The 'UK Archive Service Accreditation Committee' has announced the first fully accredited archive services:
Cumbria Archive Service
Exeter Cathedral Library and Archives
Media Archive of Central England
Network Rail Corporate Archive
Tyne and Wear Archives
Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service
Archive Service Acreditation is the new quality standard for archives services across the UK, developed in partnership with the archives sector and its stakeholders. It defines those organisations that maintain good practice and standards, including encouraging and supporting development.
According to The National Archives, "it is aimed at organisations that hold archive collections, whatever their constitution, and covers both private and public sector archives. It enables archive services to review and develop their policies, plans and procedures against a UK wide standard which has been developed by the archives sector, identifying strengths of the archive service and providing a framework to improve areas of weakness."
There's more available from The National Archives website.
The new Accredited Archive Service quality standard now being awarded
TheGenealogist has added the unique Great War record sets of The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, one of the four London based Inns of Court for the law profession.
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple is one of the four London based Inns of Court for the law profession and has been a separate legal society since 1388. Offering accommodation to practitioners of the law and their students with facilities for education and dining, the organisation proudly produced commemorative records of their members between 1914 to 1918. The information includes their regiment, rank and if they were injured, killed or missing in action.The Inner Temple list includes the record of future prime minister, Clement Attlee who was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1906. He served as a Lieutenant in the South Lancashire Regiment and was the penultimate man to be evacuated from Gallipoli. He was later seriously wounded in Mesopotamia before serving in France. His war service helped shape him into a distinguished prime minister who presided over a radical, reforming government.Available to view in the ‘Roll of Honour’ section of the Military Records on TheGenealogist, the records are taken from the ‘Roll of Enlistment’ publication produced by The Honourable Society of The Inner Temple.
Clement Attlee mentioned in the new Inner Temple war records
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is consulting on the census and the future provision of population statistics in England and Wales.
It is considering options for how and when information is gathered on the population in future, which may possibly involve an end to the Census, which has been around since 1801, such an important document for family historians in their research.
The consultation is open for just a few more days, until 13 December 2013. Individuals and organisations are encouraged to take part. The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) has got involved and submitted its comments in the online questionnaire. The comments they make and the links to the Consultation Paper and Survey Form can all be found on the Federation website. The direct link to the Office of National Statistics consultation page can be found here.
The Society of Genealogists have now announced their programme of events for next year. It promises to be a busy year with a number of lectures, talks and other events planned. The events cover a wide range of subjects of interest to most family historians. There is also a strong military theme to coincide with the anniversary of the start of the First World War happening next year.
If you'd like to improve your family history knowledge or keep up to date with latest developments, there's full details on The Society of Genealogists website.
Latest news from TheGenealogist is they have significantly reduced the prices on their DNA tests. You can now buy a test for under £50! Some of the other more extensive tests offer savings of over £100 and £150 too.
DNA tests make ideal Christmas presents for genealogists or even for yourself. With the reduction in price, they are definitely worth having a look at to possibly help break down that break wall or find that missing ancestral link you've been struggling with.
There are three types of test offered by TheGenealogist to choose from:
MtDNA - Traces your maternal (Mother's) line, this test can be taken by males and females.
YDNA - Traces your paternal (Father's) Line and this test can only be taken by males (But you can ask a male relative to take it if you are female) as YDNA is only passed from father to son. Family Finder - Ideal for genealogists, this test traces both lines and gives you information on the geographic regions your ancestors are from. This test can be taken by both males and females and can show matches within approximately 5 generations.
If you'd like to know more visit http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/dna
An ideal Christmas gift? DNA testing prices now reduced by TheGenealogist
The latest December issue of the email newsletter from S&N Genealogy Supplies is now available to view. Find out the top 10 recommended gift ideas for the family historian this Christmas and some great offers on their DNA tests which have now come down in price quite significantly . There's also an article looking at the First World War records of various occupations now available to view online. It’s all at http://www.genealogysupplies.com/email_news.htm
The new email news from S&N provides Christmas gift ideas and more
TheGenealogist has just released a new set of data records from The Institute of Electrical Engineers (The IEE) war memorial records from the First World War.
The IEE war records are a tribute to members of their organisation who died in the Great War. A number of promising engineers lost their lives and the records give an in-depth biography into the background, education, engineering career and war service, including details on how they sadly died. Many of the records come with a picture of the member commemorated.
Taken from the book 'The Roll of Honour of the Institution of Electrical Engineers 1914-1919', the records contain extensive biographies, numerous portraits and a map of North West Europe showing the main battlefields.
The records are available to view in the ‘Roll of Honour’ section of the Military Records on TheGenealogist. For more information visit http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/news.php#latest
Since the magazine name change earlier this year from 'Your Family History' to 'Discover Your History', we've now read a few issues from the new editorial team. There was a note of surprise in the genealogy world when the magazine changed its format and style but the new version is both a good read and educational in its choice of topics.
With an emphasis on social history, the magazine appears to complement the other magazines on the market and offer something slightly different. With in-depth articles on how life used to be, it's a good entertaining read.
If you haven't seen it yet, there's more information on their website.
If you have seen a recent issue, we'd love to know your thoughts!
As we enter the month of December, here's a Christmas gift suggestion for a fellow family historian or even a seasonal treat for yourself!
The full range of 2014 Family Tree Maker software available is now available in stock to purchase from S&N Genealogy Supplies.
What's New in Family Tree Maker 2014?
Improved TreeSync — lets you easily synchronize your tree in Family Tree Maker with an online Ancestry.com tree.
More organizational tools — stay organized with new tools that let you sort children automatically by birth order and view people by location, grouping them by country, state, county, and city.
New and improved charts and reports — more options and views let you display an individual’s ancestors, spouses, and children together. Also, the Index of Individuals Report has been expanded with options for anniversary, birthday, and contact lists, and more.
New tree branch export — a new export option makes it much simpler to export a single branch of your tree.
More editing options — save time with the ability to copy and paste facts including related source citations, media items, and notes.
As someone with a large collection of slides and negatives gathered over the years, I took the decision to invest in a 'Slide and Negative Scanner' a few months back. It was well worth it.
Slides and negatives can be difficult to view and are often passed down from one generation to the next. With modern technology they can often be forgotten and just left in a cupboard.
This is where the Slide and Negative Scanner comes into its own. No longer do you have to set up bulky slide projectors to view those old images. The Slide and Negative Scanners are light and easy to use, you can view your slides or negatives quickly and easily and then store the images on a memory card and transfer the images to your computer by a USB lead.
Available in a 14 Megapixel or the lower specification standard 5 Megapixel version, no family historian should be without one. I've been really impressed with mine. Do you have one? We'd be interested in your views on how the scanners have helped you view your slide collection.
If you're thinking of a Christmas present, or would like to treat yourself, there's a new range of scanners available from S&N Genealogy Supplies. There's more details here at http://www.genealogysupplies.com/product/Slide-Negative-and-Film-Scanners/intro
Ideal for bringing those forgotten pictures back to life!
