Genealogy Chat

Has anyone here applied to access a relatives national ID card? I never knew you could until coming across it just now. Wondering how useful it is (it's quite expensive too)!

Do you have to know the full address to apply? I have looked at the website however it doesn't specify explicity if you need it. I doubt that I'd be able to come up with a full address, unless someone knows of some 1939 telephone / address directory?

Info: http://www.1911census.org.uk/1939.htm

Ancestry has this database

British Phone Books, 1880-1984

You need to put in surname and country for the minimum search


Or this one if London
London, England, Electoral Registers, 1835-1965

I found several ID cards when clearing my MIL house. There is not a lot of info on them (Address/picture)

Andy

Andrew
I have several belonging to my father, grandfather & greatgrandfather (they all lived in same house). The only one which had a photo was my grandfathers, the others only had the address on.

Danny
The electoral registers on Ancestry are probably your best bet. As this will also show anyone else who could vote who was living in the same house as relatives.

I have my grandmother's card from the first world war and it only has her name and address and that her occupation was "household duties".

Kath. x

Thanks guys. It does seem a high cost for such a little amount of information. Particularly given that by that year, it's quite easy as it is to find who was born to specific people.

Regarding Ancestry electoral registers - I may be missing it, but does that actually cover Liverpool? Or only London?

Australia has electoral rolls available right up to 1980. It's hard to grasp why Aus wont release BDMs like UK has past 1920s for births, 1950s for marriages and in most places, 1960s for deaths, yet will release peoples addresses right up until 1980!!

I think it is only London, I'm waiting for Liverpool myself.

What year are you looking for? have you tried Street or trade directories?

I haven't. I've never attempted to look at them before and I didn't know anything was available. Are the street / trade directories like the white pages or something, and are they available online?

Honestly never thought of looking them up, until considering the 1939 national ID card.

I think they are like white pages but listed occupations and addresses usually rather than telephone numbers. Not everyone is listed on them, sometimes it depended if they had a trade,

As years went on, more and more years were covered, more areas were covered and more people were covered. I used to use them (on microfilm) to identify addresses to look up census records on microfilm (obviously before census records came online). however, quite a few directories are online now

You may find some of the following websites useful. It gives an idea what's out there. they seem to be scattered around. There are probably some that may be only available on microfilm at Liverpool Record office.

http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/

http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConNarrative.15

http://liverpool-genealogy.org.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6906

http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-4146.html

(somebody doing lookups for certain years -gives you an idea that people have got access to them)

http://www.liverpoolinprint.org.uk/guides/archive/street%20directories.pdf

(they hold them at Liverpool record office on Microfilm)

http://www.old-liverpool.co.uk/Directories.html

Good luck! What name or area are you looking for?

Thanks! I'll def have a look through them.

Not sure exactly what I was after, just orginally considering whether it was worth while spending some $ on the ID card.

I'll be going to UK, specifically Liverpool in 2013 so I will be making a massive list of "I WANT" and places to visit and search for them and hopefully get to as many as I can when I'm over.

Cheers again.

Personally, unless you're desparate for the details and cannot get them elsewhere (which you may be able to do), I don't think it's worth it.

I think you can get the details from a trade/street directory.

I have my silver ID disc and it just has name, address and ID number on it - card is the same.

I have my wifes' ID card just states name and address and National Registration number., not worth buying one.

Hi Jiminy, that certainly does shed new light on things.

So are you're saying that it includes people who signed up in WW2 too? I don't think we'd be so lucky as to find out which regiment they were in too?

The other thing is that it says that it will only release details of people who were deceased at the time but what if the living individual is the one asking for the information?

What happens if people move during the war i.e. they marry and move away? i presume they won't be listed as it would only include the initial registration day?

Also tI've a question about the additional 9 people? Do you have to pay for them too & where would you list them?

Ahh, I've just realised, with my Scottish ancestors (though a lot cheaper) it's a person search not an address search.

I still have my old ID card but it doesn't have a photograph, Guess as I was a child at the time it wasn't necessary deemed to have a photo.

I also remember the old number that formed the basis of the NHS identity nos

DIVG 269-4!!!

When we married mum gave each of us our birth cert ID card and any other ID documents she had.

Would have helped too if I had known both grans maiden names!!

I also remember having the old gas mask for some time till it rotted!! remember feeling very peeved that my younger sister born in 1939 had a mickey mouse one but I had the black adult one Boy did I want a red mickey mouse one !!

there were Mickey Mouse gas masks? I never knew that!

take a look here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/53/a4241053.shtml

I must admit Shirley, I had already googled and found that myself lol

You never see them in films or documentaries about the war!!

I was a London evacuee in 1939. Mum was 8 months pregnant with my sister I was 2and half. I was sent to school for a week with my elder bros and sister so i could be evacuated with the school . I do remember sitting on the lap of a lady on the train that I think was the headmasters secretary. We went to Kent the Tunbridge Wells area, and eventually I was with a young married couple only married 18 months who took me and my sister on. My bro was with the family next door .

I am still in touch with their daughter born in 1947 who thinks of me as her elder sister.