A guide to researching your ancestors in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, using resources at State Library Victoria.
Although regular population counts began in 1801, the earliest national census for England and Wales, which actually listed peoples' names, was in 1841. Subsequent censuses were taken every 10 years. Copies of all censuses are held at the National Archives (UK) however there is a privacy closure period of 100 years.
Tracing Your Ancestors Using the Census by Taken at the outbreak of WWII the 1939 register contains the details of 41 million people in England and Wales. Digitised copies of the register can be accessed through the FindMyPast and Ancestry databases.
Find out more about the 1939 register on the National Archives UK website.
