1918 register manuscript annotations PE

[keithmroberts]

I am organising transcription of the 1918 register for the Buckland Ward of Portsmouth. A large number of entries, at least 300 possibly double that or more, have the manuscript annotation PE to the left of the poll number. This does not appear against any NM coded voters, generally R, O, and HO electors only, of either sex. The annotations are in only one or two hands, so I am pretty confident that they are official. The local archivists, and the current Electoral Registration staff are unable to help. The annotations are mostly in the Division I section, but a few appear in Division II. The ward has just over 13k voters in total.

The PE annotation is not included in the standard list of printed abbreviations or markings at the beginning of the register.

Does anyone know what the PE represents please? We have tried guesswork, I need something definite. I would love to find a reference somewhere so that I can be confident about this.

Keith

[arthurk]

Hi Keith, and welcome.

Just as a guess, could PE stand for Parliamentary Elector? In 1918 there were different franchises, so that more people were qualified to vote in local elections than parliamentary ones. The following guide from the British Library tells you more about it, with some notes on this on p.19 (possibly elsewhere too):
https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/me...tituencies.pdf

When looking at electoral registers, I've a feeling that I've sometimes seen the local and parliamentary lists printed separately, but could Portsmouth have had a single list which they marked up later to show the parliamentary voters?

Arthur

[keithmroberts]

Thanks for the reply, but I can't think it is right. All the voters in Divisions I and II were parliamentary electors. The register is printed in sections, with Divisions I, II, and III following each other in the binders. The document that you link to is interesting, but doesn't really help, I have read it previously. I am in the throes of a busy project, or would track the named people through directories and later registers in search of clues. I might be able to try that in the summer, but by then the project will have closed, and the digital register will be lodged with the local History Centre which holds the Portsmouth Archives, and with the University History Department who will make it accessible through one of their websites.

[arthurk]

OK, but as I said, it was just a guess. Another random thought: could you look into the provenance of the copy of the register you're using - in other words, whose hands has it passed through, and why might they have wanted to mark certain individuals? For example, might it have been a copy where people were marked off as they voted at a particular polling station?

[Peter Goodey]

Parochial elector?

[keithmroberts]

Sorry - the printed definitions at the front include a code that appears for persons NOT entitled to vote at that address for Borough or District Councillors and in the case of a parish at elections for parish councillors or at parish meetings. Mostly the individuals with such an exclusion are non resident business people who vote on Business Premises grounds and have alternative addresses with full voting rights.

[geneius]

Can you load a copy up as an example?

[mikejee]

Just a suggestion, but if the copy was being used for a particular purpose, could PE stand for Please Exclude.

[thewideeyedowl]

Hi there and a very warm welcome to Brit Gen...

What about 'Proxy Elector'??? That suggested itself when I ran a search and came across the forum associated with the transcription of the Northumberland AVL: https://www.coquetandcoast.co.uk/ambl...hread.php?t=49. (PA is 'Proxy Area', which is as near as we get to what you are looking for.)

Off to roost.

Owl

[geneius]

Does this help?

https://www.electoralregisters.org.uk/codes.htm