What information does the 1921 census contain? – Findmypast Help

The 1921 census is a household census taken in June 1921, and paints a picture of the UK population nearly one hundred years ago. It holds information on every household, vessel, institution and overseas residencies that were part of England and Wales in 1921, plus the Isle of Man and Channel Islands .Also included are merchant ships in the waters of England and Wales, all ships of the Royal Navy and army and (for the first time) RAF units stationed overseas. This will include units on occupation duties following the First World War, or based in territories newly under British administration as a result of the war, such as Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).

A full entry on a standard household schedule will contain:

full address of the property

names of persons in each household

relationship to head of household

age (this was now required as years and completed months, rather than just years as in previous censuses)

sex

“marriage or orphanhood”

For those aged 15 and over this field recorded if you were single, married, or widowed, and for the first time D was to be recorded for those whose marriage had been dissolved by divorce

For those under 15 this recorded if both parents were alive, father dead, mother dead or both dead.

This field will again show the impact of the First World War with a greater proportion of widows recorded than in 1911, and 730,000 children recorded with “Father dead” versus 260,000 with “Mother dead”.

place of birth and nationality for those born outside the UK

occupation and employment

if in whole or part-time education

principally for recording those at school or university, but could also include adults taking evening classes

Employment

For those employed, name and type of employer, otherwise recording “employer”, or “own account”. Those out of work are instructed to give their last employee and add “out of work”

Place of Work - employer’s address (except for those in private employment such as domestic service

Number of children or stepchildren under the age of 16

To be filled in by married men, widowers and widows, a total number followed by a cross in a box for each age that was applicable to a child or stepchild.

Other types of schedule for institutions/prisons, merchant vessels, or the armed forces add some additional questions about function within the institution, and rank or trade rather than occupation for the armed forces. Schedules used in Wales and the Isle of Man include an additional language question, asking if each person spoke Welsh (or Manx), English, or Both, while the armed forces schedule asks additionally if the person can speak Welsh or Gaelic (in addition to English).

What about people who are still alive?

The accepted assumption of 100 years for life means that records can be opened 100 years and 1 day from the date of birth of the individual. In February 2004 the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Council on National Records and Archives considered and accepted a proposal for the use of a standard closure period, and that a lifetime of 100 years should be assumed. Living people aged more than 100 who wish their records to be taken down can make a request for this to be done.