This week has seen the much anticipated release of the 1939 register  for England and Wales, providing family historians with access to the only surviving national population survey data set taken here between 1921 to 1951. (The 1931 census was destroyed during WWII, and no census was taken in 1941.)

Findmypast has several payment options for accessing the register. You can search for free but will need to purchase credits to view specific results. The National Archives has a good introduction to the register, which explains the structure of the data set, and what you can expect to find.

Don’t be surprised if you cannot access records for a particular member of your family. Individuals’ records remain closed for 100 years after their birth, or until their death. Recent deaths were not recorded on the register before it was made available, although you can request a closed record to be opened by submitting the person’s death certificate.

For further help many family history societies in England are hosting a meeting to explore the 1939 register with Mylo Clelland from Findmypast – look up your local society here.

Are you planning to visit the ‘Who do you think you are?’ show in Birmingham next April? Tickets are available on line, where you can also pre-book seats for the Society of Genealogists workshops. With a wide range of topics covered there’s always something new to learn about from the workshops. If you want to join a particular session then it is worth pre-booking to save time on the day, and the risk of the workshop booking up. I’m particularly looking forward to learning more about the the Cynefin project, which is repairing and digitising tithe maps for Wales (Friday, 10.15am workshop). Great to see a good mix of workshops from broad to specific topics like this.

This year’s Heritage Open Days offer the opportunity to get inside historic buildings for free, including some that are rarely open to the public.

Details of those institutions that are involved across the UK are available on the Heritage Open Days website. Fortunately the openings of buildings are staggered across several days – although there is a concentration on Saturday, which can make choosing your itinerary quite tricky!

Last weekend we had a fantastic morning at the Edwardian Victoria Baths in Manchester, including an inspiring tour and local history fair. On my list for this coming weekend are the Salford Diocesan Archives, and Clayton Hall, which is opening up just for Saturday the Tudor part of the building. Happy open days.

This year’s Yorkshire Family History Fair was very useful, particularly for picking up a number of maps. These can of course be ordered online, but I like to be able to browse the areas I’m focused on and then make a selection. Thanks to the folk at Chris Makepeace Maps for a very helpful chat on Saturday.

The Genuki calendar of family history fairs – ‘GENEVA‘ – will keep you up to date with fairs and other events in your area, as well as elsewhere in the country where you are researching. Local fairs in places that you do not know well can be very helpful as exhibitors often have specific expertise for that area.

If you are researching in the Greater Manchester area the Open Day and Family History Fair at Victoria Baths may be of interest. Taking place on September 6th this event promises: “A great day out for all the family.  You can explore Victoria Baths, take an optional guided tour and view our history displays. This Open Day features a Local History Fair with a range of stalls from local history groups from around Greater Manchester, workshops and other activities.”

NB If you’re looking for historical maps of an area then browsing those available in your local history library may save you the expense of buying copies yourself. Starting points for the North West include: Manchester and Lancashire at Manchester Central Library, Salford Local History Library, and Lancashire Archives.