Scottish GENES

Friday, 24 March 2023

TNA outlines Ancestry's Second World War UK military records digitisation plans

The National Archives at Kew in England (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) has recently announced that Ancestry would be digitising service records material from the Second World War, but it has now extensively detailed its digitisation plans remit for the next few years. First, its introductory post (from https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/award-of-mod-records-digitisation-contract/)

We have announced that we have awarded Ancestry®, a contract to digitise the first tranche of Ministry of Defence service personnel records. Both parties are looking forward to working to make these important records accessible online.

Gemma Maclagan Ram, Commercial Director at The National Archives said:

‘Widening access to records is very important to us and we are pleased that this partnership with Ancestry will allow people to look at these records in the comfort of their own homes. We know how important these records are to military groups, veterans and family genealogists and we are working with Ancestry to ensure that they are accessible online as early as possible.’

This contract covers the first four groups of non-officer British Army service records: approximately three million files in total, amounting to an estimated 36 million images. We anticipate that the digitisation will take over four years, so from late 2024 Ancestry will publish in tranches, when each series of records is ready for publication online.

The real detail, however, is in the subsequent link at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/plans-policies-performance-and-projects/our-plans/ministry-of-defence-service-records/ - and it is packed with information.

The following are some key snippets:

The records included in this collection cover personnel in all three services – Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force – where the individual has a date of birth before or up to 1 January 1939. They include around 500,000 personnel with First World War service, and the vast majority of those who served in the Second World War.
The most common information within the collection are attestation papers, which capture details of when the individual joined the service, along with a Record of Service that shows which units and between what dates the individual served in.
There are just under ten million records, representing the biggest and most complex transfer of public records in our history.
We have already received over four million records and expect to complete the transfer of all Army non-officer records within the scope of the project by the end of March 2024. We will then move onto RAF non-officer records in 2024-25. The whole transfer process will run until 2026.
The first four collections to be digitised are British Army service records of non-officer ranks: WO 420: Approximately 54,000 service records of other ranks (not Officers) who served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) during the Second World War. The REME was established in October 1942 and was responsible for the maintenance and repair of military equipment. It consisted of skilled tradesmen, many of whom had initially transferred from other units. WO 421: Over 94,000 records, originally held at the Bournemouth Combined Manning Record Office, of soldiers from 12 smaller units/corps during the Second World War and immediately after, discharged as over age personnel. WO 419: Over 830,000 records of other ranks discharged from the infantry of the British Army between 1921 and 1939. The majority of the service records relate to individuals who served during the First World War, and who opted to continue their service beyond 1921, but also include those who served only throughout the inter-war period and were discharged before the outbreak of the Second World War. WO 422: Over two million records of non-commissioned officers and other ranks who served in infantry regiments of the British Army during the Second World War and who were discharged from the armed forces as ‘over age’ before their time expired in the reserves after 1945.
These collections were chosen as they contain the largest proportion of open and publishable records. They also include records of individuals from across the world who served in the British Army, particularly during the Second World War.
Are you digitising everything in each MoD service record? No – due to the scale of the project, and the nature of the information that records contain, it is not possible to digitise each service record in its entirety.
Will MOD service records for living individuals be digitised? Only MOD service records of individuals with a date of birth over 100 years ago will be published.
Our licensing partner for the first tranche of records, Ancestry, will publish the records on their platform in phases between 2024 and 2029.
The service records will be available to view free of charge in digital format in our reading rooms. They will also be available free of charge at two more public access venues within the UK, details to be confirmed. Libraries and other public institutions with institutional Ancestry subscriptions may also offer free access.
The digitisation project "consists of just over three million records, and an estimated 36 million images".
We are gradually cataloguing the service records as they are transferred to us... Collections now partially available to search and browse (on Discovery) include: WO 420: Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers regiment (other ranks); WO 421: selected smaller corps (other ranks); WO 422: infantry over age (other ranks)
Will MOD service records for living individuals be digitised? Only MOD service records of individuals with a date of birth over 100 years ago will be published. The long-accepted assumption of 100 years for life means that records can be opened 100 years and one day from the date of birth of the individual. Our licensing partner for the first tranche of records, Ancestry, will publish newly opened records on an annual rolling basis as they reach 100 years old.

It looks like we'll have lots to get stuck into over the next few years! For further detail, visit the link above.

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

FindmyPast adds local British Army Boer War enrolment forms

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added a military collection which may be of assistance for Scottish and Irish research:

British Army, Local Armed Forces' Enrolment Forms, Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902

This all-new set contains transcriptions for 64,888 enrolment forms from the Anglo-Boer War, which was fought between the British Empire and the Boer Republic in South Africa between 1899 and 1902.

Although the content of the records varies slightly depending on which enrolment form was used in each case, this set provides the name, age, nationality and trade of each soldier, as well as his regiment, regimental number and place of enlistment.

A next of kin (and their address) is also stated in these records. This provides valuable insight into each individual's family and background.

A quick test using Glasgow in a keyword search pulls up 537 entries, and for Belfast 191, so there may well be something in there for you.

For further details visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/boer-war-surrey

Chris

Speakers announced for Scottish Indexes 20 conference in April

Graham and Emma Maxwell's next Scottish Indexes conference takes place on April 15th 2023. The following speakers have now been announced:

Making the most of Scottish Prison Records - by Emma Maxwell
Caledonian Asylum Petitions - by Lorna Kinnaird
My Cousin Sophia - by Karen de Bruyne
Scottish Kirk Session Records - by Chris Paton
Body Snatching and Dissecting the Destitute - by Dee Hoole
Using DNA For Family History - by Michelle Leonard

As well as answering questions at the end of each presentation (which will be run as a programme twice in the day to cater for international attendees), we'll also be doing the usual trying to pull rabbits out of thin air in the two hour long Q&A sessions, which is always fun!

The conferences are free to attend, with donaltions accepted to help with running costs. Further details are available at https://www.scottishindexes.com - hopefully see you there!

Chris

Thursday, 23 March 2023

Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies online launch event in May

From the University of Strathclyde, news of an online event to launch the new Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies (https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/centreforlifelonglearning/genealogy/):

Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies Launch
Tuesday, 9th May 2023, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

The Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies (SIGS) has been established with the aim of developing new courses, supporting innovative genetic genealogy research, and working alongside a growing network of partners and organisations.

The launch of this exciting new venture will showcase the research, projects, and opportunities to get involved in the work of the Institute.

Hear from guest speaker Professor Turi King who will talk about the interdisciplinarity aspects of genealogy, the development of genetic genealogy and how she uses genealogy in her work and research.

Who should attend?

This event is suitable for anyone with an interest in genealogy and family history.

Professional genealogists
Historians
Librarians
Archivists
Family history associations

Benefits of attending

Find out more about our research and partnership working, and how you can get involved.

To register, visit https://www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/1007

Chris

Tuesday, 21 March 2023

Review: The Covenanters of Scotland 1638-1690, by David Dobson

I've just received a review copy of the latest book from David Dobson, entitled The Covenanters of Scotland 1638-1690. Davidis a a Research Fellow at The University of Edinburgh and Honorary Research Fellow at the St. Andrews Institute of Scottish Historical Research.

As with most of David's titles, the book acts as a finding aid, in this case to help researchers locate information about those who fought on the side of the Covenanters, the adherents to the Presbyterian cause who resisted the imposition of episcopacy in Scotland, which was heavily promoted by the Stuart kings after their relocation to London from Scotland. The Covenanters cause originated in 1638 with the signing of the National Covenant, and continued until the Stuarts were deposed at the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1689-1690. Their decades long history was bloody, involving the Bishops Wars and the Killing Time, with many Covenanters forced into exile in Ulster and Holland, whilst others were transported to the American colonies and the West Indies.

David starts his book with a very concise summary of the events concerning the Covenanters. This is followed by a two page reference guide noting the various repositories and works that he has consulted to extract the names of those adhering to the Covenant, and nine pages of illustrations, before reaching the main body of work - the alphetical list of all the Covenanters that he has been able to identify.

Each entry is short and succinct, usually with one reference cited, although some have a few sources to identify them. The following is a typical example:

MACKEN, WILLIAM, was captured at the Siege of Worcester in 1651, was transported via London aboard the John and Sarah bound for Boston in December 1651, landed there in February 1652, [SD.1.5-6]

The SD reference here refers to a collection called the Suffolk Deeds, based in Massachussets (USA). In total, David has identified almost 2,500 Covenanters by name, with additonal information such as the verdict, date and vessel of banishment, place of exile, often additional particulars about the individual, and the source of the information recorded. At 264 pages, The Covenanters of Scotland 1638-1690 is a handy and concise guide to help with research into a tumultuous period within Scotland's history.

The book is on sale at US $43 from https://genealogical.com/store/the-covenanters-of-scotland-1638-1690/. (I also see copies on sale at Amazon in the UK for £35.46, at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Covenanters-Scotland-1638-1690-David-Dobson/dp/0806359560/).

* For a review of David's previous publication, his two volume Scots-Irish Links, see http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2022/05/review-david-dobsons-scots-irish-links.html.

(With thanks to the Genealogical Publishing Company for the review copy)

Chris

Scotland's First Minister to apologise on Wednesday for forced adoptions from 1950s-1970s

In one of her final acts as Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon will make a formal apology in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday 21st) over the issue of forced adoption, with about sixty thousand unmarried mothers from the 1950s-1970s shamed and cajolled into handing over their babies for adoption.

For more on the background to the story visit www.sundaypost.com/fp/forced-adoption-victims-3/ and the reports of the UK Government's Joint Committee on Human Rights at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1522/the-right-to-family-life-adoption-of-children-of-unmarried-women-19491976/publications/reports-responses/.

The apology will be made following Portfolio Questions at 2pm. To watch it live, view proceedings on Scottish Parliament TV at www.scottishparliament.tv.

Chris

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry finds that the overseas child migration system was abusive

Scottish Judge Lady Smith has released her first volume of findings as part of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, looking at the issue of child migration to Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the abuse that resulted for some as a consequence.

Child migration: a shameful chapter in Scotland’s history
Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry publishes eighth case study findings

From the latter part of the nineteenth century until well into the second half of the twentieth century many thousands of children were sent away from Scotland as child migrants by means of a system that was inherently abusive.

Lady Smith has today Tuesday 21 March, published the first volume of her findings relating to the migration of children from Scotland.

She concludes that child migration is “now rightly regarded as a shameful chapter in our history”, and that “the system itself was abusive and resulted in many children being abused at their destinations”.

The scope and purpose of the case study was to consider evidence about:

The migration of children from Scotland, primarily to Canada and Australia,
The nature and extent of any relevant abuse,
The systems, policies, and procedures relevant to child migration, both domestic and international, their application, and their effectiveness,
The impact on individuals of being migrated as children, and
Any related matters.

Lady Smith said: “Although decades have passed since the last shipload of child migrants left our shores, and though apologies have been made, families reunited, and public inquiries conducted in other jurisdictions to examine what happened to their children, it is important to listen to and understand what happened to all child migrants including those from Scotland.

“I am satisfied the child migration system was abusive and it resulted in many children being abused.

“Abuse began at the outset, unacceptable practices being inherent in the systems and procedures applied at the stages of selecting children and making arrangements for their migration.

“It continued in receiving countries and institutions, where children were exposed to harsh and neglectful conditions, used as slave labour, and were physically, emotionally, and sexually abused by individuals who owed a duty of care to them.”

The first volume of findings covers, in detail, the histories of former child migrants who provided evidence to SCAI, or whose family members provided evidence.

Volume two, which will be published soon, considers the history, policy, and practices of child migration, with a focus on the Scottish context.

Canada received the majority of child migrants, with an estimated 80,000 children dispatched from the UK to Canada by 1920.

Despite contemporary reports that exposed the failings and abuse in the practice of child migration to Canada, children continued to be migrated there until 1948.

After the Second World War, Australia became the most popular destination for child migration, and between 1912 and 1970 around 7,000 children were migrated from the UK to Australia.

Forty-five individuals came forward to tell the Inquiry about their experiences as child migrants who were sent from Scotland, or as relatives of former child migrants. They also provided evidence about the experiences, at their destinations, of other child migrants.

Lady Smith’s findings can be summarised as follows:

Abuse began at the outset, unacceptable practices being inherent in the systems and procedures applied at the stages of selection and making arrangements for children’s migration.
System failures at home and abroad exposed child migrants to a real risk of suffering a wide range of abuses in receiving homes and institutions.
Many child migrants were abused at the institutions in which they were placed, as were other children; some were abused from the moment of arrival.
The destinations of child migrants and juveniles were thousands of miles from Scotland, often isolated in remote locations; children’s sense of displacement was exacerbated in cases where they were depersonalised on arrival by, for example, their already limited possessions being taken away from them; girls’ long hair being shaved off; names changed; and all links with family and homeland being severed.
Some parents who followed their children abroad were not allowed to remove their children from institutional care.
Children were used as slave labour, including for building works and farming.
At their destinations, children were physically abused, they were sexually abused, they were emotionally abused, they were subjected to unacceptable practices, and they were neglected.
Examples of the physical abuse suffered included brutal beatings on heads and bodies with belts, straps, and other implements, such as reinforced straps and canes, pieces of timber, fists, and feet. Some of it was sadistic.
Children were sexually abused, including by men in holy orders, some being abused in the most appalling and harmful manner.
Children were sexually abused by members of a paedophile ring.
Girls had to assist in caring for the elderly, including elderly men suffering from senile dementia. They had to wash their soiled sheets and they had to prepare dead bodies for burial.
Children were denigrated, insulted, humiliated, and kept in a state of fear.
Children were neglected. Their clothing was inadequate. They went barefoot even in winter, when they learnt to walk in fresh cow dung to warm their feet. Some had to sleep on verandas even in cold weather. The food was inadequate. They had no, or limited, access to health care. The education afforded to many of them was lamentable.
Whilst some children settled in the country to which they were migrated and established successful adult lives, even they remained scarred. Memories of abuse continue to haunt them and childhood severance from their roots in Scotland still hurts.

Statements from former child migrants and their family members were taken at private sessions held in Scotland, Australia, the USA, and Canada.

In Australia, members of the Inquiry’s statement taking and witness support teams attended various locations in Tasmania, Western Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales during two weeks in September 2018, and two weeks in March 2019.

Private sessions were held and statements were taken from a total of 40 former child migrants—23 in the first visit, and 17 in the second.

Hearings were interrupted as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic. In total there were 45 days of evidence, 28 between December 2019 and March 2020 and then another 17 between September and October 2020.

During hearings, Lady Smith heard evidence from 40 child migrants

Lady Smith added: “During the case study hearings, I heard of many aspects of the experiences of child migrants that were shocking and distressing.

“I appreciate how challenging it will have been for all witnesses, near and far, to engage with and provide evidence to the Inquiry. I am very grateful to them for their assistance and co-operation and for their valuable contributions."

The first volume of findings has been released at https://www.childabuseinquiry.scot/news/child-migration-volume-1-findings-released-press-release/.

Chris

Monday, 20 March 2023

Participate at the East Kilbride BygoneCon event on April 29th

From South Lanarkshire Information Services, an opportunity to exhibit at an event on April 29th in East Kilbride:

South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Libraries
2nd Heritage and Local History Convention
BygoneCon

East Kilbride Central Library, on Saturday, 29th April, from 10am to 4pm

Share
This is a great opportunity to share your interests and passions with other like-minded individuals and visitors.

Free
We will provide tables for you to display your items and publications, and we’re happy to discuss any further requirements you may have. It’s FREE to participate!

Talk
One of our rooms will be set aside for speakers to deliver presentations. If you’d be interested in talking about your activities and interests, please let us know how long you’d like to speak for, and if you’d need technical support.

Welcome
We look forward to welcoming you to East Kilbride Central Library. Our event in Rutherglen Library in October 2022 was very well attended, so please get in touch soon to reserve your place.

If you’d like to join us in East Kilbride Central Library in April for BygoneCon, please contact us before Tuesday 1st March 2023:

Email: BygoneCon@library.s-lanark.org.uk
Telephone: 01355 220046 (ask for Scott Broadfoot)
Address: East Kilbride Central Library, The Olympia Shopping Centre, East Kilbride, G74 1PG

Very best wishes, and we hope to hear from you soon!

(With thanks to Scott Broadfoot)

Chris

Friday, 17 March 2023

Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors - first review!

The first review is in for Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors!

"Some of my maternal ancestors hail from Northern Ireland, and although I can conduct basic research on that area of the world, my skill set is woefully inadequate. This author is a fantastic writer. He’s clear, to the point, and engaging.

"Paton takes readers and researchers by the hand, beginning with the first chapter, which is a superb condensed history of Belfast from the ancient times until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Then author then reveals how the various peoples of Belfast (Irish, Scottish, and English) were administered throughout time. This was so important to me because as an American, I am utterly unfamiliar with the laws of that region. For someone doing research on foreign-born relatives, this is something that I, and other readers and researchers, definitely need because in order to conduct research, one has to know where to look to find those documents. Chapter 4: Online Repositories was an especially helpful chapter, particularly for those of us who are unable to travel abroad.

"What I really appreciate about Paton is the fact that he did not limit his book to research on ancestors in the Church of Ireland, but included resources for research into other Protestants, Roman Catholics, and even Jewish congregations. He included cemeteries found in Belfast, further reading, and numerous website addresses, along with a discussion of companies who specialize in online records (e.g., ancestry.com, findmypast.com, and etc.).

"This is the type of book that one needs to keep on hand at all times. Many times, libraries will purchase one copy of a book, which is usually not a problem. But with Paton’s book, the purchase of just one book will likely drive patron’s mad because people will keep checking the same book out over and over again in order to reference it, preventing other people from getting a hold of this book. I recommend that people should buy a copy of this book and keep it in their personal libraries, particularly if they have ancestors from Belfast, and that libraries should get at least TWO copies—one digital and one hard copy—so that patrons will get a chance to reference this book while conducting research.

"Paton is a great author and knowledgeable regarding genealogical research in Belfast. He has written several other books, and I cannot wait to read them." NetGalley, Matal Baker

Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors is available to buy at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Belfast-Ancestors-Paperback/p/23194 in the UK (this is also the source page for the review), and at https://www.penandswordbooks.com/9781526780331/tracing-your-belfast-ancestors/ in the USA.

Chris

Fuzzy matching returns to ScotlandsPeople

We got there in the end!

'Fuzzy matching' has finally been reinstated as one of the five ways that you can manipulate a search term on ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk). It may be a tool that you never use, but it certainly has its uses, as previously discussed at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2023/02/various-search-tool-improvements-on.html.

The five options to assist with name searches are now as follows:

Exact names only
Fuzzy matching
Wildcards allowed
Names that begin with
Phonetic matching

The wildcard function also now seems to be automatic once again when you insert a * in to replace letters in a search (rather than you having to select it as an option, which was tiresome).

It all feels like we are slowly getting back to normal again!

(With thanks to the ScotlandsPeople team, and again to Michael Tobias)

Chris

Pages

Friday, 24 March 2023

Thursday, 23 March 2023

Tuesday, 21 March 2023

Monday, 20 March 2023

Friday, 17 March 2023