The 1939 Register

and...
on Monday 2nd November 2015, the 1939 Register will be made available online for the very first time, only on Findmypast.

US pricing:

Records will be available to purchase for $10.95 per household or $37.95 for our 5 household bundle ($7.59 per household).

 

This information is now in the Findmypast blog.

 

To me this by household charge is one big con. After all the hype I find it very disappointing.
It looks like a typical Nat Archives money grab.
I just cannot afford to 'buy' information at this rate. FMP offered me just 10% discount and I've been a member for many years.

Why isn't there a subscription rate? This worked well with the 1911 Census.
Maybe if we all blacklisted the register the prices may come down.....

 

FMP 1939 records. From looking around Facebook and other sites I think there are many that are disappointed with the charges some that will not renew their subscriptions. I will just wait a while at some point the charge will end I hope. Shame after all the hype.

 

The reaction from volunteers working on the Lives of the First World War project echoes the opinions here. Some of them have remembered 5000 stories and were hoping to solve some mysteries through the 1939 registers. One at least is talking seriously about a trip to the National Archives where they can be accessed for free.

 

How refreshing to find others voicing my own concerns. I felt the same when first trying to access Scotland People, and again Roots Ireland (or an offshoot) who all began the same way (and perhaps still do as I have not been back to check). FMP's attempts to coin in after what we all acknowledge as gallant attempts to scan the Registers and produce viable transcriptions is understandable, but as very often the case with 'exclusivity' they attempt to make hay whilst the sun shines. They should remember a thing is only worth what people will pay!

Patzy is right to ask why they didn't just add a small premium to the subscription (or a separate one pro tem) and retain pay to view for those who do not have one (but at much lower prices see later). If my memory serves they tried pay-to view- when they were first to add the 1911 Census only to convert to subscription when Ancestry came in later with 1911 as part of their subscription.

My first thought when I saw their proposed 1939 Register costs (even with a discount sweetener) was HOW MUCH? I would perhaps agree to pay £6.95 for 5 households and might even consider (say) an additional £5 for every 5 households thereafter. For a single household I might allow my arm to be twisted to pay £2.50 But £24.95 (approx £18.70 if eligible for discount) for 5 households and £6.95 for a single household is taking the proverbial!. I shall not be searching the Register until such time as it is part of the subscription or a separate subscription levy. Meanwhile I will see what others think in the Forum and elsewhere.

 

A free search and view the transcription then maybe 3.95 to download the original page is what I was expecting. This would be inline with some other sites e.g. burial records. One thing for sure, the site will not suffer from excessive traffic come 2nd November.

 

Yes that is certainly more in tune with my own thoughts. It is such a shame that the FMP hawks won the day when it came to setting a cost as I am sure there would have been others trying to pitch costs to meet the pockets of those in the real world. FMP would have been better setting their sights on Amazon's modus operandi, than Apple's. The 1939 Register is good, but not THAT good.

 

I'll wait and see how it is before I criticize, but nevertheless I have the feeling I've lost a £ and found a penny.

The pricing, after a slight deduction, will be the same for subscribers and non-subscribers. I have a monthly world subscription so I may let a few months slide......

 

It's live and working at 1am. Just tried a few free searches. Found my grandmother.
Too late to test it properly

 

Just done some quick searches as I am going out soon.
I found my parents but not my husband's parents.
It looks like you cannot search on a closed person, just realised that will be why I cannot find my husbands parents.
They died after the register was transcribed, so they will be closed records.
Will come back to it later, but I have had no problems searching or with access to the website.
K

 

love the URL! ... in which you say

Wow, I suspect that's going to catch out a few hopefuls

 

I have downloaded 10 images so far, but web site is now getting busy and downloads are corrupt. I really like the Advance search, you can search by just DOB and you get ALL the people in the country with that DOB.
My mothers surname was transcribed incorrectly. I already had paid £42 to get a copy of her entry a year ago so was able to find her by other unrelated names at that house.

My father died before 1991 but does not appear so have emailed FMP with copy of his cert to try to get him unlocked. I have no idea were he lived in 1939. May have to dig through his diary's to get some clues.

What surprised me is you get all the neighbours, which is certainly a bonus.
An conundrum is how to record the address in 1939 in my Family tree software, I have decided to call it the 1939 Census!