Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2017 i Who Do You Think You Are?

November is the month when we traditionally remember those who laid down their lives in defence of our country and our values. For family historians, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month can have extra poignancy as our research brings us closer to the men (and sometimes women) who fought and died. Although the focus, especially during this centenary period, has been on the First World War, just as many of us will have family who fought in earlier or later conflicts. Our regular military historian Phil Tomaselli has provided us with a handy guide to army records and where to find them covering almost 600 years (page 17). November has also become a month when archives up and down the country look at ways to…

£13.6 million will be invested in a scheme to move Cheshire Archives and Local Studies to two new history centres 2 major family history companies have announced leadership changes, with Findmypast appointing new CEO Tamsin Todd while Ancestry’s Tim Sullivan stood down, replaced by Howard Hochhauser 241,846 Dorset parish records added to familysearch.org 4,689 square miles of the West of England mapped by volunteers on historic mapping website kypwest.org.uk, more than 100 times the target of 40 square miles in Bristol 229,000 records of baptisms in Herefordshire, dating back to the 16th century, added to findmypast.co.uk…

The National Archives (TNA)  nationalarchives.gov.uk Online records can be downloaded for a fee as well as free of charge (look for Digital Microfilm), with research guides and a catalogue of TNA’s military holdings (many are not online). The National Army Museum  nam.ac.uk The museum collection explores themes relating to army life through the ages and details its extensive holdings of books, manuscripts, photographs and memorabilia. The London Gazette  thegazette.co.uk/all-notices The Government’s own newspaper has been published daily since 1665, reporting on (among other things) appointments and promotions of army officers and medal awards, and is an invaluable resource. The Ogilby Trust  armymuseums.org.uk This site has information on all Corps and Regimental Museums in the UK including contact details and website links – many of which themselves have invaluable information. British…

With the exception of the Crimean war against Russia (1854–55) the British Army stayed out of any major continental conflicts and became a kind of colonial police force, though this involved some serious and difficult fighting, notably the Indian Mutiny (sometimes referred to as India’s First War of Independence) of 1857 and the Second Boer War 1899–1902, but with scores of small battles fought in China, Burma, Egypt, Sudan, Southern and Western Africa, Abyssinia (the then Ethiopian Empire) and even Canada. At home, with the prospect of war looking far off, the Militia was once more allowed to wither so that when it was required, to provide cover for units going to the Crimean War, it was found to be horribly deficient in men and equipment and had to be…

The Asplin Military History Resources  britishmedals.us/kevin/intro.html Great site with casualty rolls, shipping lists for the Boer War; soldiers’ profiles; Roll for Imperial Yeomanry, Boer War; enlistment papers for Boer War volunteers; Medal Roll for Indian Mutiny; and indexes to discharges 1871–79. The Victorian Military Society  victorianmilitarysociety.org.uk Premier website for the period; undergoing reconstruction but provides useful links. The Crimean War Research Society  cwrs.russianwar.co.uk/ Transcripts, databases and extracts from Army and Navy lists. The National Library of Scotland  digital.nls.uk/british-militarylists/archive/88735803 Free digital images of invaluable Hart’s Army Lists (1839–1915) that give detailed service accounts.…

The National Archives  nationalarchives.gov.uk TNA has a Research Guide for gallantry awards (search for ‘Recommendations for military honours and awards 1935–1990’) plus Home Guard records for County Durham. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission  cwgc.org As for First World War (see box, page 24). Findmypast  findmypast.co.uk Casualty lists (including Royal Artillery) for WW2, Palestine and Malaya Emergencies and Korean War. Details of PoWs of the Japanese, with their Japanese Record Cards. Ancestry  ancestry.co.uk Army Roll of Honour, brief details of TNA’s Army Gallantry Awards, and Rolls of Honour. The Genealogist  www.thegenealogist.co.uk Has lists of army PoWs held by the Germans, as do Ancestry and Findmypast. Forces War Records  www.forces-war-records.co.uk Transcriptions of daily reports of casualties (including missing); Medal Rolls for Suez and Korea; Korea PoWS; lists of Japanese held PoWs; and…

When the cyber-trail goes cold, visiting a county record office is a good next step. The local archive is like a TARDIS that can transport you to your chosen era. Each contains thousands of unique documents dating back to the Middle Ages. From school log books to landed gentry’s estate accounts, architects’ plans to property deeds, they offer a wealth of information about the local area in times past, and the people who lived there. The National Archives website will help you work out which office you need to visit: discovery.national archives.gov.uk/find-an-archive. 1 PLAN YOUR RESEARCH AND BREAK IT DOWN INTO STEPS For each visit, decide what you want to find out, and why. Make sure you can explain this concisely, otherwise staff may struggle to help. Visual aids can improve…

Why was my grandmother in India? QSarah Lee (my grandmother) was born on 1 December 1858 in Baldock, Hertfordshire. I have some pictures of her including one of her on her 21st birthday. On the back, it says it was taken by The Garrison Photographer, India. I assume she must have been working there – perhaps as a maid. How can I find out more? Alan Sturgess, by email ASarah’s mother Edith died in 1869 and in the 1871 census we find Sarah staying with her uncle Edward’s family. We also know her first child George was born about 1883 in Burton Latimer, Northants, though no registration of birth has been found. From Sarah’s 21st birthday photograph, we know that she was in India in late 1879 as her birth…

‘The magazines brought news from home and sought to offer comfort to those in the armed forces’ Boots, the UK pharmacy, health and beauty retailer, today has thousands of shops, but the company began life as a small herbalist store in Nottingham, opened by John Boot in 1849. Under the leadership of John’s son Jesse it became a national business. Within a few months of the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, 500 Boots employees signed up to the forces. In total around 4,000 of the company’s 12,000 employees served in the war. Of these, 330 men, 125 from the offices and works and 205 from stores, died in active duty. Boots continues to preserve its history through one of the largest retail archives in the UK. As…

The Imperial War Museum’s medals guide (iwm.org.uk/research/ iwm.org.uk/research/ tracing-your-family-history/tracing-your-army-history/medal-records tracing-your-family-history/tracing-your-army-history/medal-records) is a simple page which scores over similar rivals through hyperlinks to all kinds of external sources. These include The Gazette , commercial databases, The National Archives (TNA), plus less obvious resources such as an official MoD guide to campaigns, descriptions and eligibility for various medals (gov.uk/guidance/medals-campaigns-descriptions-and-eligibility). You can find out more about Ancestry’s medal record collections (through its partnership with TNA) via ancestry.co.uk/cs/uk/ military. These include First World War Medal Rolls Index Cards (1914–20) and Campaign Medals (1793–1949). Similarly Findmypast has the vast Britain, Campaign, Gallantry & Long Service Medals & Awards collection (search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/world-war-one-british-army-medalindex-cards). Via stehelene.org you can find out about the Saint Helena medal, created by Napoleon III, and awarded to the 405,000 soldiers still living in 1857 who fought…

The position of churchwarden originated between the 12th and 14th centuries when the laity took on new responsibilities for gathering money for the parish and maintaining the fabric of the church. Churchwardens are lay people who are elected annually, usually around Easter time. Every parish was supposed to appoint a minimum of two. In general, one was nominated by the vicar and the other by local ratepayers who formed the parish (vestry) council. They only had to serve one term, but it is not unusual to see the same names recurring on accounts and other parish records. The majority of churchwardens were men until well into the 20th century. Nevertheless, women were not excluded from serving in this role. As a result, women churchwardens appear in records in many different…

Elsie Kearsley from Longridge, near Preston, was the last of the Daily Dispatch Cotton Queens. She was the daughter of a local police sergeant and worked as a weaver at Whittle’s Stone Bridge Mill. After winning the title of Miss Preston, she was crowned the 10th Cotton Queen of Great Britain on 24 June 1939. Elsie’s first official appearance following her coronation was at John Lewis’s store in Manchester to promote their extensive range of ‘Lancashire goods for Lancashire Folk’ including ‘Horrocks’s Novelty Cottons’ and ‘250 Designs in Crepe Mervyn’. The Manchester Evening News proclaimed, “Here she is at Lewis’s! Now thousands of Lancashire folk who missed the crowning ceremony at Blackpool will have their first opportunities to see the New Cotton Queen.” In June 1939 she visited the new…

How long have you been doing family history? I started tracing my ancestors when I retired in 2011. I had wanted to start researching for a while and felt that would be the best time. What had you managed to uncover before hitting your brick wall? I knew that my father had been born Frederick Frank Munday in 1885 in East Grinstead, West Sussex. He had been in the Scots Guards during the First World War and had been awarded the Military Medal and Bar, serving at the battle of Passchendaele and the Somme. I searched online and found his service number and medal card, but not the citation. I contacted the Scots Guards and they sent me all the information they held, which proved to be very useful. I…

Lincs to the Past is a valuable resource and a recommended starting point Agriculture has been the driving economic force of Lincolnshire for centuries, although many heavy engineering firms flourished here from around the mid-19th century. It is a county dotted with market towns, historic landmarks and maritime communities, and where residents were nicknamed ‘yellowbellies’. Some towns, such as Grimsby, became the heart of a thriving fishing industry during the 19th century, while others became synonymous with tourism. Skegness was the stomping ground of the world-famous Jolly Fisherman, an image first printed in 1908 but endlessly reprinted, reworked and parodied. Billy Butlin opened the first of his holiday camps here in 1936. There are a number of archives and libraries across the county that can help you in your research.…

What Have the Germans Ever Done for Us? A History of the German Population of Great Britain by Susan Duxbury-Neumann Amberley, £14.99, 96 pages Germans have been a part of Britain since the Anglo-Saxons. The author sheds light on several periods in the history of German immigrants, including businessmen who contributed to economic growth and hostility to Germans before the First World War. Ribbons Among the Rajahs: A History of British Women in India Before the Raj by Patrick Wheeler Pen & Sword, £25, 246 pages Even before the Raj, many Europeans settled in India. Patrick Wheeler evokes life for upper-class women there, from struggles with heat and social protocol to a surprising sympathy for Indian culture. Extensive quotes from letters tell the women’s story in their own words. Life…

PHIL TOMASELLI Phil is a regular military expert for our Q&A section. This month he went the extra mile with a massive overview of army records (page 17). GILL BLANCHARD Gill has run her own research company for 20 years now and on page 63 introduces us to the fascinating details found in churchwardens’ accounts. ROSA MATHESON Rosa is a historian who has published eight books on railway history. Who better to tell us about life as a railway navvy (page 71)?…

‘It is one of the first genealogical resources to catalogue in chronological order’ 90,000 convict records made available for free The Digital Panopticon project brings together biographical data from a wide range of sources The stories of convicted criminals, including those sentenced to transportation, can now be uncovered on a new free history website. The Digital Panopticon website launched at a conference in Liverpool on 13–15 September as part of a project by the University of Liverpool, University of Sheffield, University of Oxford, University of Sussex and University of Tasmania in Australia. Named after an 18th-century theoretical prison where all the inmates can be watched by one guard, the website includes information on the lives of 90,000 individuals convicted of crimes at the Old Bailey between 1780 and 1925. Professor…

‘She’d inherited nine very large boxes of photographs, hardly any of them identified’ Smile for the camera Where did those beautiful early family photographs come from, asks Alan Crosby, and who are the people in them? I was reading about early photographers working in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, before the First World War. The feature examined the context behind those family portraits we keep, stuffed in boxes and crammed into folders. You know how it is. We think: “One day I’ll sort them out, label them with detailed information about who, where, when and on what occasion they were taken.” But that day never quite comes round and the family photos are still tucked away in that large cardboard box. I recently went to the funeral of a very old lady of…

Ancestry  ancestry.co.uk Military records include the Waterloo Medal Roll; Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls from 1793; Militia records from Dorset, West Yorkshire, Perthshire, Warwickshire and Cornwall; Military Deserters (1812–1927); Army Pensioner papers from Chelsea and Kilmainham Hospitals (1724–1925); Muster Books and Pay Lists 1812–17 (though some are much earlier). Findmypast  findmypast.co.uk British Army Service Records that can be viewed online include Pension Records from Kilmainham Hospital from 1783 onwards; Army Lists for 1787 and 1798 and details of Royal Artillery Officers (1716–1899); information on Half Pay Officers (1714) and Peninsular War Officers; some Militia records for Plymouth, York and Northamptonshire; some details of Prisoners of War; and Transcriptions of various Napoleonic Records. Forces War Records  forces-war-records.co.uk This site has transcribed records of the Scottish Militia and some of the…

Ancestry  ancestry.co.uk Includes Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls 1793–1949 covering the colonial wars after 1842; Boer War casualties; Deserters 1812–1927; Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Soldier discharge records 1760–1920 (you need to additionally subscribe to their Fold3 service to actually see the records). Findmypast  findmypast.co.uk The site has army and militia discharge records for the period which can be viewed online; Boer War records compiled from a variety of sources; details of men of the 60th Foot 1854–82; and ‘snapshots’ of the army (which it calls worldwide indexes) from 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871. Forces War Records  forces-war-records.co.uk This site focuses on forces war records and military genealogy through various periods ranging from 1700 to 1945. Relevant to this era, you will find many transcribed medals rolls, as well as…

The Long Long Trail  www.longlongtrail.co.uk The best site on the First World War British Army. Contains no actual records but explains what they all are, how to find and understand them and has links to other useful sites. It also has the most complete list of surviving absent voter rolls available. The International Red Cross  grandeguerre.icrc.org Information on men captured and missing, though difficult to search. Army Lists of Officers  digital.nls.uk/british-militarylists/archives/88735803 Canadian service records  www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/Pages/introduction.aspx War Diaries and service records. Australian War Memorial  awm.gov.au/about/collection/awm4/ Histories, rolls and diaries for Australian units. Australia and New Zealand  discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au Free digitised WW1 service records for Australia and NZ. Indian Army  searcharchives.bl.uk Records for British soldiers in the Indian Army are held at the British Library. Indexed but not digitised.…

The National Library of Scotland  digital.nls.uk/british-militarylists/archive/88735803 Free digital images of the Army Lists, though with fewer details than earlier ones. The Home Guard  home-guard.org.uk An excellent website dealing with the general history during the Second World War. There are also an increasing number of sites dealing with local units. BBC / British Armed Forces  bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/www.britisharmedforces.org Both websites have oral history testimonies and photographs from men and women who served in the Second World War and immediately afterwards, including National Service.…

As part of last year’s Explore Your Archives, The National Archives launched a series of hashtags illuminating the different finds you can discover in your archives. Archivists around the country took to social media to share the most poignant, interesting and plain weird finds in their collections. Over this year’s Explore Your Archive campaign, archivists will use social media again, using the following themes: Sunday 19 November #explorearchives Monday 20 November #archivecatwalk Tuesday 21 November #ediblearchives Wednesday 22 November #hairyarchives Thursday 23 November #archivescience Friday 24 November #lovearchives Saturday 25 November #explorearchives Sunday 26 November #explorearchives…

GILL BLANCHARD is the author of the book Tracing Your East Anglian Ancestors. JANET DEMPSEY is a records specialist at TNA, concentrating on maritime and transport records. IAN HILDER is a member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) based in East Sussex. EMMA JOLLY is a professional genealogist, writer and historical researcher. ANTONY MARR is a member of AGRA and is a former Deputy Registrar. SYLVIA MURPHY is based in Australia and has been researching families in Colonial India since 1996. PHIL TOMASELLI is a military family history expert and the author of Tracing Your Air Force Ancestors. SIMON WILLS is a maritime genealogist and an author.…

The TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton followed the colourful life of her 4x great grandfather, William Gilmour. He was originally from Ireland and he trained to be a doctor, spending time on a ship during the Crimean War. In later life he hit financial difficulties and was declared bankrupt in 1865 while in Aylesbury. He ended his life humbly, dying in a workhouse in 1881. We discovered his bankruptcy by searching local newspapers, as such cases were often reported in the press. The London Gazette also published bankruptcy notices in order to inform creditors (thegazette.co.uk). The National Archives (TNA) also holds some records for bankrupts, although only a few personal cases survive (nationalarchives. gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/ bankrupts-insolvent-debtors). Before 1832, bankruptcy proceedings were also included in Court of Chancery records, held at TNA. The…

Do you think you have an ancestor who worked for the postal service? If that’s the case the new Postal Museum’s Discovery Room is the place to start your research. The Postal Museum opened at its new Central London site in July this year, exploring the history of the Post Office and development of communications in Britain. The new museum has several galleries, educational and research facilities and a café. For the first time, a section of Mail Rail (the underground railway used to transport mail under the capital from 1927–2003) has been opened up for the public. You can enjoy a ride on this two-foot gauge railway following part of the route that so many letters took in the past. The museum is also the home of the Royal…

Appointment books The key sources of information on individuals who worked for the Post Office are the Appointment Books and the Pensions and Gratuities records. The Appointment Books provide a register of most employees from 1831 to 1956 (like all records in The Royal Mail Archive they are given a reference starting with the word ‘POST’, in this case POST 58). Other volumes cover 1737–74 and some of the period up to 1969. Arranged by year of appointment and then by surname, they give date of appointment, role and place of work. These are now searchable online via ancestry.co.uk – just look for the ‘British Postal Service Appointment Books, 1737–1969’. A list of abbreviations used in these records is at the end of the Postal Museum’s Family History Research Guide…

‘Life was hard, often short, and the conditions of the coal valleys were notoriously poor’ This month I’m profiling a project being undertaken by Glamorgan Archives, based in Cardiff. With a Wellcome Trust Research Resources grant, the Archives has started the ‘Glamorgan’s Blood: Dark Arteries, Old Veins’ project. The intriguing title is a quotation from Rhondda Valley, a poem by Mervyn Peake (1911–68) about the coal which was the “limb, life and bread” of the county. The project involves cataloguing and conserving the records in the National Coal Board (NCB) collection held by the Archives. The material spans two centuries, from the 1790s to the 1990s, and there are 225 boxes, 884 volumes and 470 rolls of plans. Almost all the archive relates to Glamorganshire, and the aim is to…

Cleaning the church October to December 1844: One shilling and six pence for beer for Mr Bakers men and for Creed cleaning the church, another five shillings and six pence to Creed for cleaning payment and five shillings for a bottle of wine at Christmas. Dealing with paupers 1845 Feb 15: Payment of a pound to remove a pauper called William Wilson to Downham. Building maintenance Payments to G. Mayes for mending the church winders [sic], Elsey for ‘new Blower for Vestry’, Cole for mending the church pales etc. and Creed’s salary. RECEIPTS INTO CHURCHWARDENS’ FUND Receipts from Easter 1844 to Easter 1845 Received from Reverend Aufrere for one years [sic] Rent: three shillings and four pence. By Rate: nineteen pounds, four shillings and one pence. Total and balance given.…

MUSEUMS AND ARCHIVES • Tameside Local Studies & Archives  www.tameside.gov.uk/archives The archive holds a fascinating collection of oral histories, photograph albums, press cuttings and ephemera related to the Daily Dispatch newspaper Cotton Queens, with particular emphasis on the first queen Frances Lockett. • Museums and Archives Northumberland  experiencewoodhorn.com/collections Located at Woodhorn Museum, near Ashington, the archive holds collections telling the story of many of the northeast Coal Queens and their communities. The website features a searchable collections catalogue. • National Coal Mining Museum for England  ncm.org.uk/collections The museum has information about the stories of national and regional Coal Queens, as well as the history of English coal mining in general. • Bolton Archives and Local Studies  boltonlams.co.uk/archives Bolton Archives holds an album presented by the Daily Dispatch newspaper to the…

GOING ON A RANDY A favourite sport of navvies, meaning going on a drinking spree, which could last for several days. MUCK The term referred to anything that navvies dug out of the ground, whether it was mud, sand, stones or shale. ON THE TRAMP Tramping the country looking for work. PURRING-BOOTS Stout boots with an iron-plate, protruding a good inch in front of the toe, which were often used by navvies when fighting. SHANT The navvies had an ironic name for their huts, the slang for ‘shan’t’ or ‘shall not’. This word gave us ‘shanty town’ – ‘shall not town’. TOMMY The navvy’s word for food, which was bought from the ‘tommy shop’, and carried in his neckerchief.…

SCOTS GUARDS RECORDS Margaret found some further information about Frederick’s military career with help from the Scots Guards. Details about the Scots Guards regimental archives, along with instructions on how to submit a research request, can be found at scotsguards.org/history/archives. For a full guide to tracing your Army ancestors, turn to our feature on page 17 of this issue. WEST SUSSEX RECORDS Located in Chichester, West Sussex Record Office holds millions of historic records dating back to the 8th century. Like other regional archives, the facility offers a range of services for people tracing their family history, including free access to ancestry.co.uk and findmypast.co.uk. For more information, visit bit.ly/2w8i2cj. BIRTH INDEXES Civil registration indexes of births in England and Wales can be found on numerous websites, including freebmd.org.uk. Once you…

120 The Fossdyke canal, connecting the River Trent to Lincoln, is thought to have been first constructed around this period of time. 1536 The Lincolnshire Rising begins after Rev Thomas Kendall’s sermon in St James Church, Louth, excites a huge crowd to confront the King’s Commissioners. Kendall is hanged the following year. 1780 John Wesley, the founder of Methodism along with his brother Charles, born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, preaches for the first time in Lincoln. 1846 The Midland Railway opens the Nottingham to Lincoln Line, stopping at the city’s first terminus – St Marks railway station. The station closes in 1985. 1878 Debtors held at Lincoln Castle are moved to a new prison on the outskirts of the city. The disused cells will for a time house the county archives.…

Irish connections Emma Willis explored her Irish family through the lineage of her great great grandmother. We built this part of the tree using the National Library of Ireland’s Catholic parish registers collection, accessed free without needing to set up an account. 1 Navigate to registers.nli.ie to begin. The registers can only be browsed by parish name, so you will need that information to start. In this example we will search for St Michan’s Church in Dublin, which is where we believed that Emma’s great great grandmother Margaret Kirwan had been 2 Once you’ve clicked on the magnifying glass icon, the next page displays microfilm scans available for your chosen parish. We knew Margaret was born around 1862, so scroll down until you get to Microfilm 08831/03, which displays baptism records…

£785,000 granted for the first social history of the NHS The memories of the first National Health Service workers and patients will be recorded in a new shared social history project. The Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of Manchester has received a £785,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out the project. Some 160 volunteers, including 70 young people, will be trained to gather stories and artefacts concerning the history of the NHS in their local area, including interviewing those who remember the birth of the NHS in 1948. Database of Norwich freemen records launched Centuries of records of those awarded the freedom of the city of Norwich are now available to search in a free online database. The Freemen of…

There have been soldiers in Britain of one kind or another for hundreds of years. Often these were men who had received training and remained civilians, ready to be called upon, but from 1660 onwards these were being steadily replaced by full time professionals. Early records are patchy and only occasionally provide information directly useful to the genealogist but as time went on more and more records have survived and are available for the careful researcher to investigate and, hopefully, find out about their ancestors who served. One thing it’s important to point out – these records were not created with the genealogist in mind. Most were created so that the central authorities, which doled out the sometimes pitiful amounts spent on defence, could ensure the money was being spent…

The National Archives  nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/ medieval-early-modern-soldiers Guide to locating early soldiers (including some Scottish records). Medieval soldiers  www.medievalsoldier.org Names of thousands of soldiers serving the crown (mainly, but not only, in France) in the period 1369–1453 and details of Military Pardons. Parliamentarian officers  british-history.ac.uk/no-series/ cromwell-army-officers The most comprehensive list of Civil War Parliamentarian Officers, sometimes with additional genealogical information. Civil War Army Lists  archive.org/details/ armylistsofround00peacuoft Details of early Royalist and Parliamentary officers from 1642. Militia records  findmypast.co.uk Early militia records for Plymouth (1625–1831) and York (1509–1829). Most early Militia records are held locally – use TNA Catalogue (discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/) to locate them (search for Militia and restrict the search to Other Archives).…

1 REGIMENT DISCHARGED FROM in this case the 2nd Battalion of the 89th Foot. 2 SOLDIER’S NAME John Harris. Only rarely is there more than one first name quoted. 3 NAME OF PARISH BORN IN Parish, clarified by the name of nearest large town or its county. 4 REASON FOR DISCHARGE Here it’s due to the reduction of the battalion (it’s 1816 and the war’s over) but it’s more usually being wounded, sick or ‘worn out’ ie unfit through age. 5 THE CORPS (or Regiments served in) and between which dates. 6 RANKS HELD AND FOR HOW LONG John Harris was only a private but could have reached Sergeant Major. 7 LENGTH OF TIME SERVED in the East or West Indies (where service counted double because of risk of illness).…

‘Musters also begin to give more information on the individual soldiers’ 1 SERVICE AT HOME (WHICH INCLUDED IRELAND) OR ABROAD This soldier served in Gibraltar and in the East Indies (basically India but could include Burma and places further east) as well as in Britain. 2 MORE MILITARY DETAILS Details of campaigns fought in, wounds and their effects, and special instances of gallantry. This soldier was lucky and never fought in a war so the space is marked ‘Nil’ throughout. 3 MEDALS AWARDED Here are further details of wars fought in, but this soldier has been awarded a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. 4 MARRIAGE DETAILS To whom, where and when. Children’s details are sometimes added. 5 ARMY QUALIFICATIONS ‘Nil’ here, but by this time Army Certificates were required…

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission  cwgc.org Records all Commonwealth war dead from the two world wars, usually with details of the unit they fought in and, frequently, details of next of kin. Invaluable for locating graves or memorials. The National Archives  nationalarchives.gov.uk/ TNA has a First World War Research Guide that includes copies of the Medal Cards; service records of British Army nurses and the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps; War Diaries for units serving in France and Belgium, Mesopotamia, Iraq and Persia, East Africa, Cameroon and West Africa; Household Cavalry service records; and Prisoner of War interview reports. Ancestry  ancestry.co.uk Here you’ll find Medal Cards (available free); surviving service and pension records; medal rolls; Silver War Badge records; War Diaries for France, Belgium and Germany and Gallipoli; lists of medal…

Behind the Scenes at the County Record Office 20 November COUNTY RECORD OFFICE, Warwick £5 This session will focus on documents from the parish collections, to celebrate 25 years since women were first ordained in the Church of England. Call 0192 673 8959 to book. Storytelling from Conflict 21 November PRONI, Belfast Free This event will explore the Prisons Memory Archive (PMA). The PMA Collection consists of 175 filmed recordings with those who had a connection with Armagh Gaol and the Maze and Long Kesh Prison during the Troubles. Register at bit.ly/prisonsmemory Unlocking the Asylum 23 November DENBIGHSHIRE ARCHIVES Free Explore the history of the North Wales Asylum in Denbigh and learn about a new Wellcome-funded project to catalogue its records. archives.denbighshire.gov.uk Know Your Place West of England 18…

‘Some of the pupils were inspired to investigate their own family tree. It became an addiction’ A hundred years ago, as war-weary soldiers staggered through the mud of the trenches, facing the imminent threat of shelling and gas attacks, what were they thinking about? Was it their home, their mother, their sweetheart or merely the challenge of putting one foot in front of the other? This is the kind of question that history teacher Steve Arman has asked his pupils to consider, as part of an award-winning project to commemorate the First World War. Steve is head of history at Wycliffe Preparatory School in Gloucestershire, where the pupils are aged between two and 13 years old. He was deeply saddened to discover that 78 of the school’s former pupils lost…

Clayton Irish ancestors bit.ly/2jOC1H5 Does anyone have a connection to the family name of Clayton, linked to County Galway and, in particular, the town of Loughrea? According to the 1881 and 1891 census, my great great grandfather John Clayton was born in Loughrea, Ireland, in around 1838. Where do I start my search? Maddyco Sarah Ann Stephens formerly Jones bit.ly/2xV0LE1 Sarah Ann Jones was born on 3 February 1867 at Bradfield near Manchester. Her family moved to Warrington. She married James Shirley Stephens in Warrington on 23 September 1889. A son, Frederick James, was born on 15 October 1890 at Percy Street, Warrington. On the 1891 census, Sarah and James were in London with James’s parents and his siblings. There is no mention of Frederick, who was baptised at St…

“I am going to recommend the Orders and Medals Society of America (www.omsa.org) which is a society of medal collectors centred in (but not confined to) the United States and their interests are equally worldwide. Of particular note is the images database, filled with pictures of orders, decorations and medals from around the world. This is an invaluable resource if you are trying to identify an unusual medal you have found in an ancestor’s effects or depicted in a photograph. Those who run the site, although quite small in number, are friendly and willing to answer inquiries and try to identify mystery medals for all comers – very helpful if you are puzzled by something that you have found. There is a growing blog section where members write in detail…

Year in question Gives the year your ancestor left the Post Office. Volume number This indicates the volume in the POST 1 catalogue. Exact date Use this to find the right volume in the POST 1 catalogue. Person’s surname This column lists surnames. Person’s first name Abbreviations are often used. Position held by your ancestor This is the role that your ancestor held when they left. Abbreviations are usually used; a glossary of these can be found at the end of The Postal Museum’s Family History Research Guide. Place of employment Where employees were working just before they left the Post Office. Page number in POST 1 volume this will help you to find the right page in the pension volume to read the entry about your ancestor.…

ARCHIVES • The Postal Museum 15-20 Phoenix Place, London, WC1X 0DA Archive 020 8183 0067 Museum 0300 0300 700 postalmuseum.org archives@postalmuseum.org • BT Archives Holborn Telephone Exchange, 268-270 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7EE 020 7440 4220 btplc.com/thegroup/ btshistory/btgrouparchives archives@bt.com • Union of Communication Workers Archive at the Modern Records Centre University of Warwick Library, Coventry, CV4 7AL 024 7652 4219 mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.  uk/records/UPW archives@warwick.ac.uk BOOKS • Masters of the Post: the authorised history of the Royal Mail by Duncan Campbell-Smith (Penguin, 2012) • Official Guide to The Postal Museum by Andrew Burnet (Jarrold Publishing, 2017) • Terriers in the Trenches: the history of the Post Office Rifles by Charles Messenger (Picton Publishing, 1982) • Men of Letters: the Post Office heroes who fought the Great War by Duncan Barrett…

‘He braves all weathers, he dares all danger’ The Chartist and activist John Francis Bray wrote of the navvy in 1851: “He is an important portion of this new system of political economy. He risks life and limb to form the works which we admire. He braves all weathers, he dares all danger, he labours with a power and purpose which demand attention”. Who then were these men of ‘power and purpose’? Where did they come from, and what did they actually do in their daily work? ‘Navvies’ – navigator engineers, because they navigated the waterways inland – became part of the industrial landscape with the coming of the modern canals in the early 18th century. The first time canal navvies transferred to the railways was when a railway bypass…

• National Railway Museum  nrm.org.uk/railwaystories/ songs Navvies’ own voices are hard to find, but here is a wonderful collection of navvy songs. • Railway Archive  bit.ly/ranav The Railway Archive is part of a larger project that received funding to put archive material relating to transport online. The site includes resources from a range of archives that hold railway material and provides a wealth of background information and photographs. • Victorian Web  victorianweb.org/history/work/sullivan/contents.html Free online copy of Navvyman by Dick Sullivan, about the experiences of his great grandfather, grandfather and father, who were all navvies. • British Newspaper Archive  britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk Features many reports of accidents and deaths of navvies. The newspapers in this collection can also be accessed at findmypast.co.uk…

The Tommy of the First World War by Neil R Storey Amberley, 64 pages, £8.99 In his introduction, the author describes this book as a brief overview, and at 64 pages and seven chapters this is indeed not a long book. However it is a concise read full of interesting facts and anecdotes describing the life of the British soldier during the period of the First World War. This is not a history of the war, nor is it a description of battles fought. It is, rather, a description of the daily life of the British Tommy. The book starts by describing where the term Tommy, short for ‘Tommy Atkins’, came from. It goes on to give a brief outline of the development and structure of the army from the…

‘My father promised that, come hell or high water, he would come home’ When Cheb Campbell was a little girl, her father Roy was a mystery. “I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t like other dads. He was absolutely covered in scars, for example,” she says. “There were great big slashes across his back. “The other thing was, whenever there was a parade – he was in the army until 1959 – my dad was always stuck in the front and always introduced to dignitaries.” As she got older, Cheb began to get the sense that all of this was because her father had escaped from something called ‘the Railway’. But she had no idea what that was until she was about 15 and decided to take it upon herself to…