BETA: Beta site closing - December 30th last day
We are now reaching the end of the beta period for the 1911census.co.uk site. Tomorrow will be the last day that the site will be available for use. Unfortunately no more counties will be added at this point so we hope that you have enjoyed using what has been available over Christmas.
The full site launch in 2009 will include many more additional counties. Thank you for the huge volume of feedback you have given us and for your many comments - we will be analysing all of these in depth.
Our best wishes for a happy 2009 and continued success in researching your family history.
The 1911census.co.uk team
December 29th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Can you give us some idea of when in 2009 the full site launch will be and what counties will be available? A list of the order in which the counties are being worked on would be very helpful too.
December 29th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Grateful to have been allowed to test the site even though I really wanted Lancs the most. Found quite a few southern rellies though. Haven’t found any issues with the site at all - it seems to operate as intended. Thanks for the opportun ity to try it out early - I hope I will be included again in any further testing. Good luck with the rest of the project.
December 29th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I would just like to thank you for making the data available early, and look forward with great anticipation to the launch … any clues as to how long we will have to wait??
I particularly enjoyed reading the interesting snippets found in the Scanning log, it would be good if you could add links to some of these images when the site goes live.
thank you
December 29th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Many thanks for the opportunity to test this new and exciting website which is sure to be inundated with worldwide family history enthusiasts on the full launch. Make it soon.
Thank you
December 29th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I am sorry none of the counties I need were in the release. It would have been wonderful to find just one snippet of information.
December 29th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I have had great fun using the site - thanks for letting us take a peek early. I would very much like to know when the launch will be.
December 29th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Thank you for letting me find my G Grandparents on one side, will leave my dad’s side when Essex is available. Have left credits on account, any idea when I will be able to spend the rest of my christmas money!!
Will i still be able to see “My account” when off line ?
Thanks again
Pam
December 29th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I was lucky when one of my major counties, Norfolk, was added. Can’t wait for the real launch and the appearance of Kent.
Thanks for the trial, it was satisfying and rewarding. Was at least able to find out a bit more re my mother’s family.
A good site, well laid out, easy to use.
Many thanks for everyones hardwork to date, and their continuing hard work. It is much appreciated!
December 29th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Thanks for the opportunity to view the 1911 Census through the Beta test site. I have found a several bits that have helped to break down a few brickwalls. Do you have a date in 2009 for release?
December 29th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Absolutely fantastic, although the 2 year+- maximum search on date of birth can be a bit of a pain, did not stop me finding those I needed tho.
Many Thanks, can’t wait for release of site next year.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Last-minute comment.
Having the surname as a mandated search field is a major impediment. It’s the surnames where many of the transcription errors occur, so you need an Ancestry-type search where it is possible to search just on, say, forename plus birthplace, but without the surname. This type of search finds many people who are otherwise impossible to locate.
Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to have a glimpse at the 1911, and I look forward to the full launch.
December 29th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Thank you for the chance to peruse the 1911 data; however I have found several instances where the letter L has been substituted for R; an F instead of a P and some where extra letters have been inserted…for example to search for Hereward Wake bart. of Northamptonshire…putting in the correct spelling brings 0 results but searching by surname only reveals a HerewaLd who never existed…
Unfortunately I couldn’t find one family who I expected to…who were all there in 1901 and still at the same address in 1917…one of whom was married in Willesden on the 8th April 1911 only a few days after the 1911 census..c’est la vie!
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the data next year.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:17 am
Thanks for the opportunity to have a much welcome peek at the 1911 census. I was one of the lucky ones with rellies mainly around the sussex & gloucestershire areas so was able to find a few. ONce its up & running properly it should be easier to search than now and hopefully a wee bit cheaper per original data page. Keep up the good work and I look forward to the official launch.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Many thanks for the opportunity to view the data in advance, it was much appreciated and I managed to locate some members of my immediate family without too much difficulty.
In view of some of the comments in other sections of the blog I feel that you were in somewhat of a no win situation at the outset but no doubt you realised this before you took the plunge. I trust that members of the 1911 team that have put in so much time and trouble preparing the data for the early release will not be too disheartened.
I look forward with anticipation the full release in the coming months and wish you all the best with it.
In view of the comments alluded to by me in the above, might I suggest that you make it abundantly clear with an ongoing and updated list as and when you release new counties. Although I found it easy to understand the present method it would appear that some others did not. It might also be an idea to point out that it is work in progress until the project is completed.
December 30th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Would it be possible to tell us when the 1911 census is going to be avaible as part of the subscription package. I have enjoyed this all but brief and expensive look at 1911, but having allowed us to try and TEST your site giving you feedback and charging us was I think a bit much, so please let us know when this is going to be part of the subscription package, because I am afraid at these prices I cannot aford both Pay per View and subscription.
But I did find it easy to use and save my results.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Shame the beta test is coming to an end, I hope you find comments valuable in your assessment.
1. I discovered quite a lot of typos in my searches eg TOHMAS for Thomas, HENRYS for Henry. I couldn’t find an easy way to report these errors.
2. The required exact spelling of a surname is a nuisance - is it not possible to have wildcards? I have one of those surnames not Smith) that even today gets spelt in many different ways.
Thank you for the opportunity to preview the census. Like everyone else, could you give us some idea when it will be officially launched.
December 30th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I found it very easy to find all the people I was looking for in the available counties, but it would be good to have more sophisticated search functions, particularly around the person’s age.
I found one possible ancestor in an institution, but couldn’t see anything to tell me which institution!
Look forward to seeing Somerset, Kent, Yorkshire and Durham in 2009!
December 30th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
The site looked good although my counties were not available. I look forward to it coming online and like everybody else, when is it going to be available.
Look forward to Lancs, Yorkshire and Westmorland being made available.
December 30th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Thank you for the opportunity to use this site. I’ve been lucky enough to find some people but not others, even when the relevant county was available. As mentioned before I agree with another of your contributors Noel, that Ancestry type access would be most beneficial.
Hope it won’t be too long before the full edition comes out. Got to watch the costs though!
Keep up the good work. Happy and productive New Year
December 30th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
DEAR
1911 TEAM
PLEASE EXCUSE UPPER CASE WRITING EYESIGHT PROBS AND THE JERKS, DUE TO MY MS.
I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU DIDN’T PUBLISH, WAS I NOT TELLING THE TRUTH, ANYWAY LET’S FORGET IT THE CHARGES ARE NOT DOWN TO YOU.
I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST OF LUCK WITH THE OPENING OF THE 1911 CENSUS WHENEVER IT HAPPENS IN 2009.
REGARDS
ALAN.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Hello and many thanks for the chance to use the beta 1911 site. I knocked down some brickwalls and confirmed other family. Deal in Kent is my dream as it was and is missing from the 1901 census (if anyone ever finds a pile of paperwork about Deal residents 1901 please get it to the National Archives? I’m sure no questions will be asked!) Thanks for this blog it has answered one of my questions to the team about our records, in that they will be there waiting at the launch. Can we have Forename/birthplace /age search please for those married females we have lost since 1901. Thanks again for the invite.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I did not have time to test the 1911 site until the very end and I would now like to complete the feedback form.
However, by the time I had used the site, I could no longer find a link to the feed back form.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:00 am
Noel - I found that if you just put a comma in the last name field, you get round the transcription problem.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
I am not complaining but why is this available before the 100 year cut off?
January 13th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I have been looking forward to this day but the results for my key family members in Norfolk you have no record foe Why!!! I have been reseaching my family for over 25 yeas and have document to prove that they were in Norfolk at the time of the 1911 census but no matter what input I use the same result NOT ONE could you tell me why are all the records on your Site?
Francis Melton
January 13th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Very disappointing. I am unable to trace any of my ancestors, as they all lived in the North.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:55 am
I have been told no records too. Reading write-up I realise I am too new to get on yet. Could this not be said instead of ‘not found’ which is confusing and suggests record not made
July 19th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Something Anna Donaldsonmight have missed in his latest review of were these effectively unmoderated comments using internet.