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From trailblazing women's history to unexpected ancestry discoveries, understand the past, one family story at a time.
Although family history is deeply personal to each of us, it's also a valued form of historical research. Together, we're illuminating the forgotten stories of the past, connecting with our ancestors and the world in which they lived.We're passionate about supporting research in all of its forms, which is why we've partnered with the Women's Prize Trust to sponsor the new prize for female writers of non-fiction. You can read more about this exciting partnership here. Of course, non-fiction…
At the start of the Second World War, the Indian Army numbered just under 200,000 men. By Victory over Japan Day on 15 August 1945, it had become the largest volunteer army in history, with over 2.5 million men answering the call.Largely serving as infantry, Indian and Pakistani troops proved to be incredibly proficient and fearless soldiers, fighting their way across Africa, Europe and Asia. The majority of their forces doggedly held off the might of Japanese Military as The Allies were pushed…
Exploring our collection of POW records, we recently discovered one of the most remarkable records ever found in our World War 2 archives.These fascinating documents were uncovered in our Prisoners Of War 1715-1945 collection, a vast archive of original papers created by the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office, Admiralty and Air Force. Published online in association with The National Archives and covering both military personnel and civilians, these valuable records shed light on the terrible hardships endured by Allied prisoners…
Sam Mendes’ epic war film 1917 depicts two British Army runners tasked with delivering a vital message during the First World War. The buzz surrounding the movie has ignited interest in the real runners of the First World War and their unbelievable tales of triumph and tragedy. We scoured our records to discover more. What were runners in the First World War?: Runners were essentially foot messengers. They were men whose primary role was to deliver critical pieces of information from…
Life after death has held a mysterious fascination for centuries. No one took the otherworldly more seriously than the Victorians, who combined their love for administration with that of the occult.In the late 1800s, those at the forefront of ethereal research decided to inject a little bureaucracy into proceedings, and thus the spookiest census to date was born.The Census of Ghosts was carried out between 1889 and 1892. It helpfully revealed that women were more susceptible to the supernatural, with 12%…
Picture the scene. Hundreds of strangers crammed onto a steamship heading for an unknown land. An uneasy mix of optimism and anxiety for what awaits them. Where did they leave from? Where were they going, and who shared their cabins? To really understand what our ancestors experienced on their epic voyages, we need to delve into how travel evolved over the generations. We have used our collection of Passenger Lists Leaving UK to analyse the history of long haul travel…
When people ask"who is your hero?" my answer is always the same; my grandfather Arthur Raymond Wilton. Ray, as he liked to be known, was an incredible man who was loved by many and while I was fortunate to share a very close relationship with him, for years much of his early life remained a mystery to me.I knew he had fought with the armed forces in the Second World War but, as with many members of that…
The Second World War (1939-1945) was one of history's most catastrophic conflicts. The first truly global war, it claimed over nine million lives and affected the vast majority of families across the UK and Europe.You may have known someone who served during the war, or you may have been lucky enough to hear first-hand accounts of their experiences. Researching Second World War records can be very rewarding as you will often be searching for someone you knew personally or had…
During the Second World War, an estimated 140,000 Allied military personnel were captured by Japanese Imperial Forces and held in a network of camps stretching from Rangoon (Burma-Myanmar) down through Malaya, Singapore, Sumatra and across Indonesia. The details of many of these brave man can now be uncovered using our new Prisoner of War 1939-1945 collection; over 1 million fascinating records relating to allied POW's held by Japanese, German and Italian forces in Asia, Europe and Africa. Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival on his way
The Scots have for many centuries followed a relatively simple set of rules when assigning given names to their successive children. While these traditional naming patterns were not followed by all families, they were widespread enough that a basic understanding can come in handy when you need help in your hunt for Scottish ancestors.Being familiar with these Scottish naming patterns will allow you to make genealogical inferences, identify potential new avenues of research, and reveal all sorts of clues…