009, today the records of people living on the Isle of Man in 1911 are being made available for the first time.

The 1911 census records contain details about the lives of the ancestors of many of the Isle of Man’s famous sons and daughters and occupants of its landmark buildings. These include 1911’s inhabitants of Castle Rushen, William McLaughlin with his wife, Elizabeth, and niece, Alice Clucas. William was the Curator of the castle, employed by the government. George Fitzroy Henry Love Raglan, the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, is recorded as living at Government House in Onchan with his wife, Lady Ethel Jemima Raglan, and four of their six surviving children. They are also accompanied by 10 servants and illustrious visitor Robert Baden-Powell, who is known to have been on the island in connection with the Boy Scouts’ demonstration at Douglas on 1st April 1911.

The summer of 1911 also saw Douglas celebrate its Jubilee as a municipality and the first flying machine to take off from Manx shores, piloted by a leading aviator of the day.  The 1911 population of the Isle of Man also witnessed the first Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) to be raced over the Snaefell Mountain Course.

The census covered England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as recording those aboard Royal Naval and Merchant vessels at sea and in foreign ports and, for the first time in a British census, full details of British Army personnel and their families in military establishments overseas. It is the most detailed census since UK records began and the first for which the original census schedules have been preserved – complete with our ancestors’ own handwriting – providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a century ago.

www.1911census.co.uk is easy to access and enables the public to view high quality colour images of their ancestors’ original handwritten census returns. Transcribed text versions of the records ensure they are fully searchable by name or address.

Public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians, has resulted in the records being released earlier than the scheduled 2012 date. To make this early online release to the public possible, the 1911 census team worked around the clock for two years – scanning on average one census page per second. In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012.

Comprehensive and rigorously tested, www.1911census.co.uk has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, said: “The 1911 census of the Isle of Man offers a crucial new entry point to family history research for a wide range of people, from novice family historians to seasoned genealogists who have hit a ‘wall’ in their family tree research. As well as helping people trace their ancestors from the island, these records shed more light on our ancestors’ day-to-day lifestyles,  providing a snapshot of a day in their lives, with details of their occupations, housing arrangements and social status.”

The 1911 census is huge – occupying over two kilometres of shelving – an incredible eight million paper census returns have been transcribed to create over 16 million digital images. This makes the 1911 census one of the biggest digitisation projects ever undertaken by The National Archives in association with a commercial partner.

Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “This is a major achievement. By teaming up with findmypast.com, we are bringing history to life for millions. This remarkable record is available online to researchers and family historians all over the world for future generations. The 1911 census is a poignant reflection of how different life was in early 20 century Britain, before the Great War.”

Handwritten records
Completed by all householders on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of the household.

People will also have unique access to their ancestors’ handwriting as the original householders’ schedules were preserved and used as working documents rather than copying the details in to summary books as was the case in previous census years.  The launch of the records also creates a starting point for people to trace their own family tree by looking up their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who were alive in the year 1911.

‘Fertility Census’
The 1911 census was the first to ask questions relating to fertility in marriage.  Married women were asked to state how long they had been married and how many children had been born to that marriage.  The census also provides a fascinating snapshot of the population of the country just a few years before a whole generation of young men perished in the Great War of 1914-1918.

How to use the 1911 Census records

• Log on to www.1911census.co.uk and register for free
• Search for an ancestor in 1911 by entering their name
• If the name is common you can enter their approximate year of birth, which will help to narrow down the results
• Search for an address to look up the history of your house or an ancestor’s address in 1911
• Pay as you go to view each record. You will be charged 10 credits per transcript and 30 credits for each original household page. Visitors to the website can buy 60 credits for £6.95.
• Findmypast.com vouchers are also valid on 1911census.co.uk. Vouchers can be purchased from The National Archives bookshop and redeemed on findmypast.com. Credits can then be spent on both findmypast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
• For more information about using the 1911 census for family history research, ‘Census: The Expert Guide’ by Peter Christian and David Annal is available from The National Archives online bookshop at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors
The 1911 Census is a special case in that parts of it are being made available early. At the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.
Since 1920, government has given a commitment that information collected in a census will be kept confidential for 100 years.

Spokespersons
Please contact The National Archives Press Office or Lansons Communications should you wish to speak to an expert.
 

For further media information, please contact:
Vicky Perry
Lansons Communications
0207 566 9708
vickyp@lansons.com

About findmypast.com

Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK.

In April 2007 findmypast.com’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ contract to publish online the 1911 census.

About The National Archives

The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and ‘brings alive’ a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the treasured Domesday Book.

Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping government records readable now and in the future. It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive sector.

At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow’s permanent record.

The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk

For further information, please contact:

Mel Hide
The National Archives
T: 020 8392 5332
Mel.Hide@nationalarchives.gov.uk

96,836 people in Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark were recorded in the census taken on the night of Sunday, 2 April, 1911. Today, after nearly 100 years, the Channel Islands census records are available to view at www.1911census.co.uk. 

Due to public demand for access to the 1911 census, the records have been released as soon as each region’s records have been digitised. Following the initial release of the first collection of 1911 records in January 2009, today the records of people living in the Channel Islands in 1911 are also being made available for the first time.

The 1911 census records contain details about the lives of the ancestors of many of the Channel Islands’ famous sons and daughters. These include footballer Graeme Le Saux’s paternal grandfather, Francis James Henry Le Saux, who was recorded as working as a Shop Porter in an Ironmongery and living in a four-roomed house in St Heliers, Jersey, with his father (Graeme’s great-grandfather). Graeme’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Francois Marie Le Saux is found boarding in his other son’s household in St Brelades, Jersey. His birthplace was recorded as France and he was employed as a Stone Quarry Labourer.

The records also include William Carey who held the position of Bailiff of Guernsey in 1911 and is the ancestor of de Vic Carey who also held the post of Bailiff of Guernsey in 1999-2005. The contemporary Seigneur of Sark William Frederick Collings is recorded on the census at his home on Sark, and his daughter Sibyl Mary Collings Beaumont Hathaway, later the Dame of Sark, is recorded as living with her husband and family in Herefordshire in 1911. 

The census covered England, Wales, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man as well as recording those aboard Royal Naval and Merchant vessels at sea and in foreign ports and, for the first time in a British census, full details of British Army personnel and their families in military establishments overseas. It is the most detailed census since UK records began and the first for which the original census schedules have been preserved – complete with our ancestors’ own handwriting – providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a century ago.

www.1911census.co.uk is easy to access and enables the public to view high quality colour images of their ancestors’ original handwritten census returns. Transcribed text versions of the records ensure they are fully searchable by name or address.

Public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians, has resulted in the records being released earlier than the scheduled 2012 date. To make this early online release to the public possible, the 1911 census team worked around the clock for two years – scanning on average one census page per second. In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012.

Comprehensive and rigorously tested, www.1911census.co.uk has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, said: “The 1911 census of the Channel Islands offers a crucial new entry point to family history research for a wide range of people, from novice family historians to seasoned genealogists who have hit a ‘wall’ in their island family tree research. As well as helping people trace their ancestors on the Islands, these records shed more light on our ancestors’ day-to-day lifestyles,  providing a snapshot of a day in their lives, with details of their occupations, housing arrangements and social status on the islands.”

The 1911 census is huge – occupying over two kilometres of shelving – an incredible eight million paper census returns have been transcribed to create over 16 million digital images. This makes the 1911 census one of the biggest digitisation projects ever undertaken by The National Archives in association with a commercial partner.

Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “This is a major achievement. By teaming up with findmypast.com, we are bringing history to life for millions. This remarkable record is available online to researchers and family historians all over the world for future generations. The 1911 census is a poignant reflection of how different life was in early 20 century Britain, before the Great War.”

Handwritten records
Completed by all householders on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of the household.

People will also have unique access to their ancestors’ handwriting as the original householders’ schedules were preserved and used as working documents rather than copying the details in to summary books as was the case in previous census years.  The launch of the records also creates a starting point for people to trace their own family tree by looking up their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who were alive in the year 1911.

‘Fertility Census’
The 1911 census was the first to ask questions relating to fertility in marriage.  Married women were asked to state how long they had been married and how many children had been born to that marriage.  The census also provides a fascinating snapshot of the population of the country just a few years before a whole generation of young men perished in the Great War of 1914-1918.

How to use the 1911 Census records

• Log on to www.1911census.co.uk and register for free
• Search for an ancestor in 1911 by entering their name
• If the name is common you can enter their approximate year of birth, which will help to narrow down the results
• Search for an address to look up the history of your house or an ancestor’s address in 1911
• Pay as you go to view each record. You will be charged 10 credits per transcript and 30 credits for each original household page. Visitors to the website can buy 60 credits for £6.95.
• Findmypast.com vouchers are also valid on 1911census.co.uk. Vouchers can be purchased from The National Archives bookshop and redeemed on findmypast.com. Credits can then be spent on both findmypast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
• For more information about using the 1911 census for family history research, ‘Census: The Expert Guide’ by Peter Christian and David Annal is available from The National Archives online bookshop at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors
The 1911 Census is a special case in that parts of it are being made available early. At the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.
Since 1920, government has given a commitment that information collected in a census will be kept confidential for 100 years.

Spokespersons
Please contact The National Archives Press Office or Lansons Communications should you wish to speak to an expert.
 

For further media information, please contact:
Vicky Perry
Lansons Communications
0207 566 9708
vickyp@lansons.com
About findmypast.com

Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK.

In April 2007 findmypast.com’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ contract to publish online the 1911 census.
About The National Archives:

The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and ‘brings alive’ a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the treasured Domesday Book.

Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping government records readable now and in the future. It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive sector.

At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow’s permanent record.

The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk

For further information, please contact:

Mel Hide
The National Archives
T: 020 8392 5332
Mel.Hide@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Research commissioned by 1911census.co.uk reveals nearly a quarter of the population (23%) have now actively researched their family tree*, with 2.9 million people having visited 1911census.co.uk to research their own ancestors’ census records since the website went live in January this year**. The pastime is now just as popular as participating in team sports and overtaking other popular hobbies such as making Twitter posts and blogging (11%) and bingo (13%).

Following the initial release of the Southern English records in January 2009, the website now hosts the complete 1911 census records for people living in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. What’s more, for the first time in a British census, full details are available of British Army personnel and their families stationed overseas. There were 135,866 people serving in the British Army and 36,804 people serving in the Royal Navy across the British Empire in 1911, including 69,785 serving in India.

Christine Webber, psychotherapist and lifecoach, says: “Being able to find out how our grandparents and great-grandparents lived gives our own lives some extra perspective, and also helps us to understand ourselves better. The ability to delve into what our relatives were doing almost a hundred years ago is fascinating. It also helps us to get a sense of our own place in history. I think that getting in touch with your own roots is a very valuable and healing thing to do. So, this is a most exciting development.”

And it’s not just the older generation who are embracing the chance to discover more about their roots. Over a fifth (21% of under 35s and 35-55 year olds) have researched their family history in the past 12 months. People are turning to genealogy for a wide variety of reasons, from wanting to find out more about family stories that have been passed down through the generations (28%), to being inspired by TV shows like ‘Who Do Think You Are?’ (22%) and after a family event such as the birth of a new child (12%).

Women, however, are still leading the way when it comes to family history research as over one quarter (26%) are actively researching their family history, compared to only one fifth of men (20%).

The 1911census.co.uk website service has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives***. Completed by 36 million householders on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home as well as their relationship to the head of the household and the online records include images of our ancestors’ own handwriting. For the first time the enumerators’ summary books for the whole of England and Wales have also gone online today, recording details of all properties in the country in 1911 – a great resource for anyone interested in local history or house histories. The 1911 census records have been released three years earlier than the scheduled 2012 date as a result of public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, says: ‘“We’re delighted that the final records from the 1911 census are now online, including the military records and the records for Wales, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands. We hope people of all generations will gain a huge amount of valuable information about their ancestors by consulting the records and that they’ll discover new chapters of their family history that they previously knew very little or nothing about.”

Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “It’s wonderful to see that so many people are discovering a new passion for family history through the 1911 census. Bringing this project to completion has been one of the most exciting events for us this year, and to know that so many people have been able to access part of their personal history online shows how valuable it can be to make these records available via the web.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors
*Research commissioned by 1911census.co.uk with Opinium Research LLP polling 2,000 Britons in May 2009.

**Findmypast.com internal data

***In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012. The 1911 census is a special case at the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.

Spokespersons
Please contact Lansons Communications or The National Archives Press Office or should you wish to speak to an expert.

For further media information, please contact:
Vicky Perry
Lansons Communications
  0207 566 9708  
vickyp@lansons.com

Lauren Hunt-Morgan
Lansons Communications
  0207 566 9729  
laurenhm@lansons.com

About findmypast.com

Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK.

In April 2007 findmypast.com’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ contract to publish online the 1911 census.

About The National Archives:

The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and ‘brings alive’ a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the treasured Domesday Book.

Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping government records readable now and in the future. It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive sector.

At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow’s permanent record.

The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk

For further information, please contact:
Mel Hide
The National Archives
T:   020 8392 5332  
Mel.Hide@nationalarchives.gov.uk

 2.4 million people were recorded living in Wales in the census taken on the night of Sunday, 2 April, 1911. Today, after nearly 100 years, the Welsh census records are available to the public at www.1911census.co.uk. 

Due to public demand for access to the 1911 census, the records have been released as soon as each region’s records have been digitised. Following the initial release of 1911 records in January 2009, the records of people living in Wales in 1911 are being made available today for the first time.

The 1911 census records contain details about the lives of the ancestors of many of Wales’ famous sons and daughters, such as Anthony Hopkins, Dylan Thomas, Charlotte Church and Aneurin (Nye) Bevan.

The census covered Wales, England, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as recording those aboard Royal Naval and Merchant vessels at sea and in foreign ports and, for the first time in a British census, full details of British Army personnel and their families in military establishments overseas. It is the most detailed census since UK records began and the first for which the original census schedules have been preserved – complete with our ancestors’ own handwriting – providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a century ago.

www.1911census.co.uk is easy to access and enables the public to view high quality colour images of their ancestors’ original handwritten census returns. Transcribed text versions of the records ensure they are fully searchable by name or address.

Public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians, has resulted in the records being released earlier than the scheduled 2012 date. To make this early online release to the public possible, the 1911 census team worked around the clock for two years – scanning on average one census page per second. In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012.

Comprehensive and rigorously tested, www.1911census.co.uk has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, said: “This latest release from the 1911 census offers a crucial new entry point to Welsh family history research for a wide range of people, from novice family historians to seasoned genealogists who have hit a ‘wall’ in their family tree research. As well as helping people trace their Welsh ancestors, these records shed more light on our predecessors’ day-to-day lifestyles, providing a snapshot of a day in their lives, with details of their occupations, housing arrangements and social status.”

The 1911 census is huge – occupying over two kilometres of shelving – an incredible eight million paper census returns have been transcribed to create over 16 million digital images. This makes the 1911 census one of the biggest digitisation projects ever undertaken by The National Archives in association with a commercial partner.

Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “This is a major achievement. By teaming up with findmypast.com, we are bringing history to life for millions. This remarkable record is available online to researchers and family historians all over the world for future generations. The 1911 census is a poignant reflection of how different life was in early 20 century Wales, before the Great War.”

Handwritten records

Completed by all householders in Wales and England on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of the household.

People will also have unique access to their ancestors’ handwriting as the original householders’ schedules were preserved and used as working documents rather than copying the details in to summary books as was the case in previous census years.  The launch of the records also creates a starting point for people to trace their own family tree by looking up their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who were alive in the year 1911.

‘Fertility Census’

The 1911 census was the first to ask questions relating to fertility in marriage.  Married women were asked to state how long they had been married and how many children had been born from that marriage.  The census also provides a fascinating snapshot of the population of the country just a few years before a whole generation of young men perished in the Great War of 1914-1918.

How to use the 1911 Census records

• Log on to www.1911census.co.uk and register for free
• Search for an ancestor in 1911 by entering their name
• If the name is common you can enter their approximate year of birth, which will help to narrow down the results
• Search for an address to look up the history of your house or an ancestor’s address in 1911
• Pay as you go to view each record. You will be charged 10 credits per transcript and 30 credits for each original household page. Visitors to the website can buy 60 credits for £6.95.
• Findmypast.com vouchers are also valid on 1911census.co.uk. Vouchers can be purchased from The National Archives bookshop and redeemed on findmypast.com. Credits can then be spent on both findmypast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
• For more information about using the 1911 census for family history research, ‘Census: The Expert Guide’ by Peter Christian and David Annal is available from The National Archives online bookshop at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The 1911 Census is a special case in that parts of it are being made available early. At the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.

Since 1920, government has given a commitment that information collected in a census will be kept confidential for 100 years.

Press materials are also available in Welsh language on request.

Spokespersons

Please contact The National Archives Press Office or Lansons Communications should you wish to speak to an expert.

For further media information, please contact:

Vicky Perry

Lansons Communications

 0207 566 9708 

vickyp@lansons.com

About findmypast.com

Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK.

In April 2007 findmypast.com’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ contract to publish online the 1911 census.

About The National Archives:

The National Archives, http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/, is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and ‘brings alive’ a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the treasured Domesday Book.

Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping government records readable now and in the future. It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive sector. 

At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow’s permanent record.

 The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. See also http://www.opsi.gov.uk/

Mel Hide
The National Archives
T:  020 8392 5332 

Mel.Hide@nationalarchives.gov.uk

3.7 million people in Yorkshire were recorded in the census taken on the night of Sunday, 2 April, 1911. After nearly 100 years, the Yorkshire census records are now available to view at www.1911census.co.uk.

Due to public demand for access to the 1911 census, the records have been released as soon as each county’s records have been digitised. Following the initial release of the first collection of 1911 records in January 2009, which included the records for West Riding, today the records of people living in Yorkshire’s East Riding and North Riding are also being made available for the first time.

The Yorkshire records contain details about the lives of many important British historical figures and the ancestors of some of Yorkshire’s famous sons and daughters. Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, the acclaimed social reformer, was a 39 year old living in York and working as a director for his father’s famous Rowntree’s chocolate company. By 1911, Rowntree had already conducted his first social study into poverty which found 28% of York’s population were living in serious poverty.

Famous Yorkshireman Michael Parkinson’s grandfather and grandmother were living on the High Street in Shafton, Barnsley, with Parky’s father and their five other children. His grandfather Samuel Parkinson lists himself as a ‘Colliery Dataller - Road Repairer’ - a worker employed by the day to carry out service work in the mine.

The census covered England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as recording those aboard Royal Naval and Merchant vessels at sea and in foreign ports and, for the first time in a British census, full details of British Army personnel and their families in military establishments overseas. It is the most detailed census since UK records began and the first for which the original census schedules have been preserved - complete with our ancestors’ own handwriting - providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a century ago.

www.1911census.co.uk is easy to access and enables the public to view high quality colour images of their ancestors’ original handwritten census returns. Transcribed text versions of the records ensure they are fully searchable by name or address.

Public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians, has resulted in the records being released earlier than the scheduled 2012 date. To make this early online release to the public possible, the 1911 census team worked around the clock for two years - scanning on average one census page per second. In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012.

Comprehensive and rigorously tested, www.1911census.co.uk has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, said: “The 1911 census offers a crucial new entry point to family history research for a wide range of people, from novice family historians to seasoned genealogists who have hit a ‘wall’ in their family tree research. As well as helping people trace their ancestors, these records shed more light on our ancestors’ day-to-day lifestyles,  providing a snapshot of a day in their lives, with details of their occupations, housing arrangements and social status.”

The 1911 census is huge - occupying over two kilometres of shelving - an incredible eight million paper census returns have been transcribed to create over 16 million digital images. This makes the 1911 census one of the biggest digitisation projects ever undertaken by The National Archives in association with a commercial partner.

Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “This is a major achievement. By teaming up with findmypast.com, we are bringing history to life for millions. This remarkable record is available online to researchers and family historians all over the world for future generations. The 1911 census is a poignant reflection of how different life was in early 20 century Britain, before the Great War.”

Handwritten records

Completed by all householders in England and Wales on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of the household.

People will also have unique access to their ancestors’ handwriting as the original householders’ schedules were preserved and used as working documents rather than copying the details in to summary books as was the case in previous census years.  The launch of the records also creates a starting point for people to trace their own family tree by looking up their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who were alive in the year 1911.

‘Fertility Census’

The 1911 census was the first to ask questions relating to fertility in marriage.  Married women were asked to state how long they had been married and how many children had been born from that marriage.  The census also provides a fascinating snapshot of the population of the country just a few years before a whole generation of young men perished in the Great War of 1914-1918.

How to use the 1911 Census records

• Log on to www.1911census.co.uk and register for free
• Search for an ancestor in 1911 by entering their name
• If the name is common you can enter their approximate year of birth, which will help to narrow down the results
• Search for an address to look up the history of your house or an ancestor’s address in 1911
• Pay as you go to view each record. You will be charged 10 credits per transcript and 30 credits for each original household page. Visitors to the website can buy 60 credits for £6.95.
• Findmypast.com vouchers are also valid on 1911census.co.uk. Vouchers can be purchased from The National Archives bookshop and redeemed on findmypast.com. Credits can then be spent on both findmypast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
• For more information about using the 1911 census for family history research, ‘Census: The Expert Guide’ by Peter Christian and David Annal is available from The National Archives online bookshop at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The 1911 census is a special case at the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.

The 1911 Census is a special case in that parts of it are being made available early. Since 1920, government has given a commitment that information collected in a census will be kept confidential for 100 years.

Spokespersons

Please contact The National Archives Press Office or Lansons Communications should you wish to speak to an expert.

For further media information, please contact:

Vicky Perry

Lansons Communications

0207 566 9708

vickyp@lansons.com

About findmypast.com

Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK.

In April 2007 findmypast.com’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ contract to publish online the 1911 census.

About The National Archives:

The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and ‘brings alive’ a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the treasured Domesday Book.

Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping government records readable now and in the future. It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive sector.

At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow’s permanent record.

The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk

For further information, please contact:

Severine Gould-Chanroux

The National Archives

T: 020 8392 5277

Severine.Gould-Chanroux@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Mel Hide

The National Archives

T: 020 8392 5332

Mel.Hide@nationalarchives.gov.uk

1,377,027 people in County Durham were recorded in the census taken on the night of Sunday, 2 April, 1911. After nearly 100 years, the Durham census records are now available to view at www.1911census.co.uk. 

Due to public demand for access to the 1911 census, the records have been released as soon as each county’s records have been digitised. Following the initial release of the first collection of 1911 records in January 2009, today the records of people living in County Durham are also being made available for the first time.

The County Durham records contain details about the lives of the ancestors of many of Durham’s famous sons and daughters. Rowan Atkinson’s paternal grandparents lived in Consett, near Durham, and had some ‘fruity’ origins. Atkinson’s grandfather, Edward, was a Fruit and Potato Merchant while his great-grandfather, William, worked as a Fruit Commission Agent.

Monty Python’s Michael Palin also has roots in County Durham. His grandmother Rachel Emma Ovey hails from Gateshead, but had moved to live in a 21-roomed house in Henley-on-Thames with her husband Richard Ovey by 1911, employing seven domestic servants.

The census covered England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as recording those aboard Royal Naval and Merchant vessels at sea and in foreign ports and, for the first time in a British census, full details of British Army personnel and their families in military establishments overseas. It is the most detailed census since UK records began and the first for which the original census schedules have been preserved - complete with our ancestors’ own handwriting - providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a century ago.

www.1911census.co.uk is easy to access and enables the public to view high quality colour images of their ancestors’ original handwritten census returns. Transcribed text versions of the records ensure they are fully searchable by name or address.

Public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians, has resulted in the records being released earlier than the scheduled 2012 date. To make this early online release to the public possible, the 1911 census team worked around the clock for two years - scanning on average one census page per second. In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012.

Comprehensive and rigorously tested, www.1911census.co.uk has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, said: “The 1911 census offers a crucial new entry point to family history research for a wide range of people, from novice family historians to seasoned genealogists who have hit a ‘wall’ in their family tree research. As well as helping people trace their ancestors, these records shed more light on our ancestors’ day-to-day lifestyles,  providing a snapshot of a day in their lives, with details of their occupations, housing arrangements and social status.”

The 1911 census is huge - occupying over two kilometres of shelving - an incredible eight million paper census returns have been transcribed to create over 16 million digital images. This makes the 1911 census one of the biggest digitisation projects ever undertaken by The National Archives in association with a commercial partner.

Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “This is a major achievement. By teaming up with findmypast.com, we are bringing history to life for millions. This remarkable record is available online to researchers and family historians all over the world for future generations. The 1911 census is a poignant reflection of how different life was in early 20 century Britain, before the Great War.”

Handwritten records

Completed by all householders in England and Wales on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of the household.

People will also have unique access to their ancestors’ handwriting as the original householders’ schedules were preserved and used as working documents rather than copying the details in to summary books as was the case in previous census years.  The launch of the records also creates a starting point for people to trace their own family tree by looking up their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who were alive in the year 1911.

‘Fertility Census’

The 1911 census was the first to ask questions relating to fertility in marriage.  Married women were asked to state how long they had been married and how many children had been born from that marriage.  The census also provides a fascinating snapshot of the population of the country just a few years before a whole generation of young men perished in the Great War of 1914-1918.

How to use the 1911 Census records

• Log on to www.1911census.co.uk and register for free
• Search for an ancestor in 1911 by entering their name
• If the name is common you can enter their approximate year of birth, which will help to narrow down the results
• Search for an address to look up the history of your house or an ancestor’s address in 1911
• Pay as you go to view each record. You will be charged 10 credits per transcript and 30 credits for each original household page. Visitors to the website can buy 60 credits for £6.95.
• Findmypast.com vouchers are also valid on 1911census.co.uk. Vouchers can be purchased from The National Archives bookshop and redeemed on findmypast.com. Credits can then be spent on both findmypast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
• For more information about using the 1911 census for family history research, ‘Census: The Expert Guide’ by Peter Christian and David Annal is available from The National Archives online bookshop at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The 1911 Census is a special case in that parts of it are being made available early. At the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.

Since 1920, government has given a commitment that information collected in a census will be kept confidential for 100 years.

Spokespersons

Please contact The National Archives Press Office or Lansons Communications should you wish to speak to an expert.

For further media information, please contact:

Vicky Perry

Lansons Communications

0207 566 9708

vickyp@lansons.com

About findmypast.com

Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK.

In April 2007 findmypast.com’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ contract to publish online the 1911 census.

About The National Archives:

The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and ‘brings alive’ a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the treasured Domesday Book.

Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping government records readable now and in the future. It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive sector.

At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow’s permanent record.

The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk

For further information, please contact:

Severine Gould-Chanroux

The National Archives

T: 020 8392 5277

Severine.Gould-Chanroux@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Mel Hide

The National Archives

T: 020 8392 5332

Mel.Hide@nationalarchives.gov.uk

• 3.4 MILLION SEARCHES ON WWW.1911CENSUS.CO.UK IN FAMILY HISTORY FRENZY

The hotly anticipated 1911 census was successfully launched yesterday with 645,000 people logging on to www.1911census.co.uk to conduct 3.4 million searches to view the census records on the first day of release.

The census reveals the details of the 36 million people living in England and Wales in 1911 and is the most detailed census since UK records began, providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a century ago. The most popular time of day was between 7pm and 8pm with 57,000 people searching their family history and generating 2.3 million page impressions.

Elaine Collins, Commercial Director at findmypast.com, said; “We are ecstatic at how successful the launch of the 1911 census has been. It is one of the biggest projects that both findmypast.com and The National Archives have ever undertaken and this is just the first phase of the census records launch, with millions of records for Wales and the Channel Islands still to be released over the coming weeks.

“The huge number of people logging on to look up their ancestors’ handwritten census records is a reflection of how the popularity of family history is continuing to grow unabated. Fuelled by TV programmes such as Who Do You Think You Are?, people are fascinated by discovering details about their ancestors’ lives and the 1911 census provides the perfect starting point to begin tracing your family tree.”

Over 27 million people’s census entries - 80 per cent of the English records - were made available for the public to view online. A further nine million records of people from the remaining counties of England, Wales and the British Islands, as well as naval and overseas military records, will be made available over the coming months. 

The easy-to-access website enables the public to view, print and save colour images of their ancestors’ original handwritten census returns for the first time. Transcribed text versions of the records are fully searchable by name or address.

How to use the 1911 Census records 

• Log on to www.1911census.co.uk and register for free
• Search for an ancestor in 1911 by entering their name
• If the name is common you can enter their approximate year of birth, which will help to narrow down the results
• Search for an address to look up the history of your house or an ancestor’s address in 1911 (this function will be available in summer 2009)
• Pay as you go to view each record. You will be charged 10 credits per transcript and 30 credits for each original household page. Visitors to the website can buy 60 credits for £6.95.
• Findmypast.com vouchers will also be valid on 1911census.co.uk. Vouchers can be purchased from The National Archives bookshop and redeemed on findmypast.com. Credits can then be spent on both findmypast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
• For more information about using the 1911 census for family history research, ‘Census: The Expert Guide’ by Peter Christian and David Annal is available from The National Archives online bookshop at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors

At the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.

The 1911 Census is a special case in that parts of it are being made available early. Since 1920, government has given a commitment that information collected in a census will be kept confidential for 100 years.

For further media information, please contact:

Nicola Hussey

Lansons Communications

0207 566 9718

nicolah@lansons.com

Sharon Ghatora

Lansons Communications

0207 294 3671

Sharong@lansons.com 

About findmypast.com

Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK.

In April 2007 findmypast.com’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ tender to publish online the 1911 census.

About The National Archives:

The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and ‘brings alive’ a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the treasured Domesday Book.

Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping government records readable now and in the future. It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive sector.

At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow’s permanent record.

The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk

For further information, please contact:

Severine Gould-Chanroux

The National Archives

T: 020 8392 5277

Severine.Gould-Chanroux@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Mel Hide

The National Archives

T: 020 8392 5332

Mel.Hide@nationalarchives.gov.uk

The 1911 census has been successfully launched with 645,000 people logging on to www.1911census.co.uk to conduct 3.4 million searches and view the census records on the first day of release.  The launch received significant media interest and handled the huge volume of traffic with ease.

The census reveals the details of the 36 million people living in England and Wales in 1911 and is the most detailed census since UK records began, providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a century ago. The most popular time of day to visit the site was between 7pm and 8pm - with 57,000 people searching their family history and generating 2.3 million page views.

www.1911census.co.uk is easy to access and enables the public to view, print and save colour images of their ancestors’ original handwritten census returns. Transcribed text versions of the records will ensure they are fully searchable by name or address. 

Over the coming weeks more advanced search tools will be introduced to the website, enabling users to search the records by any combination of age, place of residence, occupation, place of birth, relationship to the head of the family, marital status and wildcard searching. 

The 1911 census is enormous - occupying over two kilometres of shelving. An incredible eight million paper census returns have been transcribed to create 16 million digital images.  This makes the 1911 census one of the biggest IT projects undertaken in association with The National Archives. The newly digitised census occupies 0.5 petabyte of disk space and offers access to colour images of a census for the first time. The census records were handwritten by each individual head of household. This meant a wide range in quality and condition of the writing that was transcribed.  Despite their age and these complexities, the records have a 98.5% accuracy rate, which is in line with all of The National Archives’ data.

Comprehensive and rigorously tested, www.1911census.co.uk has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives. 

brightsolid’s online publishing division has a strong track record in delivering high volume, high performance, high availability online services, including findmypast.com, the first website to put the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England and Wales online, and ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk, the official government source of genealogical data for Scotland. 

The site underwent extensive load testing ahead of the launch and the methodology and test results were reviewed by the NCC Group who concluded, “brightsolid have conducted a thorough performance test campaign in preparation for the website launch based on anticipated load levels”.  User testing took place in December 2008 with invited users to ensure the site was fully functional and operational.

Malcolm Dobson, Chief Techonology Officer at brightsolid online publishing, said: “The 1911 census is one of the most detailed since census records began, providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a century ago. Thanks to the latest technological advances, visitors to the website will be able to view colour images of their ancestors’ handwritten census returns for the first time. Built largely using open source technologies and commodity server hardware, the site was designed to cope with a very high initial demand.  A detailed traffic model was built based on input from The National Archives and brightsolid’s own experience of running family history websites.  Thorough testing of the site took place using simulated traffic based on the model which was externally verified.  The website was designed with a number of innovative features to ensure that however high the load on the site became, users logged in to the site would enjoy an acceptable user experience.  During the launch we were able to monitor in real time a wide set of site parameters and verify that performance was well within pre-agreed tolerances.” 

Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “This is a major achievement. The 1911 census is a key milestone in our leading programme of digitisation to make historical government records available to the public online. By teaming up with findmypast.com, we are bringing history to life for millions. This remarkable record is now available online to researchers and family historians all over the world for future generations.“ 

How to use the 1911 Census records

• Log on to www.1911census.co.uk and register for free
• Search for an ancestor in 1911 by entering their name
• If the name is common you can enter their approximate year of birth, which will help to narrow down the results
• Search for an address to look up the history of your house or an ancestor’s address in 1911 (this function will be available in summer 2009)
• Pay as you go to view each record. You will be charged 10 credits per transcript and 30 credits for each original household page. Visitors to the website can buy 60 credits for £6.95.
• Findmypast.com vouchers will also be valid on 1911census.co.uk. Vouchers can be purchased from The National Archives bookshop and redeemed on findmypast.com. Credits can then be spent on both findmypast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
• For more information about using the 1911 census for family history research, ‘Census: The Expert Guide’ by Peter Christian and David Annal is available from The National Archives online bookshop at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk  

ENDS

Notes to Editors
At the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012. 

The 1911 Census is a special case in that parts of it are being made available early. Since 1920, government has given a commitment that information collected in a census will be kept confidential for 100 years. 

For further media information, please contact:
Nicola Hussey
Lansons Communications
0207 566 9718
nicolah@lansons.com

Sharon Ghatora
Lansons Communications
0207 294 3671
Sharong@lansons.com 

About findmypast.com
Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003. 

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today. 

Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records. 

In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960. 

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007. 

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK. 

In April 2007 findmypast.com’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement. 

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ tender to publish online the 1911 census.

brightsolid’s online technologies division is a leading UK independent provider of IT business services and an ISP delivering business-critical services from its highly specified data centre.  The company’s online technologies division specialises in hosting, business continuity, and managing high-volume high-availability network and Internet access.  The company, formerly Scotland Online, has significant expertise in the digitisation and management of online records in the fast-growing online family history market. 

About The National Archives:
The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and ‘brings alive’ a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the treasured Domesday Book. 

Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping government records readable now and in the future. It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive sector. 

At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow’s permanent record. 

The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk 

For further information, please contact:
Severine Gould-Chanroux
The National Archives
T: 020 8392 5277
Severine.Gould-Chanroux@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Mel Hide
The National Archives
T: 020 8392 5332
Mel.Hide@nationalarchives.gov.uk

36 million people were recorded in the census taken on the night of Sunday, 2 April, 1911. Today, after nearly 100 years, these census records are available to the public at www.1911census.co.uk.

The census covered England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as recording those aboard Royal Naval and Merchant vessels at sea and in foreign ports and, for the first time in a British census, full details of British Army personnel and their families in military establishments overseas. It is the most detailed census since UK records began and the first for which the original census schedules have been preserved - complete with our ancestors’ own handwriting - providing a fascinating insight into British society nearly a century ago.

From today over 27 million people’s census entries - 80 per cent of the English records - will be available. A further nine million records of people from the remaining counties of England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as the naval and overseas military records, will be made available over the coming months. 

www.1911census.co.uk is easy to access and enables the public to view high quality colour images of their ancestors’ original handwritten census returns. Transcribed text versions of the records ensure they are fully searchable by name or address.

Public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians, has resulted in the records being released earlier than the scheduled 2012 date. To make this early online release to the public possible, the 1911 census team worked around the clock for two years - scanning on average one census page per second. In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012.

Comprehensive and rigorously tested, www.1911census.co.uk has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives.

Elaine Collins, Commercial Director at findmypast.com, said: “The 1911 census offers a crucial new entry point to family history research for a wide range of people, from novice family historians to seasoned genealogists who have hit a ‘wall’ in their family tree research. As well as helping people trace their ancestors, these records shed more light on our ancestors’ day-to-day lifestyles,  providing a snapshot of a day in their lives, with details of their occupations, housing arrangements and social status.”

The 1911 census is huge - occupying over two kilometres of shelving - an incredible eight million paper census returns have been transcribed to create over 16 million digital images. This makes the 1911 census one of the biggest digitisation projects ever undertaken by The National Archives in association with a commercial partner.

Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “This is a major achievement. By teaming up with findmypast.com, we are bringing history to life for millions. This remarkable record is available online to researchers and family historians all over the world for future generations. The 1911 census is a poignant reflection of how different life was in early 20 century Britain, before the Great War.”

Due to the widespread popularity of family history, it is anticipated that www.1911census.co.uk will experience a high level of visitors logging on to search the records, especially in the first weeks of launch.

Elaine Collins, Commercial Director at findmypast.com, advises: ‘”We aim to deliver a quality service that has high but not infinite capacity. If visitors do experience a short delay in accessing the records via www.1911census.co.uk soon after launch, we would advise them to try again later when the website becomes less busy.  www.1911census.co.uk is here to stay and access to the online census records will be unlimited permanently from today.”

Handwritten records

Completed by all householders in England and Wales on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home, as well as their relationship to the head of the household.

People will also have unique access to their ancestors’ handwriting as the original householders’ schedules were preserved and used as working documents rather than copying the details in to summary books as was the case in previous census years. 

The records contain details about the lives of many important British historical figures, such as David Lloyd George, the contemporary Prime Minister H.H. Asquith and ‘Bloomsbury Set’ author Virginia Woolf. The launch of the records also creates a starting point for people to trace their own family tree by looking up their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who were alive in the year 1911.

‘Fertility Census’

The 1911 census was the first to ask questions relating to fertility in marriage.  Married women were asked to state how long they had been married and how many children had been born from that marriage.  The census also provides a fascinating snapshot of the population of the country just a few years before a whole generation of young men perished in the Great War of 1914-1918.

How to use the 1911 Census records 

• Log on to www.1911census.co.uk and register for free
• Search for an ancestor in 1911 by entering their name
• If the name is common you can enter their approximate year of birth, which will help to narrow down the results
• Search for an address to look up the history of your house or an ancestor’s address in 1911 (this function will be available in summer 2009)
• Pay as you go to view each record. You will be charged 10 credits per transcript and 30 credits for each original household page. Visitors to the website can buy 60 credits for £6.95.
• Findmypast.com vouchers will also be valid on 1911census.co.uk. Vouchers can be purchased from The National Archives bookshop and redeemed on findmypast.com. Credits can then be spent on both findmypast.com and 1911census.co.uk.
• For more information about using the 1911 census for family history research, ‘Census: The Expert Guide’ by Peter Christian and David Annal is available from The National Archives online bookshop at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The 1911 census is a special case at the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.

The 1911 Census is a special case in that parts of it are being made available early. Since 1920, government has given a commitment that information collected in a census will be kept confidential for 100 years.

Spokespersons

Please contact The National Archives Press Office or Lansons Communications should you wish to speak to an expert.

For further media information, please contact:
Nicola Hussey
Lansons Communications
0207 566 9718
nicolah@lansons.com

Sharon Ghatora
Lansons Communications
0207 294 3671
Sharong@lansons.com 

About findmypast.com
Leading UK family history website findmypast.com (formerly 1837online.com) was the first company to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England & Wales available online in April 2003.

Following the transcription, scanning and indexing of over two million images, the company launched the first website to allow the public easy and fast access to the complete indexes, which until then had only been available on microfiche film in specialist archives and libraries. The launch was instrumental in creating the widespread and growing interest in genealogy seen in the UK today.

Findmypast.com has subsequently digitised many more family history records and now offers access to over 650 million records dating as far back as 1538. This allows family historians and novice genealogists to search for their ancestors among comprehensive collections of military records, census, migration, occupation directories, and current electoral roll data, as well as the original comprehensive birth, marriage and death records.

In November 2006 findmypast.com launched the ancestorsonboard.com microsite in association with The National Archives to publish outbound passenger lists for long-distance voyages departing all British ports between 1890 and 1960.

As well as providing access to historical records, findmypast.com is also developing a range of online tools to help people discover and share their family history more easily, beginning with the launch of Family Tree Explorer in July 2007.

Over 1.7 million people in the UK have researched their family trees and findmypast.com has over 800,000 active registered users, revealing the mass appeal of genealogy and findmypast.com’s position as the leading family history website based in the UK.

In April 2007 findmypast.com’s then parent company Title Research Group received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007 in recognition of their achievement.

Findmypast.com was acquired in December 2007 by brightsolid, the company who were awarded The National Archives’ contract to publish online the 1911 census.

About The National Archives:
The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archives of the UK government, it cares for, makes available and ‘brings alive’ a vast collection of over 1000 years of historical records, including the treasured Domesday Book.

Not only safeguarding historical information, The National Archives also manages current digital information and devises new technological solutions for keeping government records readable now and in the future. It provides world class research facilities and expert advice, publishes all UK legislation and official publications, and is a leading advocate for the archive sector.

At the heart of information policy, The National Archives sets standards of best practice that actively promotes and encourages public access to, and the re-use of information, both online or onsite at Kew. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensures that they become tomorrow’s permanent record.

The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk

For further information, please contact:
Severine Gould-Chanroux
The National Archives
T: 020 8392 5277
Severine.Gould-Chanroux@nationalarchives.gov.uk

 Mel Hide
The National Archives
T: 020 8392 5332
Mel.Hide@nationalarchives.gov.uk