Category Archives: Blog

As the country commemorates the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, FindMyPast announced a searchable compilation of records relating to the servicemen involved. HMS Shannon The collection is called ‘British Royal Navy and Royal Marines, Battle of Jutland 1916 Servicemen’. It includes many of those serving with the British Grand Fleet between 31 May andContinueContinue reading “ONS: A Jutland Connection”

Names. Most of us have one. We name our pets, our neighbours’ pets, our cars, our computers, all sorts… but that’s nothing compared to choosing a name for a child. My husband and I are getting closer to hopefully extending our family tree downwards for the first time. We can feel somewhat smug about havingContinueContinue reading “How to name your baby: advice from my ancestors”

Some time ago I relayed the story of Sister Jessie Clementia Hayward who left a diary describing how, while travelling abroad to nurse troops injured during the First World War, she was one of the hundreds aboard the SS Transylvania when it was torpedoed.  I am currently putting together a trio of stories from the FirstContinueContinue reading “Jessie Clementia Hayward, Hardley, Norfolk”

There are now 241 Walnes indexed on my master sheet for the 1911 census. All of them were recorded with the surname ‘Walne’ on at least one census during their lifetime. In the case of 1911, they were all spelt that way across a total of 78 schedules. The total of 241 includes 117 menContinueContinue reading “ONS update – 1911 birthplaces and firstnames”

Were they all in cotton? Well, yes, many of them! The rubber workers were in Leyland (surprise!) and the ‘other’ category includes a newspaper canvasser, a carter, a clerk, a coal miner, two gardeners, a night watchman at a gas works, a groom, a miller, a shop assistant, a sanitary inspector, a silk winder, aContinueContinue reading “What were the Lancashire Walnes up to in 1911?”

“Important note August 2016: since this post was originally written and the spreadsheet information was collated, collection names have been changed to more accurately reflect the years included in the published images. Therefore, the spreadsheet will sometimes indicate, for FMP, that register images extend further than they really do, as the most recent entries inContinueContinue reading “Parish Registers: What’s Where (update and Wymondham-Yelverton)”