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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12324970
long article ( can't copy it all here ) but quite interesting
" In 1911, as far as work went, the government just wanted to know occupation, industry, and status. In 2011, the census has 15 nuanced questions on work and employment.
And yet there is a great similarity between the 1911 and 2011 censuses - they both represent expansion in what the authorities want to know about the population.
Censuses have been taken since ancient times, often to calculate taxes, or as an assessment of military strength. In Britain the census started in 1801 and was extended to Ireland 20 years later.
The first censuses in the British Isles were not detailed. Every decade more questions were added, but 1911 represented a sea change.
The government wanted to know more detail about people's work, immigration status, their health and most importantly, their fertility. And it seems for the most part, that people duly obliged.
For the 2011 census, there has already been criticism over the cost and intrusiveness of the questioning. People seem to have overcome these qualms in 1911.
1911
If any person included in this schedule is: 1) "Totally deaf" or "deaf and dumb", 2) "totally blind", 3) "lunatic", 4) "imbecile" or "feeble-minded", state the infirmity opposite that person's name, and the age at which he or she became inflicted.
2011 How is your health in general?
1911 State for each married woman entered on this schedule, the number of: - Completed years the present marriage has lasted.
2011 What is your legal marital or same-sex civil partnership status?
1911 Birthplace of every person. 1) If born in the United Kingdom, write the name of the County, and Town and Parish. 2) If born in any other part of the British Empire, write the name of the Dependency, Colony etc and of the Province or State. 3) if born in a Foreign Country, write the name of the Country. 4) If born at sea, write "At Sea".
2011 What is your ethnic group? A. White. B. Mixed/multiple ethnic groups. C. Asian/Asian British. D. Black/African/Caribbean/Black British E. Other ethnic group
1911 Profession or Occupation of persons aged 10 and upwards.
2011 Have you ever worked? "
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"Looking at the 2011 census, the irked members of the King family might have been surprised to see questions on type of heating, ethnicity and religion.
Or the baffling question 17: "This question is intentionally left blank go to 18."
The observer from 1911 might also wonder at our obsession over the minutiae of working life. Take question 28: "If a job had been available last week, could you have started it within two weeks?"
If the government of 1911 was curious, the government of 2011 is ravenous for knowledge."
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