Who Do You Think You Are?

Alan Crosby’s column this month really struck a chord with me, because I have been tasked with ‘sorting out’ a collection of photo albums that belonged to my husband’s grandmother. Like Alan, I too have discovered that names have got lost over time.

Don’t assume people with the same name are the same person I loved Katherine Cobb’s answer to a reader’s query on page 40. It’s so easy to assign a record we find online to an ancestor who has the same name, even more so when it is two ancestors in

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In response to David Collard’s question about the photograph of a Salvation Army band (Star Letter, May), there are several ways in which he may be able to identify which corps the band belonged to. Depending on the quality of the original image, the

Editor Sarah Williams Production editor Seth Burgess Staff writer Rosemary Collins Art editor Robbie Bennie Contributor Lisa Duerden Ad manager Sam Jones 0117 300 8145 Ad sales executives Andy Williams 0117 300 8803, Tony Robinson 0117 300 8826

Glamorgan Archives is appealing for help identifying the men, women and children in a collection of 69 photographs, taken between 1900 and 1920. Senior archivist Rhian Diggins said: “We received the photos in 1972 from a private individual living in

Family history website Findmypast has introduced a new search tool (findmypast.co.uk/search-address) allowing users to search all 187 million records from the 1841–1911 UK censuses by address. Previously only individual censuses could be searched by

The National Library of Scotland (NLS) has completed the digitisation of two collections of Ordnance Survey maps that reach back to the dawn of the 20th century. The maps are now available on its free historic maps website maps.nls.uk. The first col

The Charles Dickens Museum in London has published new resources online shedding light on the famous author’s life and works at dickensmuseum.com/ blogs/explore. These include a recording of Dickens’ daughter Mary, or ‘Mamie’, sharing her memories; a

The history of medicine in the Scottish Highlands and Islands is explored in a new website created by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Remote & Rural Remedies (rcpe.ac.uk/remoteandruralremedies/index.html) features a digitised and transc

The number of letters, cards and telegrams written by David Dawson to his wife while he was serving in the Second World War that have been donated to Scarborough Museums Trust ■

The number of names that have been added to the Index of Irish Wills 1484–1858 on TheGenealogist (thegenealogist. co.uk) ■

The number of bodies that have been discovered in the churchyard of Old St Mary’s Church in Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire by archaeologists working for HS2 ■

To mark what would have been the NHS fundraiser’s 101st birthday, genealogy firm Finders International (finders international. co.uk) has drawn up his family tree, dating back to the 1790s ■

THE Genealogy Show returns online w thegenealogyshowlive.com After a successful launch in 2019, THE Genealogy Show returns as an online event for 2021. Over two packed days, talks will explore how to start your family history, family history resear

Derby’s new Museum of Making (derbymuseums.org/ museum-of-making) opened its doors to the public on 21 May. The £18 million project tells the story of Derby’s 300-year history of making, with 30,000 objects grouped according to the material they’re

When the conscription of women aged 20–30 started in December 1941 Joan Lockwood joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Posted to the Royal Canadian Air Force Overseas Headquarters at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in West London as a clerk, in 1945 she met R

w familysearch.org FamilySearch has many records from the Caribbean, including birth, marriage and death lists from local newspapers, phone directories and slave indentures. Kyle used them to trace his African ancestors in Barbados. w nationalarchiv

a 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0N4 t 001 613 996 5115 w bac-lac.gc.ca/eng Find out more information about the national archive’s extensive records on this topic, mostly in RG24 and available only on microfilm, on its website at

Q I’m looking for advice on finding information about my great grandmother Elizabeth Joynt, who was married to my great grandfather Daniel Bowler. Elizabeth was apparently born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1844/1845, according to the 1861 census. She was

With WhatsApp groups for streets becoming popular, why not create a project together to discover who lived there in the past? Findmypast has recently added the ability to search by street name across all of the censuses, and TheGenealogist also has t

If published you will receive Vivid-Pix Restore Image Improvement Software worth $49.99. To see how Vivid-Pix Restore can transform your photos and documents visit vivid-pix.com for a free trial. Email our art editor on robbie.bennie@immediate.co.uk

WOODLANDERS’ LIVES AND LANDSCAPES w chilternsaonb.org/woodlanders-lives.html Please contact Helena if you can share stories about chairmaking, lacemaking, straw-plaiting or tambourbeading in Buckinghamshire by emailing helena. chance@bucks.ac.uk or

“British seafarers of the late 19th and early 20th century are the best documented workers that there have ever been…” So reads the homepage of CLIP, the Crew Lists Index Project (crewlist.org.uk). This long-running, not-for-profit hub, which was cre

a 26 Hillside, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 2EB t 01983 823820 e record.office@iow.gov.uk w bit.ly/iow-ro Isle Of Wight County Record Office is usually open on weekdays (except Tuesdays) 9am–12.25pm and 1pm–5pm. However, family historians should cont

w deepseatrawlers.co.uk Discover an alphabetical listing of trawlers that sailed out of the port of Grimsby in Lincolnshire between 1876 and 1976. w fdca.org.uk/Dundee_Whaling.html This section of the website of the Friends of Dundee City Archives e

w bit.ly/tna-soldiers-1913 TNA’s research guide British Army Soldiers Up to 1913 explains the records that are available, including army pension records. w nam.ac.uk/explore The website of the NAM in Chelsea has a section exploring a number of them

a Old Bedford Road, Luton, Bedfordshire LH2 7HA t 01582 546722 w bit.ly/wardown This Grade II-listed former Victorian mansion boasts the largest hat collection in the UK. The UK’s only dedicated hat museum, Stockport’s Hat Works, is currently closed

Warwick University’s Modern Records Centre (warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc) holds trade union records (sometimes just reports and balance sheets) for the Amalgamated Society of Journeymen Felt Hatters, among other unions. Indeed, so many hatters

This history of one of the world’s most famous hat manufacturers by the great grandson of the firm’s founder includes photos of the production process. This edition of the 19th-century careers manual is available for free from the Internet Archive. T

This admission register (1889–1890) is available in the collection ‘London, Bethlem Hospital Patient Admission Registers and Casebooks 1683–1932’ on Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk) The first columns of an institution’s admission register usually give t

w bit.ly/fmp-institutions-organisations The category ‘Institutions & Organisations’ has hospital records from such places as London, Scotland, Portsmouth and Derbyshire. w hharp.org The Historic Hospital Admission Records Project has admissions to

w bit.ly/nuffield-hist-nhs This free online book discusses healthcare before the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, and the history of the service. How Our Ancestors Died Simon Wills Pen & Sword, 2013 Simon’s guide explores the ma

Major employers such as The Times (thetimes.co.uk) often produce staff journals, which feature social functions and obituaries – and may well have dedicated archivists. The website of the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick, Coventry

• Travel to the area where your ancestors lived to view local records. There is no substitute for visiting an area in person. • Spread your network wide. Distant cousins and local historians have both helped me to fill in gaps in my research. • Ask o

Born in Crosby-on-Eden near Carlisle, Jack Wannop trained as a carpenter. He started entering wrestling competitions in the 1870s, and in 1880 moved to London with his wife Miriam and their son Joseph, settling in New Cross. Nine more children were b

a 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB t 01937 546060 w explore.bl.uk The library has books on boxing and wrestling, as well as posters advertising music-hall matches. Discover how art, literature, photography and film have depicted pugilism. This study of

The Treaty of York establishes a border between England and Scotland running from the Solway Firth to the River Tweed. John Paul Jones is born near Kirkbean in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. As an adult he emigrates to North America, and is now kno

During the First World War the Ministry of Munitions built a factory beside the Solway Firth near Gretna, which began producing cordite to propel shells as a replacement for gunpowder in 1916. HM Gretna occupied a nine-mile site stretching from Longt

w bit.ly/sp-tax-dumfriesshire The site ScotlandsPlaces has tax records for Dumfriesshire dating from the 18th century. w kirkyards.co.uk Search transcriptions of 5,468 memorial inscriptions from some Kirkcudbrightshire churchyards. w bit.ly/spo

This diminutive of Bartholomew is common in the border regions of Scotland.  This habitational name originates in a place near Ecclefechan in Dumfries.  This surname has its origins in Eádgár, which was one of the most common Anglo-Saxon personal nam

Index and images for England and Wales, index-only for Scotland. Occupation indexed only for Scotland. Index shared with Findmypast for England and Wales. Occupations not indexed. Index and high-quality images for England and Wales, index-only for Sc

Herbert Spencer was born at 12 Exeter Road, Derby, on 27 April 1820, the son of the headmaster of a small private school. He was educated at his and his uncle’s homes. Spencer was apprenticed to a railway engineer, but his heart was in polemics and h

This report is available from the Internet Archive. The following section focuses on disease: bit. ly/arch-cen-ireland-1871 . HMSO for the Public Record Office, 1999 Higgs’ book is the classic work on the Victorian censuses. w visionofbritain.org.

Take a country that is wrestling with concerns about sexual and racial inequality, its complicated relationship with the rest of Europe, formidable economic problems and rising pollution; then lock everyone in their homes for a lengthy period, simmer

intothelimelight.org Free This blog tells the stories of forgotten female stars of music hall, as well as looking at other themes such as the craze for roller-skating at the turn of the 20th century, how theatres responded to the Spanish Flu, and p

What was it like writing a book discussing such a personal topic? It was difficult. I went through a range of emotions at the beginning. I felt relief at getting stuff out there that had been suppressed for so long, and as other people reached out t

Obituaries can provide a comprehensive biography of an individual’s life, and are often published in local or national newspapers, or specialist publications for a particular industry. ‘Pro’ subscribers to Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk) can search and

JON GLIDDON has written three books. His latest is the novel The Forbidden Zone (The Choir Press, 2020) My abiding memory of my grandfather Herman Pike is his eyes,” explains Jon Gliddon, a former mining engineer who lives in Somerset. “He had one s

Share your family hero with us and they could appear in the magazine! Each month we’ll award our favourite a year’s Pro subscription to findmypast.co.uk worth £159.99. Please write to us at the address on page 6 or email wdytyaeditorial@ immediate

If the bride married in England or Wales, then you can search the General Register Office index as normal and order a copy of the record: gov.uk/research-family-history. The bride’s surname will also be amended in the 1939 Register. If she married in