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  • MEPO 351876-1991Metropolitan Police: Aliens Registration Office: Sample Record Cards

    This series contains the surviving aliens' registration cards for the London area. These represent some 1,000 cases out of the tens of thousands of aliens resident in London since 1914. Although the cards represent a small sample they do include some notable cases including Joe Coral the book maker (MEPO 35/16/2). There appears to be a heavy concentration of cases around the late 1930's, as Germans and east Europeans fled the Nazi persecutions. For example MEPO 35/29/4 consists of cards for Ernst Freud and his family.

    The information provided on the cards includes full name, date of birth, date of arrival into the UK, employment history, address, marital status, details of any children, and date of naturalisation with the Home Office reference if applicable. The cards usually include at least one photograph and for most cases there are continuation cards. The covering dates indicate the period of time the individual was of alien status in the UK and obliged to register their details though the Aliens Order, 1960, which came into force on 1 January 1961. This paved the way for the abolition of the central register for all aliens with the exception of those who had a landing condition requiring them to leave the UK within a specified period.

    Digital copies of selected Aliens’ registration cards 1918-1957 can be searched and downloaded.