The recently released 1921 census revealed details of some of the 20th century’s most famous people, including the youth of Captain Tom Moore.
The yellowed, handwritten pages of the 1921 census bring back the privacy of British residents during the interwar period, a time of economic turmoil, and when women had just won the vote.
Among the pages of the century-old document there is mention of a certain Thomas Moore, better known now as ‘Captain Tom’, who is said to raise more than £ 30million for the NHS by walking in his garden.
But in 1921, Captain Sir Tom probably could not have accomplished a few steps of the feat that would seal him a place in the heart of the nation.
Photo via PA shows Findmypast technician Laura Gowing scanning individual pages of the 30,000 1921 census volumes at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) near Southampton.
Captain Sir Tom Moore was living in his hometown of Keighley in Yorkshire and was only one year and one month old when the census was completed.
He is listed as the son of Wilfred, a 36-year-old building contractor, and Isabel, 34, whose profession was listed as ‘household chores’.
The family, along with young Thomas’ four-year-old sister Freda, were living in a six-bedroom property at the time the census was taken.
While Captain Tom’s name would have been trite to census officials, other content in the statements would certainly have stood out among the millions of records.
Famous people in the 1921 census
Nothing more than David Lloyd George, Prime Minister during the latter stages of World War I, who spent June 19, 1921 – when the census was recorded – at Checkers with his wife, Margaret, son Richard, and family.
The statesman registers his personal profession as “Prime Minister”, his job being “Her Majesty’s Government” and his place of work as “10 Downing Street”.
In addition to the six family members inside the Buckinghamshire residence, the census also lists three officials as being present, including his private secretary Edward William Macleay Grigg, as well as 13 servants – the youngest being a housekeeper from 15 year old named Lavinia from Hadfield in Derbyshire.
An insect, which has died at some point in the past 100 years, has been removed from the 1921 census pages at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) near Southampton. Photo via PA.
The form, which shows that there were eight men and 17 women present, was completed by Lloyd George himself.
Another famous name contained in the pages was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes crime series.
He counted three overnight visitors to his home when the census was taken, prompting historians to suggest that the known paranormal investigator may have attended a session – a ceremony held to make contact with the dead.
Records show the 62-year-old author was joined by Jean, his 40-year-old wife, and their three children Denis, Malcolm and Jean junior, aged 12, 10 and eight, respectively, as well as five maids.
But there were also three guests in attendance – married couple James Hewat McKenzie and Barbara McKenzie, 54 and 51, and a 30-year-old “single” listed by Conan Doyle as “Ada Bassinet” of “Toledo,” USA ”.
It is believed to be in fact Ada Besinnet, a well-known American psychic, while Mr. McKenzie was a parapsychologist who founded the British College of Psychic Science.
Another author, Beatrix Potter, had a long career as a writer of children’s stories following the success of The Tale Of Peter Rabbit in the early 1900s.
A watercolor and ink illustration by Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, dated 1908, which will be on display at Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, February 12, 2022 – January 8, 2023. Undated document via PA.
But it was another profession – and her married name, rather than her pen name – that appeared in the 1921 census.
Helen Beatrix Heelis, the 54-year-old wife of lawyer William Heelis, has been described as a “farmer” because of her passion for raising and keeping sheep in her Lake District home.
Meanwhile, Nancy Astor, Britain’s first female MP, was one of more than 25 people in her home on census night.
The MP for Plymouth Sutton was present with her husband, Waldorf Astor, and their young sons Michael and John, as well as a series of visitors, including a niece and a cousin.
Also in attendance were fellow Conservatives Raymond Greene, MP for Hackney North, and Edward Winterton, MP for Horsham, as well as a 30-year-old American “parliamentary candidate” called Sidney Herbert.
How to view the 1921 census
The 1921 census is available online at findmypast.co.uk as well as in person at the National Archives in Kew, the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and the Central Library in Manchester.
Findmypast said the 1921 census won’t immediately be available for free – but you can access it through any subscription, including libraries.
It will only be available through card access for the initial period, Findmypast said.
Findmypast and the National Archives worked together to preserve, transcribe and digitize the 1921 census – made up of over 30,000 volumes of delicate original documents.
The 1921 census was taken on June 19 – the records contain information on almost 38 million people who lived in England and Wales.
