Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added an interesting collection from records digitised at the National Library of Scotland, which may be of help if your ancestors moved to an Asian country in the mid-20th century:
Asia, Directories and Chronicles Relating to Government Agencies and Foreign Nationals, 1917-1941
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62492/
Source: Asian Directories and Chronicles. Edinburgh, Scotland: National Library of Scotland, 2019 https://doi.org/10.34812/thgt-1y03.
About Asia, Directories and Chronicles Relating to Government Agencies and Foreign Nationals, 1917-1941
General collection information
This collection includes digital images of the Directories and Chronicles Relating to Government Agencies and Foreign Nationals. The books were published annually by the Hong Kong Daily Press between 1863 and 1941, but this collection only has editions published between 1917 and 1941. They were usually published in English, but some of the records may be in French.
The directory section includes the addresses of corporations, institutions, and consulates. Most notably for family research, the directories also have alphabetised lists of the names of all foreign residents living in the Asian countries covered in each book along with their occupations, employers, and addresses. The chronicle section includes articles about important changes in politics, government, and economics during the previous year. They also include information about public holidays, festivals, and traditions of Asian countries.
Using this collection
Records in this collection may include the following information:
- Name
- Occupation
- Employment country
- Employment city
The information in these records can be used to verify that your ancestor lived and worked in an Asian country during a specific year. The directories were published annually, which may provide the opportunity to trace your ancestor's place of residence and occupation over several years.
Collection in context
The directories were published by the Hong Kong Daily Press. The original documents are housed at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The purpose of these publications was to provide an informational resource for Western governments and foreign nationals living in Asia. The first edition of the directory in 1863 was focused on China, Japan, and the Philippines, but other Asian countries were added over time, including Borneo, Indo-China (modern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia), Korea, Straits Settlements, Malaya, Siam (modern Thailand), and Netherlands India. Each year, the directories and chronicles expanded their scope as the foreign population of Asian countries became more diverse. The books were published under a variety of titles that changed slightly to reflect the changes in their geographical and informational focuses. The first directory was a small booklet. By 1937, it had grown to more than 2,000 pages.
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