Who Do You Think You Are?

You may notice my editor’s photo has changed this month. This is my great grandmother, Gertrude Elizabeth Jane Sailman, on graduating from the University of Wales in Bangor in 1904 with first-class honours. Reading our article on university education

The Internet Archive is clearly a favourite of mine because I’ve written a whole feature on it (page 17). But just to demonstrate further how useful it is, especially for military research, turn to page 90 and read about the life of mariner Edward Re

Claire is a freelance journalist and family historian who worked on our magazine for ten years. On page 22 she interviews a man who made a fascinating WW2 discovery. A regular contributor to WDYTYA? Magazine and professional genealogist, Simon turns

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

More than 300,000 Scottish family history records are newly available to members of findmypast.co.uk. The website has added a collection of over 250,000 parish records from the counties of Banffshire and Moray on the east coast of Scotland. The reco

A pair of historians are working to trace the descendants of the cyclists who served in a secret First World War surveillance unit. Jim Beach and Jock Bruce are researching the story of the Home Defence Army Cyclist Company. It was first formed in 19

Family history site familysearch. org has added a useful collection of 5,413,612 French records: ‘France, Nord, Parish and Civil Registration, 1524–1893’. The collection includes searchable transcriptions of birth, marriage and burial records, and sc

On this day, local and national newspapers shared the 86th annual report on the work of the Post Office. The report showed that the number of letters delivered in the UK in the previous year reached 1,650,100,000, an increase of 5.9 per cent year-on-

The biographies of more than 200 inmates from 19th-century workhouses have been published online for the first time thanks to a volunteer project. More Than Oliver Twist, run by the Workhouse Network, brought together over 100 volunteers to trace th

Family history website thegenealogist.co.uk has added 260,000 records to its collection of poll books. The records date from 1741 to 1930 and cover constituencies in Bath, Devon, Hampshire, Hertford, Kent, Lincolnshire, London, Monmouthshire, Northum

Millions of records of Holocaust victims are now available to search for free on the family history website ancestry.com. Ancestry has recently completed its digitisation of records from the Arolsen Archives, adding nine million records made in the

a Leicester Museum and Art Gallery t 0116 225 4900 e museums@leicester.gov.uk w leicestermuseums.org/ ve75findingthefallen This new art exhibition from Loz Atkinson, created to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, tells the s

w thefamilyhistoryshow.com/online The Family History Show has had to cancel its popular in-person events for the time being, but its next show is happening online. Sign up for a full programme of Zoom talks: Gill Blanchard takes you behind the scene

w fhf-reallyuseful.com The Family History Federation and its online shop Parish Chest have announced a new virtual family history show, featuring more than 20 presentations, live Q&A sessions, access to family history societies and suppliers, and spe

1 Visit archive.org and type a search term into the search box. If searching for a particular location, remember that many place names in the UK can also be found in the USA or Canada – so you may have to add a county or country. 2 If you get too m

The Accounts of the Churchwardens of the Parish of St Michael, Cornhill, London, from 1456 to 1608 w archive.org/details/accountsofchurch00lond/mode/2up A Calendar of Wills Proved in the Consistory Court of the Bishop of Gloucester, Vol. 2, 1660 to

Sergeant Leslie Ambler was a navigator in the Royal Air Force. His next of kin was his mother who lived in Leeds. Eleanor notes that he was “very pleasant, quiet and proper”. He was the youngest of 13 children, and at the time he stayed with the Case

w ww1countydurham.blogspot. com This website from Durham County Council includes firsthand accounts of the horrors that the Durham Light Infantry endured during the Battle of Hooge at bit.ly/durham-hooge. George Harrington was at the forefront when G

Accurate, in-depth coverage of the week’s biggest record releases and genealogy news Learn how to master basic skills or take your research further with our genealogy tutorials, packed with top tips and expert advice Discover our round-up of new deal

Please email your questions or family photographs to the following address: wdytyaquestions@immediate.co.uk If selected, your query will be answered on these pages. Please note that we receive a large volume of correspondence each month, and cannot

Share your favourite images and win £75 to spend on photo restoration. This month John Hobday from Surbiton, Surrey, introduces some of his extended family, including a Sunday School superintendent and a suffragette A South Eastern Railway Company ca

Send us your photographs and you could receive a £75 voucher to spend on photo restoration or colourisation with Image-Restore.co.uk. Email our art editor on robbie.bennie@immediate.co.uk using the subject line “Family Album”. We need between eight

Researching members of your family tree who served as doctors or nurses in the British Army is a fascinating aspect of military history. Perhaps the most famous branch of army healthcare is the Royal Army Medical Corps, formally established during th

w ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/2318 The website’s military medical records include Royal Navy medical journals (1817–1856). w fairestforce.co.uk This spin-off from Scarlet Finders explains the administrative and organisational aspects of the Br

North Yorkshire County Record Office holds a remarkable gem from the town of Bedale – a pair of notebooks containing annals kept by local shoemaker Robert Hird. They provide a detailed narrative of life in the town – all handwritten in rhyme. We spok

a 76–86 Malpas Road, Northallerton DL7 8TB t 01609 777585 w northyorks.gov.uk/plan-your-visit-and-contact-record-office The record office’s opening hours are subject to change as a result of the coronavirus pandemic – check its website for the lates

Pen & Sword, 2017 This handbook is a valuable resource. Stephen Wade Pen & Sword, 2009 This is another good title for researching criminals. w ancestry.co.uk/search/ collections/60861 If you find a relation in Ancestry’s collection ‘UK, Police Ga

Learn how electricity changed our ancestors’ lives for ever LONDON SCIENCE MUSEUM a Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD t 0333 241 4000 w sciencemuseum.org.uk The museum is home to an amazing range of domestic electrical appliances

Although there is no comprehensive mandatory register, this doesn’t mean that you need to rely solely on census and electoral records.Using findmypast.co.uk, you can search the records in the collection ‘Electrical Engineering Apprentices & Trainees,

Helen C Long’s examination of life in Edwardian Britain includes illuminating insights into the introduction of electricity in our forebears’ homes. This biography of the Victorian pioneer who lit up Brighton Pavilion and created one of the earliest

Lateral research can be essential for Irish family history. Birth, marriage and death records for the siblings of your ancestor can often contain vital clues. All that was known about Patrick McCarthy (born 1913) was that he came from Waterford and h

w www.irishgenealogy.ie This free website has births over 100 years, marriages over 75 years and deaths over 50 years, but deaths for 1864–1877 are missing. w bit.ly/fs-irish-civil Another free website, familysearch.org has indexes to Irish civil r

w gov.ie/en/ organisation-information/55ccbegeneral-register-officegro-research-facility Find information about the GRO’s research room on Werburgh Street in Dublin. w www2.hse.ie/services/ births-deaths-and-marriages/get-certificates Order full-for

Joan Rowlands, a BBC Radio studio manager, married BBC producer Michael Bakewell on 28 May 1955 at St Thomas’ Church, Norbury, Cheshire. The couple divorced in 1972, but as Joan Bakewell she has been a journalist, author and presenter of TV and radio

George VI died on 6 February 1952 at the age of 56 from lung cancer. He became king in 1936 on the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII. He was succeeded by his 25-year-old daughter Princess Elizabeth, the Duchess of Edinburgh, who still rules toda

JAN MARSHALL has researched her family tree for 12 years, and has studied the lives of men from her village of Saxton, North Yorkshire, who fought in the First World War Finding ancestors who were actors or musical entertainers is exciting, but thei

What advice does Jan have for someone researching their tree? • Be prepared for surprises, and try to be open-minded. • Don’t judge your ancestors by 21st-century morality. Their lives were so different to ours. • Many useful records in local archi

Philippa Fawcett caused a stir at Cambridge in 1890 when she became the first woman to beat all of her male counterparts in one of the university’s exams, scoring the highest mark in that year’s Mathematical Tripos. This fiendishly difficult test req

Most of our universities have accessible student and graduate registers, and sometimes details of early sports clubs and student unions at their institutions. For those interested in the first women to study for degrees, this title draws on memoirs a

We visit the county as staff at the county archives in Bedford are working towards a limited and gradual reopening in the autumn. Service manager Pamela Birch tells us that during peak lockdown the team worked remotely where possible, accessing netwo

The criminal career of the colourful and daring highwayman Gamaliel Ratsey finally ends when he is hanged at Bedford. Elstow-born John Bunyan is imprisoned in Bedford Gaol for nonconformist preaching. During his 12 years in prison he writes The Pilgr

w bit.ly/special-coll-beds Examine digitised trade directories covering all of Bedfordshire, with examples dating from 1839, 1862, 1876, 1890, 1910 and 1914. w worldwar1luton.com Here you can explore names of local soldiers/civilians compiled fro

By the 18th century Luton had become the home of the country’s hat-making trade, which transformed a modest market town into a hive of industry lined with factories and warehouses. While all kinds of hats were manufactured here, the straw trade domin

Are any of these names in your family tree? BRIGHTMAN This was a nickname for someone sprightly. In 1881 the name was most common in Luton, Streatley and Maulden. BUNKER This nickname of Norman origin for a good-hearted person comes from the Old Fr

Pen & Sword, 256 pages, £15.99 Children at Sea was such a surprise to me. At first glance it looks like it might be interesting only to researchers with family connections to the sea. But it is so much more. This book is fascinating, superbly resea

How did you come to write the book? I started writing the book after my mother Edna died. My heart broke, so I wrote and wrote and wrote in longhand bits that I remembered she’d told me about our family. Later, I was having lunch with my journalist

parchmentrustler.com This new blog from genealogy and genetics researcher Dr Sophie Kay offers friendly and informative advice on key skills for family historians. Highlights so far include a series of posts about how to ask the right questions, and

The ballroom dancer and Strictly Come Dancing head judge traced her ancestry to two different corners of the world. Her maternal great grandmother emigrated to the USA, while her paternal line has roots in South Africa Family legend has it that Shirl

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.