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First 'accredited' archive services announced

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.

Accredited Archive Service

The new Accredited Archive Service quality standard now being awarded

 
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New 'Inner Temple' war records added to TheGenealogist

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

Clement Attlee mentioned in the new Inner Temple war records

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Latest 'Discover Your History' Magazine now available

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!

Discover Your History magazine

New magazine Discover Your History now on sale

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An ideal Christmas present for the family historian

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.
To find out more and to order your copy go to http://www.genealogysupplies.com/familytreemaker

Family Tree Maker

Family Tree Maker 2014, an ideal Christmas gift

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Bringing those forgotten pictures back to life

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

Slide Negative and Film scanner

Ideal for bringing those forgotten pictures back to life!

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'Explore Your Archives' campaign launched

A  new initiative was launched last week at The Houses of Parliament with a joint project by The Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland) and The National Archives  to raise awareness of archives, their value to society and the impact they have, every day, on individual lives. Clem Brohier, Acting Chief Executive of The National Archives, was joined by MPs, Lords, archivists, guests and campaign ambassadors at the parliamentary launch, hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History. The campaign is aiming to encourage people to visit archives. So far,  hundreds of local, specialist and national archives across the UK and Ireland have been holding events, open days and exhibitions to showcase highlights from their collections. Caroline Williams, President of The Archives and Records Association remarked: "Public awareness of the role of archives is essential. Especially in the difficult times we find ourselves in. There are too many people who do not understand what an archive is or what an archivist does. We hope this campaign will bring many new people to an archive - in person or online." There's more details on the initiative at: http://www.exploreyourarchive.org/

Clem Brohier National Archives

Acting Chief Executive of The National Archives, Clem Brohier, introduces the new initiative

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National Union of Teacher records now available from 1914 to 1919

In a busy week for TheGenealogist , there's another set of records now available online for Diamond subscribers. Over 18,000 new records are now accessible online from the ‘National Union of Teachers’ War Records from 1914 to 1919. These records include a list of teachers who joined the forces, those who received honours, and also those who were sadly killed, plus other information relating to the National Union of Teachers during the war. Covering all N.U.T. members who served in the war and also discussing issues of the time, there's details on pensions, salary levels of teachers who joined the army and fund raising for relief in Europe. The records are a comprehensive list of members of the National Union of Teachers who served in the Great War. The teaching profession and its members responded to the great nationwide pressure to ‘do their bit’, with most male teachers of service age answering the call to arms. The records provide an interesting insight into how a specific profession and its union coped with the events of The Great War. Taken from the National Union of Teachers War Records 1914 to 1919 publication, the records can be found in the War Service Lists in the Military Records section on TheGenealogist.  There's more details available at http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/news.php#latest

Jack Harrison VC MC

Teacher Jack Harrison was rewarded for outstanding bravery in World War One

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New Battle of Jutland records available on TheGenealogist

Latest news from TheGenealogist is the release of specialist records dedicated to the Royal Navy actions at The Battle of Jutland in World War One. Available to Gold and Diamond subscribers to TheGenealogist is a full record set of the Royal Navy servicemen killed or wounded in the battle. TheGenealogist is the only family history site to provide a complete specialist section devoted to these particular records. The new Battle of Jutland records provide a full list of the men killed or wounded in the battle, with their rank, name of ship and date of death taken from official Admiralty sources. Records of the men lost range from Rear Admiral Robert Arbuthnot, commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron who went down with his flagship HMS Defence, to 16 year old Jack Rutland who although mortally wounded stayed at his post on board the damaged HMS Chester. For more details go to http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/news.php#latest

Battle of Jutland

The major naval battle of World War One

HMS Warspite and Malaya

HMS Warspite and Malaya- two of the Royal Navy ships involved in the battle

 
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Latest offer from S&N Genealogy Supplies

If you're looking for early Christmas presents for a fellow family historian, then it may be worth taking advantage of this current offer from S&N Genealogy as reported in their latest email newsletter. With certain Family History Springback Binders ordered before the end of November, you receive a FREE fold-out seven generation ancestor chart, which has been designed specifically for the Springback binders. If you'd like more information go to http://www.genealogysupplies.com/product/Springback-Binders/intro

Free Chart with every Springback Binder

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JFK File digitised by The National Archives

To mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of U.S. President John F Kennedy, The National Archives have digitised the British Government's reaction to the events in 1963 and made it available online. The file, known as 11/4582 includes the draft statement prepared for then Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home in which he told the nation: "You have heard the dreadful news. I find it almost impossible, as I expect you do, to accept the fact that President Kennedy is dead." The file also includes the telegram messages from The Queen and former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan to President Kennedy's widow. There's more information available from the TNA website at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/891.htm
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