Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England, Vaccination Register, 1909-1927

More than a century after Edward Jenner began the practice of vaccination to prevent smallpox, these registers recorded the vaccinations of children in the town of Newport Pagnell for the years 1909 through 1927. The details found in the records are similar to those found in birth registers, including:

• date and place of birth
• child’s name
• gender
• father's name
• father’s occupation
• date birth reported
• date of vaccination
• whether considered insusceptible or if the child had smallpox
• name of the physician
• date of vaccination certificate
• date of death for children who died before being vaccinated

The push for vaccination against smallpox began to pick up momentum in the 1840s, and the Vaccination Acts at times made vaccination mandatory. However, in 1907 new legislation provided the means for parents to opt against vaccination without penalty.

Newport Pagnell is located in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire northwest of London.