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Almost every family has a connection to the First World War and you've come to the right place to discover more about yours. At Findmypast, we've got the most comprehensive collection of First World War resources available. A collection that includes millions of Army, Navy and Air Force records, carefully indexed to include many more soldiers' names than you'll find anywhere else online. Findmypast is the best place to start searching for your First World War ancestors and to help…

Birth, marriage and death records (BMDs) are one of the first kind of family records you'll discover when you start looking into your past. BMDs provide an incredible resource for tracing important events in your family's history. But what are they, exactly? And how can they help you trace your family tree? A brief history of birth, marriage and death records: The story of British birth, marriage and death records starts way back in 1538. The Church of England split with…

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

Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film Dunkirk tells the story of one of history's most daring military feats. Operation Dynamo saw the combined effort of civilians and the armed forces to evacuate over 300,000 stranded allied troops from a beach in France during the Second World War.Like so many British families, the film's cast have connections to a military past, as discovered in Findmypast's extensive records. Harry Styles' great-grandfather: One Direction singer Harry Styles made his acting debut in Dunkirk, perhaps inspired…

Delving into your family's past is one of the most fulfilling things you'll ever do and getting started has never been easier. If you're new to the fascinating world of genealogy research, follow these four simple steps and you'll be well on your way to a flourishing family tree in no time. 1. What do you think you know? Write it down: First things first. Write down everything you already know about your family, with a question mark next to any…

If you're just getting started with your family history, it can be tricky to know where to look first. As one of the most recent publicly available record collections covering all of England and Wales, the 1939 Register is an obvious jumping-off point.Watch our video masterclass to find out why and how to make the most of this wartime Domesday Book.Throughout the masterclass, which was recorded live, viewers put their questions to our team of in-house experts. A select…

The year 1837 is a crucial one for genealogists because that's when the General Register Office (GRO) was established in the UK. For the first time, a central national index of all births, marriages and deaths registered in England and Wales was formed.This landmark moment in British history has helped millions explore their family trees ever since and made finding family in Victorian Britain relatively straightforward. 1. Start with birth certificates: Birth certificates will be one of the first types of…

Passenger lists, passport applications, naturalisations and other travel-related documents are unique family records. They connect you not only to the past but to your ancestors' incredible journeys between countries and continents. They can give you a glimpse of your distant roots and cast light on a family story which might be more diverse and fascinating than you'd ever imagined. Below is just a small sample of our extensive travel records collection, highlighting some of the genealogical gems you may have…

Getting started with searching Findmypast's records is easy. Our billions of individual records are divided into categories. Here's a summary of what you can expect to find in each of those collections and how they'll help your family research. Birth, marriage, death & parish records: This is one of the categories of records you'll probably use most often. These records, commonly known as BMDs, detail the most important events in your ancestors' lives and are essential for every family historian. Parish…

The phrase 'Ten Pound Poms' is used to describe the Britons who emigrated to Australia following World War 2 on the Australian government's assisted passage scheme. The purpose of this scheme was to enlarge Australia's population whilst supplying workers for the country's growing economy and industry.Britons were offered a way out of the rationing and deprivation of post-war life, shown visions of glorious sunshine and boundless possibility by a government desperate for an influx of labour.They were offered the…