1921 census – taken on the night of Sunday 19 June 1921

The 1921 census of Great Britain combined two national censuses; the 1921 census of England and Wales, and the 1921 census of Scotland. Census records less than 100 years’ old are not publicly released for reasons of privacy and, as a result, digitised census records for the 1921 census of England and Wales, and of Scotland, are the latest census records available.

The 1921 census is hugely significant for reasons that lie beyond being simply the latest census available to the public. The 1921 census followed shortly after two devastating events; World War I and the Spanish Flu Epidemic. It was, therefore, perfectly timed to measure their devastating impact.

There is an added significance for the census of England and Wales; following the 1921 census, there is a 30 year census ‘drought’ and the next census will not be available until the 1951 census.

The 1921 Census Form (aka ‘census schedule’)

The census form was distributed by an enumerator to every head of a household, and to every manager of an establishment (e.g. hotel, boarding house etc.). The householder (or manager) was asked a series of census questions regarding anyone who stayed at the dwelling on census night, or who ‘arrives and is received’ the following morning. The census form clarified that individuals who were recorded elsewhere – or who died before midnight – were to be excluded. Refusal to answer, or to deliberately give false answers, risked a fine of up to £10.

The influence of war and disease on the new census questions

The 1921 census followed a decade of unprecedented war and disease and was set during a period of social unrest. Inevitably, the focus of the Government fell upon welfare provision and this was reflected in the new census questions.

‘Orphanhood’ and ‘Dependency’ Questions

In the previous census of 1911, the ‘particulars as to marriage’ question combined the question on marital status with a new ‘fertility’ question. The 1921 census rephrased this question ‘Marriage and Orphanhood’; i.e. the enquiry on ‘fertility’ made way for ‘orphanhood’. The 1921 census statistics justified this new emphasis; following World War I, over 730,000 children were left with a ‘father dead’, and just over 260,000 with ‘mother dead’. For the first time, the marital status question included the option of divorce (‘D’).

The new ‘dependency’ question followed the theme of the ‘orphanhood’ enquiry (i.e. to measure the welfare needs of children) and the data gathered from both these questions laid the groundwork for the Widows, Orphans and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act, 1925.

‘Occupation’

The occupation question was significantly expanded and, once again, many of the new additions reflected the social challenges facing post-war Britain. Full employer’s details were now required, with unemployment included as an option for the first time. A distinction was also required between those at school (or other educational establishment) full-time and part-time (to discover how many school children were in paid employment). ‘Place of work’ was also asked for the first time to facilitate housing and transport planning.

The Scotland census also asked for entitlement to national insurance benefits.

To encourage honesty, individuals were allowed to make separate confidential returns.

To make way for the new and extended questions, a couple of questions were dropped; the ‘fertility question’ (as already mentioned) and the ‘infirmity’ question which, although a feature since 1851, was not popular and rarely answered accurately.

What type of census records are available?

The census records for the England and Wales Census comprise the original householder’s census schedules, usually in the householder’s own handwriting. This was the method adopted in England and Wales since the census of 1911. However, in Scotland, the original householder’s schedules were destroyed once their contents had been copied into the enumeration schedules by census enumerators. This means that the 1921 Scotland census records are made up of the enumeration schedules, rather than the householder’s schedules.

Impact of the Great War and the Spanish Flu Epidemic

As we’ve discussed, the 1921 census was well placed to measure the impact of these twin catastrophes. Population growth recorded in the census had slowed by more than 50%. In England and Wales, the 1921 census recorded population growth of 5%, compared with 11% in the previous census. Scotland fared even worse with figures of 2.5% (1921) and 6.5% (1911). Unsurprisingly, men bore the brunt of the losses; in England and Wales, the census showed that women now outnumbered men by 1.7m.

Unrest delays the 1921 census

The Black Friday Strike by coal miners, and the likelihood of further industrial unrest, resulted in the 1921 census being pushed back from its original date of 24 April to 10 June (hence the earlier date appearing on the census schedules). The last census in the UK to be held so late in the year was the census of 1841. This delay pushed the census into the beginning of the holiday season, and this has distorted the census data. Popular holiday destinations recorded an artificial population explosion; Blackpool’s population increased by 64%, of Southend-on-Sea’s by 50%.

census 1921 – Population recorded

Country	Population*
A census was not taken in Ireland in 1921
England and Wales	37,886,699
Scotland	4,882,288
Islands of the British Seas	149,852

After the 1921 census – what next?

England and Wales

The 1921 census for England and Wales is of particular importance. This is because the 1931 census records for England and Wales were destroyed by fire, whilst the scheduled 1941 census never took place. This means that the next census of England and Wales to be publicly available is the 1951 census.

Scotland

Fortunately, the 1931 census for Scotland was stored separate in Edinburgh and should be available for public viewing around 2031. (Unsurprisingly, no release date has been announced yet).

Ireland

There was no 1921 Ireland census due to the partition of Ireland (in the same year). There were two separate 1926 Ireland censuses; one for Northern Ireland, and the other for the Irish Free State, but only the 1926 Irish Free State census records have survived. Please visit Ireland census Records for more information.

The 1939 Register

As you can see, after the 1921 census records have been released, there will be a long wait for the release of further census records. Thankfully, the 1939 National Register taken at the outbreak of World War II bears many of the hallmarks of a national census. This register covers the whole of the UK and many of the records held in this register are available now. Visit Findmypast.co.uk for more details on how you can research the 1939 Register.

Moves to protect the 1921 census

There is an interesting mention of the 1921 census in a letter that has been posted on the National Archives website concerning the fire on 19 December 1942 that destroyed the entire 1931 census records for England and Wales. 

In this letter, W A Derrick of the General Register Office, expressed concern at the circumstances surrounding the fire and the fact that the entire 1931 census had been destroyed, despite the presence of six paid fire service ‘watchers’ at the scene of the fire.  His concern caused him to question the whereabouts and state of the 1921 census.  His anxiety was not eased by the fact that he knew the schedules from the 1921 census had already been damaged by water and ‘scattered over various parts of Somerset House’.  You can read the full text of this letter at the National Archives. Or visit our 1931 census page for more information on the fire and the 1931 census.