Census Day

Today is National Census Day 2021. Have you completed it already or maybe sent it early? I’m such a ‘goody two shoes’ that I had to get online today, Sunday 21 March. Also I’m a fan of all things research as evidenced by my work and support for the Archive of Market and Social Research https://www.amsr.org.uk/ - the hub for data and insight into the country’s society, culture, politics and economics over the past 70 years.  Another 10 year census ‘snapshot’ of life in England, especially during the pandemic, is going to be fascinating, even if we have to wait another 12 months before we get to see the initial findings. Of course, due to the pandemic, we were all encouraged to complete the form online, though you could ask for a paper form if preferred. That means that in years to come when folks want to explore our ancestry by checking the records via the National Archives, family members won’t be able to see the actual handwriting of relatives and so miss out on that visceral connection. It’s amazing to think that the first census in 1801 was actually processed by clerks with pens and paper, transferring information collected across the country by local public servants, constables and the like. The total population of Great Britain was then calculated at 9 million compared to the last census in 2011 when the population was 63 million.  

This weekend is also notable of course, as the anniversary of the onset of the first Covid lockdown in England. Boris made his “You must stay home” TV speech on the evening of 23 March, 2020. Such sadness, trauma, tragedy and exhaustion has been suffered over the intervening months. I think it will be another 10 years, until the census in 2031, for us to fully process and understand the implications of what we have been, and continue, to go through.