Latest British Newspaper Archive additions

Added to the British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) in the last 30 days:

Sporting Chronicle
1889, 1907-1908, 1916

North Wales Weekly News
1956-1980

Rochdale Times
1872-1879, 1896, 1898-1899, 1910-1912, 1914-1923

Newcastle Journal
1894, 1900-1901, 1913, 1920

New Crusader
1916

Worthing Gazette
1960

Croydon Guardian and Surrey County Gazette
1913

Chelsea News and General Advertiser
1947

Brighton Gazette
1872, 1912

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette
1952

Motherwell Times
1960

Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald
1951-1956

Wexford Independent
1872

The Dublin Builder
1872

Birmingham Daily Post
1899

Kentish Gazette
1876

Hampshire Advertiser
1935-1940

Leicester Chronicle
1924, 1926-1928, 1934-1947, 1949, 1960-1964, 1966-1974, 1976, 1978-1979

Westmeath Guardian and Longford News-Letter
1841-1860, 1862-1896

Richmond & Ripon Chronicle
1857, 1859, 1865, 1889

Hampshire Independent
1836-1852, 1858-1895, 1898-1910, 1912-1923

Leinster Reporter
1878, 1880-1881

Kilkenny Moderator
1828-1840, 1849-1851, 1881, 1885, 1900-1902

Clonmel Chronicle
1848-1896

Sligo Independent
1855-1869, 1920-1924

Wakefield Express
1862, 1873, 1889

Merthyr Express
1946-1953

Manchester & Salford Advertiser
1837-1840, 1842

Scarborough Gazette
1856, 1884

Jersey Evening Post
1899, 1902-1903, 1905-1909

Sunday Illustrated
1921-1923

Cox's Legal Circular
1916

Docks' Gazette
1920

On the March
1920

The War
1915

Prohibitionist
1917-1918

Saint James's Chronicle
1801-1820, 1822-1866

Baldwin's London Weekly Journal
1803, 1807, 1809, 1812, 1817-1820, 1822-1836

Cannock Chase Courier
1889-1910, 1912-1928

Chester-le-Street Chronicle and District Advertiser
1913-1923, 1929-1940

Midland Counties Advertiser
1882

Lynn Advertiser
1842-1912

Meath Herald and Cavan Advertiser
1854-1856

Lisburn Standard
1878, 1884-1959

Alderley & Wilmslow Advertiser
1874-1896, 1898-1924

Burton Chronicle
1860-1865, 1907-1908, 1910-1911

Halifax Guardian
1877

Huddersfield Daily Chronicle
1872

Chester Courant
1757, 1767-1768, 1787, 1789, 1842-1843, 1849-1850, 1892-1894, 1896-1897, 1900

Barnsley Independent
1889

Dundee Courier
1986, 1988, 1990-1991

Beeston Gazette and Echo
1913-1938, 1940

Maidenhead Advertiser
1870, 1872, 1874-1912

Derby Daily Telegraph
1987

Cornish Guardian
1902, 1910

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course starts August 31st - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Highland Archives update

From Highland Archives (https://www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service/):

We are really looking forward to welcoming you back to our facilities as soon as the Scottish Government Route map allows. However, at the moment, all of our archive centres currently remain closed to the public.

Our team is working hard making plans and preparing the facilities for the return of our staff and customers to start the bounceback. This means that you will notice different procedures in place when you visit, all of which are designed firmly with safety in mind – our key priority being the safety of all those using our buildings.

We aim to begin our re-opening programme from late summer and will update our social media channels and website with more details as this begins. We will upload a welcome video for each facility shortly, to let you see some of the changes to the way you navigate the site and some of the measures in place to assist with social distancing etc., from when you arrive until you leave the building.

Until we are able to welcome you back in person we will continue to monitor our email and telephone messages, where we are able to do so, and we will respond to essential enquiries where possible.

We continue to offer our Family History 1-1 Consultation Service both remotely, by email, and online via Skype. To book an appointment please contact genealogy@highlifehighland.com in the first instance and we will be in touch to discuss your requirements in more detail.

Throughout the summer we will continue to run our series of ‘Learn with Lorna’ weekly talks which will be available across all our Facebook channels as well as on HLH’s You Tube channel.

We are also planning to offer a series of online archive and family history classes and will update our social media channels and website with more details when these are ready to launch.

For further details and links visit https://www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service/covid-19-archive-updates/

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts July 6th - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

TheGenealogist adds Battle of Britain RAF Operations Record Books

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

Battle of Britain RAF Operations Record Books (ORBs) released on TheGenealogist

To mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain (10 July 1940 - 31 October 1940) TheGenealogist is releasing over 2 million new RAF records. These records not only cover this important fight for Britain’s survival, but also encompass all of the Second World War period for a number of squadrons. This release brings the total ORBs records to 3.7 million and are part of TheGenealogist’s extensive Military records collection.

The ORBs are fully searchable by name, aircraft, location and many other fields, making it easy for researchers to find their aviation ancestors. These ORBs are the latest release to join TheGenealogist’s large military records collection which is always being expanded.

The fascinating pages from these diary-like documents tell the stories of brave aircrew, including those at the time of the Battle of Britain, 10 July 1940 - 31 October 1940. Recording patrols flown, the daily journal records give insights into the everyday lives of the personnel on bases. Researchers can use the collection to follow an airman’s war time experiences from these fully searchable Air Ministry Operations Record Books which cover various Royal Air Force, dominion and Allied Air Force squadrons that came under British Command. Sourced from The National Archives the AIR 27 records allow the family history researcher an interesting insight into relatives who had served in air force units under wartime conditions.

The ORBs provide a summary of daily events. Some are ordinary entries, such as the names of new pilots posted to the squadron, entertainment on the base, or even noting the fact that an officer has become engaged. Sadly, these ORBs also record the death of pilots, crashes, or names of airmen that were missing in action. As names of personnel are recorded in these reports, for a family history researcher wanting to follow where an ancestor was posted to and what may have happened to them in the war, ORBs are often very enlightening documents.

Use these records to:

Read the war movements of personnel in air force units
Discover if a pilot, navigator, radio operator or gunner is mentioned in the action
Find if an airman is listed for receiving an Honour or an Award
Add colour to an aircrewman’s story
Note the names of squadron members wounded, killed, or did not return
Easily search these National Archives records and images

Read TheGenealogist’s article: Ace in a day
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2020/ace-in-a-day-1278/


(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts July 6th - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Glasgow Women's Library plans phased re-opening from September 1st

From the Glasgow Women's Library (https://womenslibrary.org.uk)

Since the closure of the GWL building on 19th March due to Covid-19, all GWL Staff Team members have been working from home to rethink and reshape our events and activities into digital formats, continue to support our volunteers and Adult Literacy learners, and work together as a team, with our Board of Directors, to plan as far as we can for the future.

While we can’t wait to be able to welcome you back to our beautiful building, the safety and wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and visitors must be our top priority, and there is a lot of work involved in preparing to re-open.

We will therefore re-open GWL to the public in phases, with the first phase starting on 1st September.

During this phase, there may be limits on days or hours of opening, visitor numbers, and access to some parts of the building. Access to the lending library collection will be via a pre-reserve / ‘click and collect’ system, while access to the archive and museum collections may still not be possible during this phase. We do not anticipate hosting any public events in the building for the rest of this year, but will continue to offer online events. We will of course review the situation throughout this period, and we will always make sure that visitors are given the special GWL warm welcome regardless.

In the meantime, some GWL team members will be on-site throughout July and August, working to implement safety and hygiene measures, and creating workable systems and spaces for everyone.

For further details read the full post at https://womenslibrary.org.uk/2020/07/08/our-phased-approach-to-re-opening-gwl/

(With thanks to @womenslibrary via Twitter)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts July 6th - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Records now searchable through FindmyPast app

From FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk):

Major app-date: record searching is now live

Good news: you can now search for records from the Findmypast app. You can also filter and sort the results and with a paid subscription, view transcripts and images to print or download.

To use this feature, download the app (or update date it if you already have it) and you’ll see a search magnifying glass at the bottom of your screen. You can find out more about the free Findmypast mobile app and all its great features at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/getting-started/findmypast-app.

For the latest records releases, including records for Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Peru, visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/records-app-search.

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts July 6th - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

British Library to re-open its search rooms from July 22nd

The British Library (www.bl.uk) is reopening its two search room facilities in England from July 22nd - the Humanities 1, Rare Books & Music, and the Business & IP Centre Reading Rooms in St Pancras, London, and the Reading Room at Boston Spa, Yorkshire (the newspaper collection).

The opening hours are as follows:

St Pancras, Tuesday - Saturday, 11.00 – 15.00
Boston Spa, Tuesday - Friday, 11.00 – 15.00

As is likely to be the case for many repositories, there will be a booking system in place, and various changes to be aware of - these can be read at www.bl.uk/visit/reading-rooms.

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts July 6th - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Scottish Indexes virtual conference on July 11th

A reminder that the next Scottish Indexes virtual conference takes place on Saturday 11th, with talks from several speakers, including Kirsty Wilkinson, Emma Maxwell, Wiebke McGhee, Daisy Cunynghame, Chris Fleet, and Andrew Armstrong.

For the full programme shcedule, available for various timezones, please visit https://www.scottishindexes.com/default.aspx

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts July 6th - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

MyHeritage offers free access to birth records from July 10-16

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

We're happy to offer free access to all birth records on MyHeritage during the week of July 10–16, 2020. We don't want you to miss out on this fantastic offer. Search through this treasure trove of 104 collections containing 1,099,379,942 records for free and enjoy.

To access its worldwide collection of birth records visit https://www.myheritage.com/research/category-2010/birth-records

UPDATE: MyHeritage also has an offer on autosomal DNA kits just now for £49 - details at https://www.myheritage.com/DNA

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts July 6th - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

A wee while to wait yet for the Mitchell Library to re-open?

Glasgow Life (www.glasgowlife.org.uk) has posted an update on the facilities that it manages - and if anyone thinks we will be getting back to normal soon, it makes for some very sober reading.

We have identified 61 venues and facilities which we’re aiming to reopen across four phases between July and October. We’ve already delivered phase one with the reopening of 11 golf, tennis and lawn bowls facilities across the city last month.

Our second phase prioritises the reopening of community centres to support essential childcare, in line with the Scottish Government’s decision that childcare provision will return from 15 July. Given this date, we’re working with childcare operators to help them reinstate their services as safely and as quickly as possible this month.

Phase three will run concurrently with phase two throughout July and will see more of our office-based and frontline staff returning to work to prepare venues for reopening to the public. Some key tenants will also be given access in this phase.

And phase four, from August to October, will see continued support for childcare and education provision, greater access for tenants, and the reopening of some of our venues to the public more widely, in line with ongoing public health and government guidance.

(Source: https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/coronavirus-covid-19-latest-information)


In a list of venues 'reopening for essential services' at www.glasgowlife.org.uk/media/6407/20200702-glasgow-life-venues-reopning-for-essential-services-only-final.pdf, the Mitchell Library, it is noted that the intention is for the facility to open from the week beginning Monday 21st September 2020 - the very last venue on the list to do so - for the purposes of 'staff access'. There is no indication though when public services may be resumed, including the Family History at the Mitchell on the 5th floor, which includes the Registrar's Service (with ScotlandsPeople access) and Glasgow City Archives.

Other libraries across Glasgow are opening earlier to the public in a more staggered roll out plan, and all at a reduced capacity - see www.glasgowlife.org.uk/media/6425/20200702-glasgow-life-venues-reopening-to-the-public-final.pdf.

Get comfy folks, it could be a while yet.

(With thanks to Jack Davis via email)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts July 6th - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

The new normal

So this is the shape of things to come for the foreseeable future. As of Friday 10th July, it will be compulsory to wear face masks in Scotland within enclosed envirnoments such as shops, as it has already been for several weeks here on public transport. There is more on the guidance surrounding the wearing of face coverings at https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-phase-2-staying-safe-and-protecting-others/pages/face-coverings/.

When our archive sector re-opens, there will undoubtedly be strict measures put in place when visiting our favourite repositories. In England, the National Archives at Kew has already announced that it will be reopening on July 21st, with a booking system in place and with the following safety measures in place for site visits:

• One-way systems and capacity controls in frequently used areas
• Floor markers and temporary signage to help with social distancing (two metres)
• Rigorous cleaning during and at the end of each day, including in washrooms
• Easier access to sinks for hand washing and provision of hand sanitiser.

(For further details see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/coronavirus-update/)

The National Archives in Ireland notes that as part of its re-opening measures, face coverings are advised also to be worn in the building (see www.nationalarchives.ie/visit-us/visitor-information-changes-onsite-access/). We'll undoubtedly have something similar in Scotland when our sector re-awakens from its enforced hibernation.

This is the new normal, and is likely to be with us for quite some time.
 
(Stay safe folks - for further information on Covid1-19, please see https://www.nhsinform.scot/coronavirus and https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/.)

Chris

My next 5 week Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Registers course starts July 6th - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. My next book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.