The lunch hour genealogist

Welcome

It’s time to dig for victory, see what clues your delving

Sculptures bring 19th century street back to life

Anew public art project is bringing to life the stories

Veterans’ charity films stories for archive

To commemorate its centenary this year, the charity

New website digitising 17th century Hearth Tax records

Afree new website aims to open up a remarkable 17th

Heritage festival harnesses people power as it turns 25

Heritage festival harnesses people power as it turns

YOUR FREE RECORDS

At Family Tree we’ve teamed up with UK family history

Norfolk parish records among releases

TheGenealogist has added more than half a million Norfolk

Top speakers at Oxford conference

The Association of Genealogists and Researchers in

Great-grandson achieves tribute

The great-grandson of Constance Baker, known as ‘Mother

Looking after your home archive

Paul F Cockburn looks at some of the ways in which you can preserve and present the results of your research – now and for future generations

How to inspire the next generation!

Nina Hoole finds visiting archives can be child’s play with a youngster in tow

How to structure your blog content

Discover how to structure your blog content using ‘categories’ and ‘tags’. Paul Carter explains how – just follow his simple step-by-step advice

Spotlight on… Gwent Family History Society

Sonia Jones profiles Gwent Family History Society, a group with five different branches and a busy programme of events, meetings and projects for anyone with ancestors in the old county of Monmouthshire

How did you do?

Find out the answers to last issue’s Family Tree Academy challenges. Our Academy tutor David Annal explains all

Join Thee Family Tree Academy & become a skilled family historian

The Family Tree Academy is specially created to help you discover more about the records, resources and research skills you need to become the best genealogist you can be! Read on to join in with Family Tree Academy challenges

This issue’s theme is immigration & emigration records

Now it’s time to put your research skills to the test. Have a look at the following documents and answer the questions below. The solutions aren’t always in the documents themselves; sometimes you’ll need to look at other sources to find the answers

ONE-NAME STUDIES

This issue one-name researcher Julie Goucher suggests ways to collect surnames data and has some quick wins up her sleeve

Putting flesh on the bones

Researcher Nick Thorne explains how to discover more about your forebears’ lives by using the collections on TheGenealogist.co.uk

Taken a DNA test?

DNA tests grow ever more popular and can lead to fascinating new insights about your ancestry. There is a lot to learn, but help is at hand with Karen Evans’ practical advice for making so much more sense of your DNA

Your questions answered

With our panel of experts Jayne Shrimpton, Penny Walters

Books

Karen Clare takes a look at some new titles of interest in the world of family history, in particular books covering the lives of our 20th century ancestors

DIARY DATES

Find or post diary dates at www.family-tree.co.uk/Events

Your letters

No need for heirloom gloom with these ideas to keep them safe into the future

Tying up loose ends

It may take a while, but we can overcome family history obstacles given time, as Diane Lindsay found out when she solved a naming mystery

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Fergus Smith from Twitter’s #AncestryHour team reminds

Unlocking secrets of historic workhouse infirmary

Ahistoric workhouse infirmary has opened to visitors

Tracing your ancestors in the early 20th century

Chris Paton explores the key resources to help with early 20th century family history research

Fashion on the Home Front

Eighty years ago families watched and waited as tensions

Calmness & courage

Kath Garner delves into the memories of friends who lived through the Second World War as children and can recall the stoical mothers of Britain whose spirits would not be broken

The count down to war

The Second Great War did not break out unexpectedly. Many fought against the signs and portents for years. But come it did. Military historian Graham Bandy looks at the state of the Army 80 years ago, and Britain’s quiet preparation for conflict, once it became clear that it was inevitable

THE LAST DAYS OF KINDERTRANSPORT

With Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) shattered the last hope for Jews in Germany, and within days many were seeking temporary travel visas to get their children out – fast. Melody Amsel-Arieli looks at the last journeys made by Jewish children, fleeing Nazi Germany, in the final weeks before the door closed, leaving millions to their fates

Our ancestors & the 1939 Register

The 1939 National Register is part of our families’ shared history. A handwritten record of each of our ancestors named therein, in those early dark days of a world at war. Helen Tovey looks at how the record came about 80 years ago this September, and how and it can help your family history research today

Twiglets

Diarist Gill Shaw charts the rollercoaster ride of researching her family history

Tramps, tinkers & travellers

You might think that you’ve reached a dead end if you find an ancestor with an itinerant lifestyle, but there are a range of options to explore, as Simon Wills reveals

Local history for family historians

Exploring the local history of the area where your ancestors lived will help you grow and enrich your family history research. Delve into the past with Karen Clare and watch your family’s past spring into life…