Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine not only explores the stories behind the popular BBC genealogy TV series, but also helps you uncover your own roots. Each issue is packed with practical advice to help you track down family history archives and get the most out of online resources, alongside features on what life was like in the past and the historic events that affected our ancestors.

Welcome

SARAH’S TOP TIP • Look out for dropped and added ‘H’s in records with Londoners’ names

CONTRIBUTORS

Letters

SOCIAL MEDIA IS A GREAT TOOL FOR GENEALOGY

Who Do You Think You Are?

What’s On

Over 1.7 m Guernsey records go online • Rosemary Collins and Magdalena Patynska report on the latest data releases and genealogy news

NEWS IN BRIEF

British Army records from the 18th and 19th centuries go online

CAN YOU HELP?

Thousands of stolen archive documents returned to Scotland

Ancestry adds lists of military honours

English Heritage requests return of missing bell

PARISH PARTICULARS • Alan Crosby explains why we have Thomas Cromwell to thank for parish registration

GET MORE FROM SOCIAL MEDIA • Social media has become an unmissable resource for family historians says genealogist Kelly Cornwell, who shares her expert advice for making the most of different platforms

Bluesky

FACEBOOK

TikTok

YouTube

FINDING THE FORGOTTEN • Ian Castle reveals how he’s identified almost 1,300 lost victims of Germany’s First World War air raids

UNCOVERING THE ‘YOUNG FELLOW’ • Ian reveals how he identified one victim of the air raids

RESOURCES • Take your research further

‘MATILDA HAD TO GIVE HER CHILDREN UP’ • Rob Earnden has untangled a complex story of seduction and separation that shaped the lives of four siblings, as Claire Vaughan explains

RESOURCES • These sites helped Rob uncover the secrets of his family history

FRENCH GENEALOGY • Anne Morddel, who researched Fred Sirieix’s roots for the new series of WDYTYA?, shares her expert advice if you have French ancestry too

EXPERT PICKS • Anna recommends these three websites for accessing key sources — and all of them are free to use

FRED SIRIEIX FROM FIRST DATES TO GENEALOGY • Find out more about one of the stars of the new series of WDYTYA? — and some of his discoveries

MARRIAGE REGISTER, 1867 • The marriage of Gustave Eon and Victorine Daubignard shows how much information 19th-century French marriage register entries can reveal. The record is available on the website of the Departmental Archives of Yonne (archivesenligne.yonne.fr)

RESOURCES • Take your research further

LONDON • Jonathan Scott reveals the most useful sites to uncover the lives of London ancestors

EXPERT’S CHOICE • Elizabeth Burling is the chairman of the London Westminster & Middlesex Family History Society (lwmfhs.org)

GO FURTHER • More sites to help you uncover your London roots

IRISH RAILWAY STAFF RECORDS • Ian Waller tells the story of the growth of the railways in Ireland, and how you can use an online collection to research your relative’s railway career

STAFF RECORD, 1905 • John Kennedy worked for the Great Southern and Western Railway. This character sheet is preserved by the Irish Railway Record Society (irrs.ie) and available digitally on Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk)

RESOURCES • Take your research further

What happened to John Francis Moore? • Our team of experts offers tips and inspiration

Can I find out when a place was surveyed for Lloyd George’s Domesday Survey?

What was Benjamin Ward doing in Rye?

When was this photo of a pub taken?

Why was my great great grandmother...