Posted: Fri 20 May, 2011 9:22 pm
weenie wrote: Thankyou for the info Micheal, it looks like i have to wait another 10 years for the 1921 census LOL Weenie Make the most of the 1921 census because the 1931 census is a gonna![1942] You will regret to hear that in a fire last Saturday evening which gutted the Office of Works store containing our Census records at Hayes, the whole of the 1931 schedules, enumeration books, plans of division and miscellaneous material stored in cupboards etc were completely destroyed. Mr Farrow and I went down to inspect the remains yesterday and we are both satisfied that it would be useless to attempt any sort of salvage operation; we are leaving the Office of Works to clear and dispose of the debris in any way they think desirable.The fire was not occasioned by enemy action and how it achieved such dimensions in a store in which special hydrants had been fitted and said to have been in charge of a fire guard of 6 paid watchers, is a mystery which will need investigation. It is hardly possible to imagine a more complete state of devastation than the scene presented to us in which it was impossible to see where some of the racks had stood and where the remains were nothing more than shapeless mounds of paper rubbish dragged outside the building by the firemen who tackled the fire and where even the least damaged sheets that were recognizable were charred to the depth of two or three inches on all edges.The store must be regarded as a total loss and in the circumstances I shall be grateful if you will let me have a report – in duplicate as Mr Farrow would like a copy – describing briefly though comprehensively what effect the loss may be expected to have on the future operations of the Department. You will be able to indicate the contents of the cupboards and to say whether they included anything of a more permanent value than the 1931 tabulation sheets e.g. maps etc. It will also be useful to know the amount of Section 4 work in respect of 1931 for which you still receive demands and also the extent to which the 1931 records would still have been of use in connection with the next census notwithstanding the N.R. enumeration.