NATIONAL IDENTITY CARDS IN WORLD WAR TWO

A www.blitzschool.co.ukteaching resource

Teachers, purchase the UNIQUE custom ID cards for this lesson here, complete with the name of your school

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Today we are going to learn ..

• What the National Registration Act was in WW2

• Why it was important for people to carry Identity cards

• What information they contained

• How to fill in your own copy of a real WW2 Identity Card

On 3rd September 1939 the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced that Britain was at war with Germany. Click the picture below to hear his announcement on the BBC website:

THE START OF WORLD WAR TWO

WHAT WORRIED THE GOVERNMENT

The government knew that this would have a big effect on the lives of all the men, women

and children in the country in many different ways:

• Many men would have to go to war

• Many children would need evacuating away from the cities

• Women would have to replace the jobs normally done by the men

• Houses would be bombed so people might have to move around a lot

The National Registration Act 1939

To help to keep track of everybody during all this disruption, the Government passed a law called “The National Registration Act” which meant that everyone would have to

carry an identity card containing their information.

It was passed only 2 days after the start of the war. What date would this have been?

1. 7th September 1939?2. 5th September 1939?3. 12th September 1939?

The National Registration Act 1939

And the answer is …

5th September 1939

(Although the actual cards didn’t have to be used until 29th

September)

TYPES OF CARDSADULT IDENTITY CARDS:

• Had to be carried at all times

• Had to be shown to a police officer or member of the armed forces when asked

• Could only be filled in by a governmentemployee

TYPES OF CARDSCHILD IDENTITY CARDS:

• Had to be carried by children between 10-15

• Had to be kept safe by children’s parents if they were under 10 years old

• Had the words “UNDER SIXTEENYEARS” on the front

• Had to be swapped for an adult card on their 16th birthday

“Only children under ten were not obliged to carry their National

Identity Card, but most of us did

because it made us feel so very grown up”

"I still have the final re-issue of my

National Identity Card, which was issued 21st April 1951!”

WHAT WW2 CHILDREN SAID ABOUT THEIR ID CARDS

“ .. a man called at our door and gave us the brown cards

with our numbers "

What information do you think was on an Identity

Card and why?

Discuss it with your partner then feedback your answers

as a class

Now look at your own card carefully. You can see that it has spaces for these entries:• NUMBER: this was an official number given to you by the Government. These were even used long after the war in order to identify people.• NAME: No ID card would be complete without this!• “VALID UNTIL..” DATE: This would have been the person’s 16th birthday. What date would yours say?• ADDRESS and CHANGES OF ADDRESS: This shows how the Government were preparing for people having to move around a lot during the war•THE STAMPS: Notice anything interesting? We’ve added your school name for a bit of fun but this would have originally said “National Registration”

WERE YOU RIGHT? CHECK YOUR OWN CARD

Are you ready to fill in yours? Grab yourself a pen ..

NUMBER:

Teacher, decide on an abbreviation for your school (e.g. STJOS for St Joseph’s) then add 1 digit for each

different pupil e.g. STJOS: 01

NAME:

Hope you get this right!

“VALID UNTIL..” DATE:

Your 16th birthday

ADDRESS and CHANGES OF ADDRESS:

Ask your teacher what to put here. You might be asked to invent some addresses to show that you

have moved in the war

FILLING IN YOUR CARD: TIPS FOR PUPILS AND TEACHERS

SUGGESTED TASKS: Ask your teacher which one you should do

1. DRAMAWrite a 2 minute play with some of your friends,

showing a time and place where the ID card would be used. You could be a 1940s policeman

checking people’s cards, or soldiers at a road block looking for enemy spies.

2. TIMELINE RESEARCHLook at the two dates on your card stamps. The first

one, 29th Sept 1939, is the first day of the ID scheme, and the second is the first day of the

Battle of Britain. Find another 10 important WW2 dates on the internet and report them back to

class.

THE QUICK ID CARD QUIZ!

(FILL IN THE BLANK) The law was called the National R__________ Act

Registration

(FILL IN THE BLANK) Adults were made

to c_______ their cards at all times carryFALSE: They didn’t have any information about the person’s

appearance

FALSE: parents looked after the card if you were under 10

(TRUE OR FALSE?) Children under 10

had to carry their Identity Card at all times

(TRUE OR FALSE?) Each card contained the person’s name and their hair colour

Learning check

Do you now know ..

What the National Registration Act was in WW2?

Why it was important for people to carry ID cards

What information they contained

How to fill in your own copy of an ID card

This has been a Blitz School FREE Teaching Resource

www.blitzschool.co.uk

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