Socioeconomic Characteristics of Interregional Migrants in England and Wales, 1939–71

Data from the Longitudinal Study (LS) of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys are used to examine patterns of regional migration in England and Wales between 1939 and 1971. The source of information on region in 1939 is from a national population register established shortly after the start of the Second World War. Of the 146 444 women and 129 267 men in the LS born before the register was established, 83.5% of the women and 50.1% of the men could be assigned to a region in 1939 and were included in the migration analyses. The effect of the exclusion of a considerable proportion of the study group from the analyses is discussed, as is the effect of wartime evacuation. It is concluded that although these factors may affect the results, they are unlikely to have a substantial impact. Overall, 18% of persons in the analysis moved between region from 1939 to 1971. Migrants tended to be socioeconomically advantaged compared with nonmigrants. Moreover, those moving to regions where the nonmigrants were the most advantaged, were themselves the most advantaged of the migrants. This paper illustrates a new source of data on long-term migration that deserves further exploration.