Today, Monday 9th June 2014, sees the opportunity for the general public to apply for free used microfilm from The National Archives. The redundant microfilm is being disposed of due to increasing online access in the reading rooms at Kew.
The offer opens today and closes on Sunday 27 June at 5pm. The films will be allocated by lottery, a draw will be carried out using numbered balls, with a separate draw for each batch. Requests are only accepted for whole batches. The films are free but successful applicants must arrange removal and meet the costs of removal from The National Archives.
Latest news from TheGenealogist is the launch of over 80,000 fully searchable records of British and Commonwealth prisoners, of all ranks, who were captured in the First World War. The new records provide access to records of all servicemen taken prisoner between 1914 to 1918.
From Senior Officers captured, to the NCOs and Privates in the Infantry, the records are all found in the exclusive ‘Prisoner of War’ collection on TheGenealogist. You can search all ranks for the first time on any family history website,giving access to the many soldiers, sailors and airmen captured and held behind enemy lines.
The records are fully searchable and provide the main details including, forename, surname, rank, regiment and the date the information was received. Records are found quickly and easily using the specific ‘Prisoner of War’ interface on TheGenealogist.
Mark Bayley, Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist comments: “The new Prisoner of War records we’ve published are a great new unique resource for all family historians. If our ancestors were either officers or in the lower ranks, there’s now more chance than ever to discover their details including when they were taken prisoner and when they were released. Sadly many men never returned and our records will hopefully show the brave men who endured the terrible hardships of the Prisoner of War camps will not be forgotten and can now easily be traced by their descendants.”
The latest email news is now available from S&N to download. There's a number of great offers included such as the discount on selected Census CD sets, only £10 for one week only!
With special offers on Slide Scanner Bundles and the Window Springback Binders and other great offers, if you need to add to your research collection, it's well worth checking out their Email News by following this link.
Today sees the continuation of the live web chat series on the Who Do You Think You Are? magazine website with the Head of Online Content from TheGenealogist, Mark Bayley, featuring today and answering any questions from family historians.
Mark will be offering help and advice from 1pm to 2pm today and more details can be found on the Who Do You Think You Are? website
Mark Bayley answering questions on the Who Do You Think You Are? magazine web chat
Continuing the series of help and instructional videos, Mark Bayley from TheGenealogist has released a short video looking at how to search by address or street on the Census records using the excellent Master Search tools on TheGenealogist.co.uk
Also the £50 cashback offer is still available, visit TheGenealogist to take advantage of the limited time offer of a reduced price subscription.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyrtCNfPdPA
Following the success of previous genealogy cruises, 'Unlock the Past' , the genealogy cruise specialists, have announced a new cruise for 2015.
The 8th Unlock the Past Cruise will tour the Baltic and as well as visiting a number of European countries, will feature a selection of leading family history specialists giving talks on how to discover your ancestors.
Bookings are now being taken for this 14 night cruise which starts from Southampton on Saturday 11 July and returns on Saturday 25 July. The cruise takes in Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.
Conference speakers for the main talks will be announced nearer the time. For more information and to place a booking please visit the Unlock the Past website.
The new 2015 Unlock the Past cruise in the Baltic has been announced
If you're keen to find out what's happening at The National Archives and to have your say, next Saturday sees one of the eight User Forum meetings at The National Archives. The Forums take place at The National Archives at Kew and last for approximately one to one and a half hours.
There's more information available (including a full meeting agenda) at The National Archives website or for more information please email [email protected]
Future meeting dates are:
Once you’ve found those precious records of ancestors, after often painstaking research, the next important task is to ensure they are stored and protected safely. Standard PVC sleeves can suffer from leaching of plasticizer which lifts print off pages and ruins those valuable certificates.
To ensure your collection of certificates and research documents are preserved in pristine condition, we’ve listed 5 tools that every family historian should have in their possession to guard against damage to those precious documents.
Certificate Binders
High-quality ring binders are available in standard A3 and A4 sizes, or the specially designed ‘Long Certificate’ binders (which can hold both the old ‘long’ style and the new style A4 certificates. A binder is essential to protect certificates or photos or any other memorabilia.
Springback Binders
Unlike ring binders, you don’t have to punch any holes in the paper- simply choose the sheets you want, fold the covers of the binder back, and place the paper into the spine. You can add or remove pages as many times as you like.
Storage Boxes
If you have objects or memorabilia that won’t fit into a binder, it’s worth looking at a special storage box, designed to protect your items from damage. Certain specialist boxes come lined with lignin-free paper and are designed to protect against acidity and sulphur in the air.
Acid free pens and paper
Another tip is to use acid free pens which can be used to write on most surfaces such as photographs, charts, paper or card without causing worry or damage.
Acid free photo tape and glue
If you need to stick or repair any documents, it is essential to use acid free tape to help preserve those documents. Ensure you use non-yellowing tape as this can really ruin the look of your old original and make it hard to read.
Brass Archival Paperclips (non rusting)
We all like to keep our documents and notes together. For particularly valuable and fragile documents, if you want to keep them together with paperclips, be sure to use archival paperclips which are non rusting and not liable to leave a mark on your research material!
Archival Cotton Gloves
Finally, to handle all those precious keepsakes and documents, it’s worth investing in a pair of archival quality protective gloves, avoiding any unnecessary damage caused by the natural acidity of bare skin.
S&N Genealogy Supplies provide a full range of archival supplies to help you protect your valuable research. Find out more at the S&N website.
Can you think of any other invaluable tools that can help family historians protect their documents and keepsakes? Let us know in the comments below!
Full range of archival storage products available from S&N Genealogy
If you're keen to combine your research with an energetic walk, the Society of Genealogists has organised a walk around Finchley to visit an ancient road which links two ancient villages. The walk will take in lands once owned by the Knights Templar and a former manor house which is haunted by a suspected lover of Anne Boleyn. The walk also takes in two famous murders and two uncrowned kings connected to the area.
The walk is on Saturday, 17 May from 11:00-12:30, with Paul Baker. The cost is £10.00/£8.00 SoG members. You must pre-book to attend and more details can be found on the Society of Genealogists website.
If you're looking for a bargain this weekend, it's worth checking out the 'Bargain Basket' section of the S&N Genealogy website. There's quite a few items at heavily reduced prices so it's well worth taking a look. There's CDs and books covering a variety of topics so if you fancy saving some money visit the S&N Genealogy Supplies website.
S&N Bargain Basket has a number of reduced price items for family historians
