Great news for anyone interested in British history. The 1921 census for England and Wales can now be accessed onsite at State Library Victoria through both the FindMyPast and Ancestry databases.
Recorded on 19 June 1921, this is the most comprehensive census to date, including the details of nearly 38 million people from England and Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The census covers every household, vessel, institution, and overseas residency that were a part of England and Wales in 1921, as well as merchant ships in the waters of England and Wales, all ships of the Royal Navy, the British Army and Royal Air Force units stationed overseas. Military units that were still on occupation duties following the First World War or were based in territories under British administration as a result of the war are also included.
Family historians will welcome the census as it contains personal information not recorded in previous years. In this census individuals were required to — provide their age in years and months; state whether they were attending a school or educational institution, or provide the precise branch of their occupation (profession, trade or service), including the name of their employer and place of employment. Married men, widows and widowers were required to list the number and ages of their living children and step-children under the age of 16 and for the first time, `divorced’ was provided as an option for marital status. Also, for the first time since the census began in 1841, there was no question on infirmity or disability.
This census is also a valuable resource for social historians as it was taken not long after the First World War and the 1918 influenza pandemic and reveals the impact these events had on British society. A new category ‘Marriage or Orphanhood’, required children under the age of 15 to list — ‘Father dead’, ‘Mother dead’, ‘Both dead’ or ‘Both alive’. Resulting statistics show that, at the time of the census, there were roughly 730,000 children left fatherless, 261,000 children left motherless and 55,000 children having lost both parents. Statistics also revealed that 11% of all females aged 15 and older were widowed 3 and that there were 1.72 million more women than men. The British press labelled this generation of women as being surplus or superfluous.
The census also spotlights the economic crisis of the 1920s and the effect this had on housing, employment and families. Browsing through the census forms you will see countless entries of people whose employment status read — `unemployed’, ‘no work’, `out of work, because of strike’ or `out of work, discharged soldier’. Occasionally, you can also find handwritten comments from people expressing their anger or despair:
‘5 persons living in one room. Stop talking about your homes for heroes and start building some houses and let them at a rent a working man can afford to pay.’ — James Bartley, a gas fitter from Hove
Or, in the following census:
‘One (room) for the four of us to sleep in. Should be pleased if you could find me a house.’ — Edwin Cooper, painter and paperhanger, Birmingham
Some interesting details
On each census you can find a ‘room count’ box, (usually found on the lower left-hand side of the form). Filled in by the enumerator, it includes the number of people and the number of living rooms (sitting room, bedrooms and kitchen) for each dwelling. This information shows just how many families were living in one or two room dwellings and how many homes had multiple families living in them.
Also of interest is the date of the census. It was originally meant to be recorded on the night of April 21 but, because of industrial unrest, was postponed until June. If you look at the census records you can see that the original forms were still used. It’s worth noting that by June many families would have gone on their summer holidays and may not have appeared at their regular address — so, if you can’t find a family at home, try looking for people with the same name staying in seaside towns and holiday guesthouses.
As with the 1911 census, each census form was filled in by the head of the house, not the enumerator. So, if you find an entry for your family, you will be able to see the handwriting of an ancestor. Here’s an example of the census for Leonard and Virginia Woolf and their two servants, completed by Leonard.
Accessing the records
As we have already mentioned, digitised copies of the census can now be accessed through both the Ancestry and Find My Past databases. The main difference between the two databases is that Ancestry has divided the census records into four separate collections: ‘1921 Channel Islands Census’, ‘1921 England Census’, ‘1921 Isle of Man Census’ and ‘1921 Wales Census’. Find My Past has combined all four collections into one searchable collection — the ‘1921 Census of England & Wales collection’.
It’s worth exploring both databases as there are they both offer some unique search functions. For instance Ancestry has a search field which allows you to limit results by the number of children, and Find My Past includes a census address search function, which is useful for researching known addresses, identifying the details of neighbours, workplaces and so on.
What about Scotland and Ireland?
The 1921 census for Scotland is managed by the National Records of Scotland (NRS). Census records can be accessed on a pay-per- view basis through the Scotland’s people website. More information can be found on their Census returns guide.
No census was recorded for Ireland in 1921, due to political unrest as a result of the War of Independence and Civil War. A census taken in 1926 is expected to be released in January 2027. More information can be found on the National Archives of Ireland’s History of Irish census records website.
Future census records
Unfortunately, the 1931 census for England and Wales was destroyed in a fire at the Office of Works in 1942. The 1931 census for Scotland has survived and is due to be released through Scotland’s people in 2031.
Because a census for Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State was recorded in 1926, it was decided not to record their next census until 1937. That census is expected to be released in January 2038.
Due to the Second World War, no census was recorded in 1941. The 1939 National Register is an excellent alternative and provides the most complete survey of the population of England and Wales between 1921 and 1951. The Register can be accessed here at State Library Victoria through both the FindMyPast and Ancestry databases. You can find out more by going to our 1939 Register blog.
A census of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was recorded in April 1951, but because of the UK Government’s `100-year rule’, it will not be released until January 2052.
Don’t forget the pets
A few families managed to sneak their pets details into the census and although the enumerators usually struck a line through these records, the details are still quite legible.
So far we’ve identified that the Heywood family from West Ham had a dog called Ginger and a tortoise named Humanist — who was born in the Seychelles and had his occupation listed as `eating slugs’. The Fountain family from Lincoln had a dog named Bruce — his occupation was listed as being an `out of work rabbit catcher’ and Henry Carpenter in Greenwich had a dog named Richard Carpenter, who had his occupation listed as `night watchman’.
Our favourite entry is definitely that of Arthur Walton’s cat Scarem, from Newcastle upon Tyne. Scarem was described as:
… a black cat (who although a Tom) is honoured by the name of a good mare long since gone. Occupation — feeding and sleeping and sparrow catching. Place of work — wherever sparrows are, although he has never caught one to the best of my belief, and as I feed the sparrows, I hope he never will.
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References
- Ancestry Library Edition [online database], 1921 England Census, Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1921, The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Reference: RG 15/6112, ED 14, Sch 174; Book: 06112
- Ancestry Library Edition [online database], 1921 England Census, Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1921, The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Reference: RG 15/22493, ED 17, Sch 196; Book: 22493
- Office for national statistics, 1922, Census unearthed:Population, widows and orphans in 1921, https://www.ons.gov.uk, 3 March 2025
- Ancestry Library Edition [online database], 1921 England Census, Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1921, The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Reference: RG 15/14345, ED 2, Sch 155; Book: 14345
- Ancestry Library Edition [online database], 1921 England Census, Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1921, The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Reference: RG 15/4859, ED 9, Sch 31; Book: 04859
- Ancestry Library Edition [online database], 1921 England Census, Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1921, The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Reference: RG 15/25273, ED 9, Sch 311; Book: 25273
