Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2018 i Who Do You Think You Are?

One hundred years ago, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns fell silent. Hostilities ceased but the painful reality of living with both mental and physical wounds continued for our families. It feels right in this centenary year to remember those who fought in this terrible conflict, not just by name but with as much understanding of what they experienced as we can glean from the archives (page 17). We’ve got a lot of WW1 features in the magazine this month (look for the poppies on Contents page 4), but we’ve got plenty more coming up over the next year including features on those who fought on the sea and in the air. So keep an eye out and build your library. There…

PHIL TOMASELLI Phil is our resident military history expert, answering questions in our Q&A pages and often writing features. He explains how to access WW1 records online on page 17. NELL DARBY Nell is a writer and social historian, but this month goes behind the scenes of a new TV series on British crafts (page 26). She has also been hard at work compiling our new-look Q&A pages. ROBBIE BENNIE Robbie has been our art editor for more years than he cares to remember (almost seven). He has worked super-hard over the past months creating a new look for us. We love it!…

WW1 nurses scrapbooks project wins £500 award A project to share First World War nurses’ scrapbooks online has won this year’s £500 Community History Project prize from the Women’s History Network. A team of 32 volunteer nurses worked with Royal College of Nursing Library and Archives staff to scan and transcribe 10 scrapbooks, which are available at rcn.org.uk/servicescrapbooks. The judges said that the project “help[ed] address the gender imbalance in accessible primary material from the Great War”. TheGenealogist publishes 1910 Brent records The digitisation of the 1910 Land Valuation Survey on thegenealogist.co.uk has reached its third stage with the release of about 33,000 records for Brent. The survey’s Field Books recorded details of properties and their residents across England and Wales, gathered in order to assess the value of land…

EAST SUFFOLK FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY FAIR AND AGM 27 October a Waterfront Building, University of Suffolk, Ipswich w bit.ly/suffolkfair e sfhsfairs@suffolkfhs.co.uk t 01473 828416 This year’s Suffolk FHS fair, celebrating 100 years since the 1918 Armistice, features talks, an expert helpdesk and a research room, as well as stalls and genealogical suppliers. Free. LONDON LIFE IN COLONIAL AMERICA 1700–1790 27 October a Society of Genealogists, Clerkenwell w bit.ly/sog-col-america e events@sog.org.uk t 0207 251 8799 This half-day SOG course explores the expansion of colonial life in the 18th century, and uncovers the experiences of the pioneers who landed from Europe. As these migrants moved west and south, what influence did they have? And what was the indentured servant system? £20 – booking required. MIDLANDS TOMMY AND DENNIS 12 November a Old…

Nearly nine million men and more than 50,000 women served in the British Army in the First World War, making it by far the biggest of the services. But the loss of about 60 per cent of soldiers’ service records in the Arnside Street fire in September 1940 means that detective work is often required to discover what a relative did, and where they served. However, many records have recently been digitised, and more are coming. This means that researching your Army ancestor is easier now than it was even four years ago. ‘Researching your Army ancestor is easier now than it was even four years ago’ SOLDIERS’ SERVICE RECORDS The place to begin is the surviving soldiers’ service records, now digitised and indexed on both ancestry.co.uk and findmypast.co.uk. If…

1914 4 August Following Germany’s invasion of neutral Belgium, Britain declares war, supporting France and Russia against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Within days British troops have crossed to France. 23 August The Battle of Mons occurs. British troops retreat almost to Paris before joining French counterattacks in September. 19 October The First Battle of Ypres begins and the city is held (just). By Christmas an unbroken trench line runs from the Channel to the Swiss border. 1915 10 March The Battle of Neuve-Chapelle launches a series of battles (including Aubers Ridge and Festubert) in support of larger French attacks further south. 25 April After Turkey joined the German side in late 1914, British, Empire and French troops begin landing at Gallipoli to clear a naval route to Constantinople. 25 September Britain’s…

1917 12 March Revolution in Russia begins the process of the country leaving the war, but America declares war on Germany on 6 April offering the Allies some hope. 31 July The Third Battle of Ypres begins (Passchendaele). Unexpectedly heavy rain creates a quagmire, and casualties on both sides are heavy. It officially ends on 10 November. 20 November The Battle of Cambrai begins, with the first massed use of tanks. Although a defeat, it becomes the template for the successes of late 1918. 1918 21 March – July Following Russia’s surrender a series of massive German attacks in France threaten to break the Allied armies. They are held, and Franco-British cooperation is increased. 8 August The Allied counter-offensive begins at Amiens. British, Empire, French and American troops attack together…

If you have London ancestors, a good first step is to visit the Records of London’s Livery Companies Online (ROLLCO) website londonroll.org. This project is creating a searchable online database of apprentices and freemen of the City of London’s livery companies, dating from about 1400 to 1900. Among the companies represented are the Bowyers’ Company, the Clothworkers’ Company, the Drapers’ Company, the Salters’ Company, the Goldsmiths’ Company, the Tallow Chandlers’ Company and the Mercers’ Company. County record offices often have archival collections deposited by local companies and associations, as well as personal family papers that may relate to specific trades. Search their online catalogues with keywords, and you may be surprised by the results. Local museums are also a terrific resource for exploring regional industries. Unfortunately, Northampton Museum & Art…

When we look back on our lives, we all want to feel like we made a difference. That’s part of what has spurred on those who have given their time to the British Red Cross since its establishment in 1870. It could be that during WWI, one of your relatives might even have been involved in the great volunteer effort. And for many women, WWI signalled the end of compulsory homemaking. Up and down the country, women became an essential part of the workforce, filling the shoes of the men away fighting for king and country. Some became medics, farmers, teachers and bus conductors – others joined the ranks of the Red Cross as Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs). The Red Cross VADs provided vital aid to naval and military forces,…

GILL BLANCHARD is a genealogist, house historian and member of AGRA KATHERINE COBB is a member of AGRA and specialises in South-West and South-East England EMMA JOLLY is a writer, historical researcher and member of AGRA JAYNE SHRIMPTON is a fashion historian and an expert at dating photographs RUTH SYMES is a freelance writer and historian, specialising in family history MICHAEL TOBIAS is a co-founder and board member of Jewish Records Indexing-Poland PHIL TOMASELLI is a military family history expert HELEN WHITTLE is a member of AGRA and the Association of Professional Genealogists ‘Searching an original register may reveal a “missing” baptism’ Why can’t I find a baptism record for my ancestor? Q My ancestor Frances Tickell married John Stone at St Andrew’s, Plymouth, on 14 July 1816 – both…

Q Since the introduction of military hints on findmypast.co.uk, I have discovered that two of my ancestors – both related and serving in the Royal Navy – were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Albert George Rogers was awarded it during the First World War, in November 1917, and Sub-Lieutenant Alfred Norman Victor Rimmington was awarded for service in the Second World War, while serving on the submarine HMS Sealion . Could you give me any idea of where I could find copies of the citations for these two awards? Victor Stotten A The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) was introduced in October 1914, to be awarded to petty officers, naval ratings and other ranks in the Royal Marines for acts of bravery in the face of the enemy that did not…

The tithe was a 10th of a landholder’s produce, which was payable to the parish, and was originally paid in kind; crops, wool, stock and so on. The Enclosure Acts of the 17th and 18th century converted these payments in some parishes from produce to money, and in 1836 the Tithe Act extended this to all of England and Wales. Commissioners were dispatched to each parish to establish the value of land, and therefore how much cash was due to the Church of England. The practical upshot of all this for family historians is accurate, large-scale tithe maps and accompanying apportionment information, which lists owners, land use and even tenants. The records are found in county archives and The National Archives; they used to be difficult to search, but are…

BOOKS Becoming Teachers: Texts and Testimonies, 1907–1950  by Peter Cunningham and Philip Gardner (eds) Routledge, 2004 This book tells the stories of more than 100 teachers using official documents and their oral recollections. The State and Education in England and Wales, 1833–1968  by JJ and AJ Bagley Macmillan, 1969 The Bagleys discuss the state’s changing relationship with primary and secondary education and teacher-training. WEBSITE EDUCATION IN ENGLAND w educationengland.org.uk/index.html Derek Gillard’s comprehensive history of education and schools includes Acts of Parliament.…

1 LOCATE THE RECORDS Go to ancestry.co.uk, click ‘Search’ in the menu bar and then ‘Card Catalogue’. Type ‘lunacy’ into the keyword box. Then click on ‘UK, Lunacy Patients Admission Registers’. 2 SEARCH OR BROWSE THE RECORDS Search for your ancestor by typing in his or her name. You can narrow down the results by including an admission year and/or institution. 3 LOOK AT THE RESULTS Note that there may be several results if your forebear was treated more than once in different asylums, so make sure that you check all of the register pages.…

ARCHIVE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM a Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ t 0207 416 5000 w iwm.org.uk IWM London holds accounts of the ‘St Barnabas pilgrimages’. BOOKS Battlefield Tourism  by David William Lloyd Berg, 1998 Lloyd looks at First World War battlefield tourism. Michelin Guide to the Battlefields of the World War, Volume One Michelin, 1919 You can download this book for free from bit.ly/michelin-ww1. Up the Line to Death: The War Poets, 1914–1918  by Brian Gardner (ed) Methuen, 1986 High Wood is among the many poems in this collection. The Western Battlefields: A Guide to the British Line  by Lieutenant Colonel TA Lowe GH Smith & Son, 1920 Despite its age, this remains a highly readable guide. WEBSITES BRITISH NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE w britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk Old newspapers are full of stories and…

THE STEPNEY DOORSTEP SOCIETY THE REMARKABLE STORY OF THE WOMEN WHO RULED THE EAST END THROUGH WAR AND PEACE KATE THOMPSON Michael Joseph, 320 pages, £12.99 Kate Thompson’s book gives insights into the social history of the East End during the world wars via interviews with the women who lived through them. Friendships and camaraderie kept these communities together, plus a wonderful sense of humour. Each chapter focuses on one woman’s story, such as Beatty who was Jewish and came up against Mosley’s Blackshirts, and Mitzy who sang in the shelters and made uniforms for the troops. There are stories that are not widely known outside of the East End, such as the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster in 1943 when 173 civilians died in a crush going into a…

Why did you want to write about Katey Dickens? She was somebody who I’d always been aware of since childhood. My parents used to own a painting of her which is sadly no longer in the family, and then when I was doing my Master’s degree she just kept appearing when I was researching other artists. She was friends with all of the major artists of her time, modelled for Millais twice and was a very well-respected artist herself, although she is completely forgotten about today. It’s extraordinary how people don’t remember her, even given that extra factor of being Charles Dicken’s daughter. So I realised that this woman was somebody who needed a biography – her life was so fascinating and she was a really great artist as well.…

As Phil Tomaselli’s article (page 17) makes clear, most military records relating to the First World War are held at The National Archives in Kew. However, turn to page 50 and you will see an amazing record, vital to anyone researching a soldier in the 1st Bucks Battalion, that is only available at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies in Aylesbury. Dig deeper – not all WW1 records are online or at TNA.…

Five new indexes of records compiled by the Scottish Genealogical Society have been released on findmypast.co.uk. Among them is a transcription of the Edinburgh Broughton Place United Presbyterian Church Band of Hope Register (pictured). It lists the names, ages and addresses of over 900 people who took temperance pledges with the church between 1886 and 1908. Findmypast has also added four early censuses, two of which are taken from kirk session records. They record the inhabitants of St Cuthbert’s parish in Edinburgh (1790) and Ladykirk, Berwickshire (1811). The other censuses cover Perth (1766) and Tingwall in the Shetland Islands (1785).…

1 SURNAME AND FIRST NAME OF THE PRISONER Part C says, “Only with Russians, the first name of the father.” 2 RANK Most are privates. 3 THE UNIT SERVING WITH WHEN CAPTURED This section has the name of the regiment at the top, then the battalion. At the bottom is the company served in. 4 DETAILS OF CAPTURE This shows when and where they were captured, and where they were based previously. 5 DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH The POW’s next of kin (“vater” means father, “frau” means wife) and their address are given here. 6 UNIT INFORMATION For this Garrison Artilleryman it’s 116 Battery; for the Engineer above, it’s 7 Field Company.…

MUSEUMS IN FLANDERS FIELDS MUSEUM w inflandersfields.be/en This is the main museum for the Ypres sector of the Western Front, and a must if visiting the area. The website includes lots of information. THIEPVAL MEMORIAL w www.cwgc.org/find/find-cemeteries-and-memorials/80800/thiepval-memorial Thiepval is the starting place for any visit to the Somme Sector. WEBSITES THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 w greatwar.co.uk The Great War features research advice and a useful basic guide to visiting the Western Front. THE GREAT WAR FORUM w greatwarforum.org The best place to find help online. THE INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR w 1914-1918-online.net/06_WWI_websites/index.html 1914–1918 Online links to websites worldwide, including many with photographs from the Front. THE LONG, LONG TRAIL w longlongtrail.co.uk This is the premier website for First World War soldiers, presenting basic information clearly, explaining documents…

CHEESE IN WENSLEYDALE THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF THE YORKSHIRE WENSLEYDALE CHEESE w bit.ly/YorkshireCheese THE STORY OF WENSLEYDALE w wensleydale.co.uk/about WENSLEYDALE DAIRY DAYS w blog.yorkshiredales.org.uk/category/wensleydale-dairy-days CHOCOLATE IN YORK HISTORY OF YORK: JOSEPH TERRY AND SONS w bit.ly/JosephTerry HISTORY OF YORK: ROWNTREE & CO w bit.ly/RowntreeYork YORK AND CHOCOLATE w bit.ly/YorkAndChocolate CUTLERY IN SHEFFIELD THE COMPANY OF CUTLERS IN HALLAMSHIRE w cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/history THE SHEFFIELD CUTLERY MAP’S HISTORY OF THE CUTLERY INDUSTRY w bit.ly/cutlerymap HAT-MAKING IN LUTON THE LUTON HAT TRAIL w bit.ly/HatTrail THE OLD LUTON HAT INDUSTRY w bit.ly/LutonHat POTTERY IN STOKE A HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF STAFFORD: STOKE-ON-TRENT w british-history.ac.uk/vch/staffs/vol8/p80 STOKE MUSEUMS w www.stokemuseums.org.uk/gpm/history STOKE-ON-TRENT AND POTTERY HISTORY w thepotteries.org/history.htm SHOES IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE NORTHAMPTON MUSEUMS BLOG w northamptonmuseums.wordpress.com NORTHAMPTONSHIRE BOOT AND SHOE w bit.ly/BootAndShoe…

‘It’s staggering to think that these small communities lost so many men’ Earlier this year, local historian Julie Ann Godson set herself a challenge – the daunting task of researching every name on her three local war memorials. Along the way she discovered far more than just the backgrounds of fallen men: she uncovered the impact that their loss had on their families, and the heavy toll of grinding rural poverty. And, frustratingly, she turned up one mystery man whose origins remain elusive. Julie Ann studied history at Oxford University and has continued to research local history. “I give talks and publish books on the subject. I moved here from Kent in 2010, and was interested in the history around me,” she says. “I often pottered down to my local…

‘Soundex’ is a phonetic coding system, or algorithm, that indexes names by sound. A Soundex search enables you to search for a name as it is pronounced, rather than how it is spelled – so the search results will include alternative permutations of a name, and not just a particular spelling of it. The advantages for genealogical searches are obvious – it means that if you search for Smith, but an index has spelled the name as Smyth, a Soundex search will return results for both variations.…

Can you tell me more about my relative Cephas’ uniform and his service in the military? Q This is a photograph of my relative, thought to be Cephas Wigmore, who was born around 1825. I would be interested to know if you can throw any light on the uniform he is wearing. Judith Tozer A It looks likely that your relative is a sergeant major in a Volunteer Rifle Unit dating from the mid-1860s, or slightly later – possibly the Lincolnshire Volunteers. In 1859, the half-century-old Volunteer Act – originally used to increase the number of available soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars – was used to form volunteer rifle corps and artillery corps. Following the Crimean War, it had become clear to the Government that there was a shortage of…

‘People gravitate towards them, although the handwriting is tiny’ On 11 November 1918 the Allies and Germany agreed an Armistice, marking the end of the First World War. By that time, about six million British men had fought in the war, of whom 1.6 million were injured, 662,000 killed and 140,000 recorded missing. At the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies, a set of four casualty books of the 1st Bucks Battalion preserve the story of just a few of the men from the county who served, fighting on the Western Front from 1915 to 1917 and later in Italy. In this anniversary year, Katherine Gwyn, the centre’s community outreach and projects archivist, told us more about the priceless information the books hold. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE CASUALTY BOOKS? The four volumes…

CHESHIRE TITHES w maps.cheshire.gov.uk/tithemaps This free site for tithe maps and apportionments is a bit dated, but its design showing multiple windows on one screen still works a treat. FAMILYSEARCH w maps.familysearch.org This site maps English parish boundaries as well as Poor Law Unions, enabling you to see jurisdictions and neighbouring parishes. THEGENEALOGIST w thegenealogist.co.uk/lloyd-george-domesday The subscription site is gradually adding to its collection of maps from the Lloyd George Domesday Survey of 1910. KNOW YOUR PLACE w kypwest.org.uk Explore a wide range of historic maps from across the South-West from Devon up to Gloucestershire with this interactive website. MAP HISTORY w maphistory.info This history of maps is maintained by Tony Campbell, former map librarian at the British Library, and has advice for family historians. NORFOLK E-MAPS w historic-maps.norfolk.gov.uk Here…

WEBSITES DISCOVERY w discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk Search TNA’s catalogue to discover where electoral registers are held locally. Also check the relevant archive’s online catalogue. PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES AND THEIR REGISTERS SINCE 1832 w bit.ly/bl-constituencies This free 377-page PDF from the British Library is a comprehensive list of electoral registers held by the library. If you can’t find someone in the Findmypast collection, this can be a useful way of checking that the relevant electoral register is actually included.…

The National Archives’ website has online guides covering teachers’ records and teacher-training: bit.ly/tna-teacher-records and bit.ly/tna-teacher-training . Public and grammar schools’ own archives may include staff records and yearbooks, while local and county archives hold surviving records for day schools, Sunday schools, local education authority schools, and former National or British schools – search for them via TNA’s online catalogue at discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. The Church of England Records Centre holds National Society records (lambethpalacelibrary.org/content/cerccollections ), while the British & Foreign School Society Archive is part of Brunel University Archives, and its catalogue is online: bfss.org.uk/archive. The archives of teacher-training colleges will include admission registers, photos, etc. Findmypast has Teachers Registration Council registers 1914–1948 (bit.ly/fmptrcr) and First World War-era trade union records (bit.ly/fmp-trade), while Ancestry has teachers in Ireland (1826) at bit.ly/anc-teachireland and…

Born in York in 1732, William Tuke was the son of a weaver and hosier, whose family was well-known for being early members of the Society of Friends. After a good education, William was apprenticed to his aunt at the age of 19, working in the wholesale tea and coffee trade, later including cocoa. This remained his business throughout his working life. William was a keen philanthropist, campaigning for the abolition of the slave trade, helping to found several Quaker schools and being active in the Bible Society. In 1790 a Quaker named Hannah Mills was admitted to the York Lunatic Asylum. Friends were refused permission to visit her, and she died soon after in squalid conditions. This shocked the Society of Friends, especially William who vowed that Quakers with…

BOOKS Life in the Victorian Asylum  by Mark Stevens Pen & Sword, 2014 Stevens’ book is an excellent social history of Victorian asylums. My Ancestor Was a Lunatic  by Kathy Chater Society of Genealogists, 2014 This is a useful guide to sources for researchers. MUSEUM BETHLEM MUSEUM OF THE MIND a Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, Greater London BR3 3BX t 0203 228 4227 w museumofthemind.org.uk The museum’s archives are open weekdays from 10am until 4pm by appointment. WEBSITES MENTAL HEALTHCARE w wellcomelibrary.org/collections/digital-collections/mental-healthcare Browse institutions’ records from the 18th century to the 20th, including The Retreat (see page 66). MENTAL HEALTH HISTORY w studymore.org.uk/mhhtim.htm This Middlesex University resource by Andrew Roberts is packed with information about the history of mental health.…

Your Catholic ancestors were held in suspicion by both countries 1707 GREAT BRITAIN IS CREATED Your forebears became citizens of the Kingdom of Great Britain when England and Scotland were united. This was the culmination of a long process that had many stops and starts and not a few angry words. The monarch had worn the crowns of England and Scotland since 1603, when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England. The countries had maintained separate parliaments and commercial systems, however (England had been incorporated with Wales since the time of Henry VIII). Each country had its own Act of Union, England in 1706 and Scotland in 1707, to put into effect the Treaty of Union that had been agreed by parliamentary commissioners in a negotiation that…

ESSEX, 1863 The largest resource this month is an 1863 edition of White’s Gazetteer of Essex. Normally priced £14.95 on CD or £11.95 as a download from My History (my-history.co.uk), this mid-Victorian resource has details of the county’s residents and traders, plus social and local history information. ERO IMAGE SET Your bonus content also includes a gallery of 16 interesting documents and images supplied by the team at Essex Record Office in Colchester. Highlights include a photograph of the blackcurrant harvest at Great Totham in 1915, plus an extract from a map of Hatfield Broad Oak and Hatfield Heath dating from 1706. OFFICIAL GUIDE TO ILFORD, 1930 Also from My History is this 60-page guidebook originally published by the Ilford Corporation, relating to the districts of Seven Kings and Goodmayes,…

BYFORD This name is particularly common in the borough of Colchester. DOWSETT Essex, and specifically Ilford, is a Dowsett hotspot. GENTRY This surname is derived from the Old French word genterie. MUNSON The highest concentration of this Munn patronymic is in Colchester. OWERS This name is common in Durham, Chelmsford, North-East London and Colchester. PLAYLE Essex once boasted about half of all of the Playles found in the UK. POLLEY According to the 1881 census, Polleys were usually agricultural labourers. ROOT The name has many derivations, such as the Middle English rote meaning ‘cheerful’. SMEE This name is a variant of ‘Smead’. SPURGEON One Essex namesake was Charles Spurgeon, a Baptist preacher and writer who founded the children’s charity Spurgeons.…

Tender Victorians This shows my great great grandparents, possibly with their first grandchild. It’s such a gentle image, full of pride and love. Family in Jamaica This is my great grandmother looking thoughtful. She was born in Jamaica in 1882, so this would have been in the 1890s. A day trip with Bertha I love this photograph of my great aunt Bertha looking confident and stylish on a day trip to Margate. The 1911 census, taken around this time, records her as an assistant in a draper’s shop and head of the household with her sister Mabel, a dressmaker. Playing soldiers My great grandfather taught at Patna College in India, and here he is with his son playing soldiers in around 1919. Funny hats and pipes My 3x great grandfather…

WEBSITE HISTORYLINES  w historylines.com Free Can you imagine the world that your ancestors lived in? Flesh out your family tree with this website, which shows you the major historical events that shaped your forebears’ lives and the culture that surrounded them. Interactive timelines and maps enable you to see the whole story. APP PHOTO SCANNER BY PHOTOMYNE  iOS and Android Free (with in-app purchases) DIY scanning is made quick and easy with this app’s enhancement and restoration features. You can scan multiple photographs in a single shot, then edit and restore with filters and tags. Images can be saved into albums and browsed on multiple devices. PODCAST GENEALOGY HAPPY HOUR  w genealogyhappyhour.com/podcasts Free This friendly “genealogy podcast with two blondes and a bottle” aims to get researchers onto the right…

NATURALISATION RECORD These records are held at The National Archives in Kew, although the indexes are online (see the guide at bit.ly/tna-naturalisation ); some are also on Ancestry. Israel’s document was very revealing, including his exact date and place of birth, his occupation when he was naturalised and his parents’ names. 1939 REGISTER This can be searched on ancestry.co.uk and findmypast.co.uk. It includes over 40 million civilians, and is an invaluable census substitute. Israel’s entry shows that he was at Friern Hospital in Barnet. FRIERN HOSPITAL RECORD The National Archives’ database at bit.ly/tna-hospitals reveals which hospital records are held where – Friern’s are at the London Metropolitan Archives. Israel suffered from ‘melancholia’ after witnessing protests in Latvia as a child.…

‘Without orders and armed only with his revolver, John rode out into no-man’s land’ Soldiers tend to conceal their experiences on the front line from their loved ones when they return home. The novel way that a 10-year-old Sylvia Collins got her grandfather to talk about what he’d been through in the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World War was to catch him when he was enjoying his favourite pastime: gardening. “I had to use the most devious ways of getting him to talk, like pretending to enjoy gardening when I wasn’t keen on crawly things. I’d ask little questions. After a while he’d open up.” So engrossed was Sylvia with the life of her grandfather, John Thompson Wright, that she wrote their conversations down in old exercise books, as…

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The North East Film Archive (NEFA) has launched an appeal to find historic film and videotape collections capturing life in the region. NEFA – which merged with the Yorkshire Film Archive in 2012 – has introduced its new Search & Rescue campaign as part of the North East on Film project. The archive is looking for films in or about the region, including family film collections, advertising collections from local companies, cine club collections, educational films, professional films, and artists’ films and videos. They will be preserved, digitised and screened in the communities where they were originally filmed. Archive manager Graham Relton said the films would provide an “absolutely fantastic record” of the north-east. If you have a film or video you would like to share, please email nefa@tees.ac.uk or…

Non-profit family history website freebmd.org.uk celebrated its 20th anniversary at a conference at The National Archives in Kew on 15 September. The website was founded in 1998, and is now part of charitable incorporated organisation Free UK Genealogy. For 20 years, FreeBMD has brought together volunteers to transcribe the civil registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales and put it online for free. The anniversary conference featured four talks, and the speakers included FreeBMD’s co-founder Graham Hart. Approximately 75 people attended, many of whom were FreeBMD volunteers. Denise Colbert, Free UK Genealogy engagement co-ordinator, said that the day was “very much people coming together to celebrate a project that they feel strongly about and have given lots and lots of their time to”.…

American campaign group Reclaim the Records has obtained the 1881–1942 New York State birth index through a Freedom of Information request. Digitised images of the records are available via the Internet Archive on bit.ly/NYbirth. The index, which is currently browse only, lists each baby’s surname, first name (or in some cases just their gender), date and place of birth, and birth certificate number, which can be used to order a copy of the original record. It does not include births from New York City, which is a separate vital-records jurisdiction. However, a small number of New York City birth records are available if the births happened in towns that were independent before the consolidation of the city in 1898, or if they were registered late. The records also exclude Albany,…

1 Visit livesofthefirstworldwar.org and type the surname and service number of the relative you have researched – if you just enter the surname, you may get too many results. Entries has been created for combatants using Medal Index Cards. 2 You may find that someone has already typed in information for your soldier – if so, click on his name and see if you can add anything. Otherwise you will be asked to supply his birth and death details if known. You will need to attach evidence. 3 Click ‘Add to Life Story’. Subscribers (it costs £6 a month) can search for and attach records direct from the site. You can upload images too; you can’t upload records from other subscription sites, but you can add a web link to…

CASUALTIES Try the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s site for deaths, The Genealogist and Find my past for casualty lists, and Find my past and Forces War Records for hospital records. GALLANTRY MEDALS London Gazette mentions all awards. Visit Ancestry and The Genealogist for Military Medals. Ancestry and Find my past have some Distinguished Conduct Medal citations. MEDAL INDEX CARDS Cards survive for most combatants. They are available on Ancestry and TNA’s website, and indexed on Find my past. MEDAL ROLLS These may provide more details than Medal Index Cards. However, they are currently only available on Ancestry. MILITARY WOMEN Visit Find my past for nurses, and the Red Cross website for nursing volunteers. TNA’s website has women Army records. SILVER WAR BADGE This was issued to soldiers discharged for…

GALE HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS w gale.com/uk/primary-sources/historical-newspapers Julie Ann accessed old articles from Jackson’s Oxford Journal online via her local library’s subscription to this website. COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION w www.cwgc.org The website’s database holds records of the dead from both world wars, totalling almost 1.7 million names. SOLDIERS OF OXFORDSHIRE MUSEUM w sofo.org.uk The museum’s archive includes soldiers’ personal diaries, letters and photographs.…

When was my great grandfather Nathaniel photographed? Q Could you give me some idea of when these photos were taken? They are both of the same man – my great grandfather, Nathaniel Conway, who was born in 1853 and died in 1923. He spent all his working life with the London and North Western Railway Company, mostly as a train guard. Ronald Jones A These are both professional studio portraits, but without views of the card mounts or photographer details to investigate, we must date them from the visual images – essentially, from your ancestor’s appearance. Nathaniel wears smart fashionable dress in both photographs, not his railway uniform, so their context seems to be personal, rather than work-related. In the close-up portrait, his stylish three-piece lounge suit is typical of…

For centuries, teachers have moulded the minds of young people – from princes to paupers. Britain’s earliest known teachers in the sense of regular instructors were attached to religious houses, and Canterbury may be England’s earliest known centre of learning: Saint Augustine is said to have founded two schools there around 597. For several hundred years monasteries, nunneries and cathedrals were the main sources of education for both sexes. The first Oxford colleges appeared in the 12th century, followed by Cambridge in the early 1200s. Masters (tutors) imparted the required skills for careers in the church, law, teaching and so on to teenage boys. The 16th century saw the advent of charity and endowed (grammar) schools like St Paul’s, founded in 1509 (stpaulsschool.org.uk/about/history), and Christ’s Hospital (chmuseum.org.uk). More opportunities for…

We’ve been hard at work revamping the iOS version of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. Every issue from August 2018 onwards has been formatted so that it’s easier to browse and read. Older issues remain formatted as they appeared in the print edition, with the exception of the December 2017 issue, which has also been reformatted and released as a free bonus issue. Each issue provides a complete contents list split into our usual categories – News, Features, Reader Stories, Regulars (Letters, Behind the Headlines, Best Websites etc), Q&A and The Guide – plus our editor Sarah’s welcome message, which can be read without purchasing an issue or a subscription. Simply tap an article in the list to read it. Each article is presented in a clear, single-column…

Birth certificates are one of the main building-blocks of genealogy. First introduced in 1837 following the advent of civil registration (1855 in Scotland), they are crucial for verifying family relationships and taking your tree back further. However, until recently researchers tracking down their kin in England and Wales have had to deal with a common dilemma – how can you be sure that you’ve ordered the correct certificate until it drops through your letterbox? As helpful as they may be, many of the third-party birth indexes available on the web only display limited information, meaning that those of us who are tracing ancestors with common surnames have had to gamble with our hard-earned cash, or call off the search altogether. Thankfully, a recent innovation from the General Register Office has…

The county town of Chelmsford, the only city in Essex, is home to Essex Record Office (ERO), which this year is marking the 80th anniversary of its formation. The record office has put online innovation and mass digitisation at the heart of its work. Since our last visit the catalogue and in-house subscription service, Essex Ancestors, has been tweaked and expanded. Indeed even as we were going to press, the staff’s blog at essexrecordofficeblog.co.uk announced that admission records from the Essex Industrial School and Home for Destitute Boys for 1872–1914 have been digitised and are available online, featuring approximately 1,200 pupils. ‘Staff have been investigating evidence of local suffragettes’ DIGITISED SCHOOL RECORDS The school was established in Chelmsford in 1872 to provide basic education and practical training for boys who…

John Fowles was born in Leigh-on-Sea. His grandfather was a partner in the London tobacco importer Allen & Wright, and his father Robert joined the family trade. Londoner Gladys Richards moved to Essex in 1918, meeting Robert in Westcliff-on-Sea in 1924. They were married the following year, and John was born in 1926, attending the nearby Alleyn Court Preparatory School. From 1951 to 1953 he taught English on the Greek island of Spetses. Among his books are his first published novel The Collector (1963); The Magus (1965), based on his experiences in Greece; and The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969), released as a film in 1981.…