Latest news from the Commonweath War Graves Commission website is details of the UK and French governments working together to commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War.
The UK's Minister for International Security Strategy, Andrew Murisson and the French Minister for Veteran's Affairs, Kader Arif recently signed a letter of intent, establishing cooperation in organising events to mark the centenary of the First World War and beyond.
The UK and French governments will work together in areas of common interest, such as commemorative events, like the Battle of the Somme in 2016, and in areas of tourism, education and in the field of cultural and scientific projects.
Co-operation between the UK and French governments as the centenary of The Great War approaches
Was your ancestor a tradesman? Or did they own a local business or were viewed as one of the pillars of local society?
Chances are they are listed in one of the Kelly's Directories or to term it correctly, the Kelly's Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory. The idea of Frederic Festus Kelly, the Directories were the Victorian equivalent of the Yellow pages of modern times and as well as businesses, they included postal addresses of local gentry, landowners, charities and other facilities in a local area.
The directories are an important source of local research and are increasingly available online to view. TheGenealogist has a sizable collection now available online to view and has recently added the following directories to its collection.
Cumberland 1929 Kelly's Directory
Lincolnshire 1933 Kelly's Directory
Dorset 1912 Kelly's Directory
Hampshire 1912 Kelly's Directory
Herefordshire 1900 Kelly's Directory
Shropshire 1934 Kelly's Directory
Somerset 1897 Kelly's Directory
Suffolk 1916 Kelly's Directory
Westmorland 1929 Kelly's Directory
Wiltshire 1912 Kelly's Directory
The directories are available to view to all Diamond and Gold subscribers of TheGenealogist. If your ancestor ran a local business it's well worth a look!
The Freke Family outside their family butcher business
Latest news from The National Archives is the appearance of their Chief Executive and Keeper, Oliver Morley, who will be on hand on three separate occasions in July to answer any questions on the future direction and management of the TNA and also to respond to any other views us family historians may have on The National Archives.
On the 2 and 18 July 2013, Oliver will be available in person to answer questions and on the 23 July will take part in a webinar on the TNA website. There's more details available including how to book on the events at the TNA website.
The latest email newsletter is now available from S&N Genealogy. Have you seen it? The issue is the special Father's Day edition with some great Father's Day offers and an article on the history of Father's Day.
There's also a feature on the forthcoming Wiltshire and York Family History Fairs and information on the new record releases on TheGenealogist. If you aren't receiving the Email News you can register for it here.
Recent reports on CNN have raised the plight of a teddy bear left behind at Bristol Airport over a year ago. However, this is no ordinary teddy bear. His rather worn features give a clue to his age as does the photograph that was left with him dating from 1918.
Lost teddy bear at Bristol Airport
The picture, produced as a postcard from the studio of Dura Ltd., shows a teddy with two small children in light dresses. The older one, her hair tied in ribbons, has her arm around the bear.
Efforts by airport staff and police to trace its owners have also proved fruitless -- so now the airport is hoping the general public can lend a hand in solving the mystery.
Some antique experts believe the teddy is a British-made Farnell Bear from the early 1900s. Others believe it could be either French or German.
There's more information at the CNN website
Anyone with information that might help find the bear's owners should contact: [email protected].
A handy tip for all those new to family history research is always be alert to the fact an ancestor could appear on a census listing more than once. If your ancestor moved around a bit, or lived an unconventional lifestyle there is always the chance they may have ended up listed in the census more than once.
A case in point is that of daring early aviator and showman, Samuel Franklin Cody. American born but living and working in Britain around the turn of the 20th Century. Before becoming employed by The British Army, he worked with his family on a wild west show and regularly toured around Britain and Europe. Samuel Cody then became interested in aviation and subsequently became one of the leading pioneers of British aviation.
Samuel Franklin Cody, leading aviator and showman
However, around 1901, the Cody family, with their show and their lifestyle, inevitably meant moving about quite a bit which may explain his two entries in the 1901 census. Both entries are from the Cheshire census and it looks like the Cody family may have had two temporary places of accommodation as they took their show around the North West of England. Both Samuel (senior) and his son Samuel Frank Leslie Cody appear listed on the 1901 census records in the screenshot below from TheGenealogist.
Samuel Cody 1901 census entries on TheGenealogist
This famous example shows what can occur so always look out for those duplicate records!
This forthcoming Saturday (15th June) sees the Southern Family History Day run by the Wiltshire Family History Society. It's at Wilton Community Centre, Wilton, SP2 0DG from 10am to 3.30pm and entry is free.
There will be a number of Wiltshire Family History Society books and publications as well as a selection of other suppliers. There is also a couple of free talks well worth going along to see. Jean Bunting of the Census Detectives has a talk on 'Making sense of the Census' at 11am and Mark Bayley from S&N Genealogy is giving a talk on 'Breaking down those brick walls' at 1pm.
There is free parking on site, so if you're in the area make sure you go along! There's more information at the Wiltshire Family History Society website
Our weekly book review takes a look at Family History for beginners by Karen Foy. This book is a perfect introduction to looking into your family tree. For the beginner, it has some ideal tips on the best way to go about researching your family history.
Looking firstly at how to get the most information from living relatives, to working your way through the large amount of census data to the ideal ways to store the data you collect, the book is the ideal companion those embarking on the fascinating hobby of family history research.
The book concludes by looking at the next level of research, beyond birth, marriages and deaths and the census records, illustrating what other records are available to get access to. Looking at areas such as occupations, emigration and military records, the book gives the beginner the knowledge to start their research in the most effective way.
The book is available from S&N Genealogy Supplies priced £14.99 from their website.
Most family historians will have a large digital collection of old family photographs stored on their PCs or data storage drives. Some of the photos may have been given to you. It may be the case you are not sure who all the people are in the photographs or even where the photographs came from. For the ever-curious family historian, there is the thought if anyone else in the world has the same photograph and if they have more knowledge on the people pictured in the photos.
With this in mind, it's worth taking a look at the website TinEye.com
You simply submit an image and it will tell you if there is a copy of the exact image anywhere else on the internet. TinEye can be a fun way to stumble upon distant living relatives and can be a way to break down those occasional genealogical brick-walls we all come across!
For those family historians who like to keep up with the latest events, the latest S&N Email News is now out. With some interesting articles and some great product discounts it's well worth a look. The latest articles are on the recent Dambuster Raid records now online, new pilot records from the early aviators and a feature on the Chelsea Flower Show. To see the latest newsletter and to sign up click here.
Harry Veitch, one of the founders of The Chelsea Flower Show
