Military historian Paul Reed will be tweeting the names of the pilots of The Few who were shot down during the Battle of Britain, from July 10th - October 31st. For more information visit Paul's site at www.ww2battlefields.com/bob_twitter.htm.
Just a few days ago I posted a short tribute to a Scottish pilot of the Few, Sergeant Pilot Iain Hutchinson, who I had the pleasure of meeting on several occasions, and who sadly passed away in 2007 (see The Few - RAF podcasts). I've actually just discovered another great write up on Iain's life at
http://forums.canadiancontent.net/news/61996-hero-pilot-battle-britain-dies.html, but the thing that has me mentioning him again is that yesterday I noticed in our local W. H. Smith's a new book on sale written by Max Arthur, entitled "Last of the Few: The Battle of Britain in the Words of the Pilots Who Won It" (available at www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/books/771718?ie=UTF8&pg=2). The book includes interviews with several pilots I've had the pleasure of meeting and speaking to in the past, including Iain Hutchinson, Al Deere, Ludwik Martel, and last but not least Bob Doe.
I first met Bob when working for BBC Bristol on War Walks series 2, a series presented by Professor Richard Holmes in 1997. We did a programme on The Blitz, but as a part of this spent a day filming at Duxford with Bob, to get the story of the Battle of Britain as part of the lead up. Unfortunately the entire sequence ended up on the cutting room floor, as the decision was taken in the edit to concentrate on the story of the bombing campaign, but it was because of this that I later suggested the idea of a programme on the Few to STV producer Ross Wilson for a Channel Four documentary a couple of years later - the upshot of that was that I had the pleasure of meeting Bob all over again (and this time he remained in the programme!)! Sadly, from Max Arthur's book, I've discovered that Bob in fact has just passed away in February of this year.
Never in the field of human conflict did we owe so much to so Few...
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Friday, 9 July 2010
Discover my Past Facebook page
A new Facebook page for the Discover my Past Scotland and Discover my Past England magazines is now available online at www.facebook.com/pages/Discover-my-Past/141819532496781?ref=mf (or search for Discover my Past in the search box at the top of the Facebook screen)
The magazines are both online monthly genealogical publications from Dundee based Brighstsolid Ltd and cost just £2.50 per issue to view, either online through the site's own dedicated magazine reader, or in a downloadable PDF format.
The magazines are both online monthly genealogical publications from Dundee based Brighstsolid Ltd and cost just £2.50 per issue to view, either online through the site's own dedicated magazine reader, or in a downloadable PDF format.
The main site for the magazine is located at www.discovermypast.co.uk.
(With thanks to editor Hilary Bowman)
(With thanks to editor Hilary Bowman)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Crieff and Strathearn Through Time
Strathearn based genealogist Colin Mayall has released a new book Crieff & Strathearn Through Time, described as 'containing some 180 photographs old and new covering not only Crieff but also Muthill, Comrie, St Fillans, Gilmerton, Lochearnhead, Methven, Amulree, Braco and Blackford. It compares the original scene with a contemporary view'. The book is priced £8.44 and available from Amazon at www.amazon.co.uk/Crieff-Strathearn-Through-Colin-Mayall/dp/1848682794.
The Strathearn herald also has a review available here.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
The Strathearn herald also has a review available here.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Scottish GENES now on Facebook
Hi folks,
Scottish GENES now has a new Facebook page! You can click on 'Like' beside the page title and then receive feeds about new blog posts on your wall for all the latest news stories of interest, and you can also add comments beneath each post.
In addition I have also added a discussion page, and to get things going have posted the first question - Should the public have access now to the 1921 census?
In due course I have a few more ideas on how to further add content to the site, but Rome wasn't built in a day, so one step at a time! This is just an initial trial, and if it takes off, expect more developments down the road!
To view Scottish GENES on Facebook, visit Scottish GENES (GEnealogy News and EventS)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Scottish GENES now has a new Facebook page! You can click on 'Like' beside the page title and then receive feeds about new blog posts on your wall for all the latest news stories of interest, and you can also add comments beneath each post.
In addition I have also added a discussion page, and to get things going have posted the first question - Should the public have access now to the 1921 census?
In due course I have a few more ideas on how to further add content to the site, but Rome wasn't built in a day, so one step at a time! This is just an initial trial, and if it takes off, expect more developments down the road!
To view Scottish GENES on Facebook, visit Scottish GENES (GEnealogy News and EventS)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Public access to English and Welsh BMD registers?
From Guy Etchells:
A review, chaired by Paul Dacre of the 30 year rule, recommended that it be reduced to 15 years in its report January 2009.
In his submission to the review Anthony Camp, M.B.E. suggested that all historic records of Birth, Marriage and Death be made open to the Public.
It is high time these records were openly accessible there is absolutely no good reason for them to remain regulated and only accessible by purchasing certified copies.
The records used to be open to public inspection. From the start of civil registration the public could carry out searches in the registers of Birth, Marriage and Death. In 1898 the then Registrar General took it upon himself to close the records held at the GRO even though there was no change in the law to allow for such unilateral action.
Similarly in 1974 many local Registrars closed the registers they held to public searches even though a public search of the registers was written in to the various applicable Acts of Parliament.
I therefore suggest that the coalition government release all historic registers of Birth, Marriage and Death to allow private enterprise to digitise and make those records available online.
Such a move would create employment in the private sector, reduce costs and pressure on the General Register Office. This would allow staff to concentrate on their core activities and increase productivity.
In addition the sale of digitised copies of historic Birth, Marriage and Death certificates would create useful revenue in these times of need.
If you agree with Guy's suggestions, please visit his submission to the Your Freedom website at http://tinyurl.com/33lptya and register your support.
I've occasionally written about how ludicrous it is that the English and Welsh are discriminated against in this regard. We enjoy the privilege of seeing such records at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh, with records available right up to the present day. You have to wonder how a so called United Kingdom can be defined as 'united' when some of its citizens have rights of access to some of their records, and others denied the same rights to the equivalent records in their neck of the woods. Genealogically, we're in a two tier Britain, and it's not the laws at fault, despite our separate legal systems - it's those interpreting those laws.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
A review, chaired by Paul Dacre of the 30 year rule, recommended that it be reduced to 15 years in its report January 2009.
In his submission to the review Anthony Camp, M.B.E. suggested that all historic records of Birth, Marriage and Death be made open to the Public.
It is high time these records were openly accessible there is absolutely no good reason for them to remain regulated and only accessible by purchasing certified copies.
The records used to be open to public inspection. From the start of civil registration the public could carry out searches in the registers of Birth, Marriage and Death. In 1898 the then Registrar General took it upon himself to close the records held at the GRO even though there was no change in the law to allow for such unilateral action.
Similarly in 1974 many local Registrars closed the registers they held to public searches even though a public search of the registers was written in to the various applicable Acts of Parliament.
I therefore suggest that the coalition government release all historic registers of Birth, Marriage and Death to allow private enterprise to digitise and make those records available online.
Such a move would create employment in the private sector, reduce costs and pressure on the General Register Office. This would allow staff to concentrate on their core activities and increase productivity.
In addition the sale of digitised copies of historic Birth, Marriage and Death certificates would create useful revenue in these times of need.
If you agree with Guy's suggestions, please visit his submission to the Your Freedom website at http://tinyurl.com/33lptya and register your support.
I've occasionally written about how ludicrous it is that the English and Welsh are discriminated against in this regard. We enjoy the privilege of seeing such records at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh, with records available right up to the present day. You have to wonder how a so called United Kingdom can be defined as 'united' when some of its citizens have rights of access to some of their records, and others denied the same rights to the equivalent records in their neck of the woods. Genealogically, we're in a two tier Britain, and it's not the laws at fault, despite our separate legal systems - it's those interpreting those laws.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Old Gala House exhibition, Galashiels
Peter Munro of Borders FHS has posted a quick visit report on the Old Gala House exhibition at Galashiels, which runs until Sunday July 18th.
See Peter's post at http://blog.bordersfhs.org.uk/2010/07/old-gala-club-goes-to-work-in-mill.html.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
See Peter's post at http://blog.bordersfhs.org.uk/2010/07/old-gala-club-goes-to-work-in-mill.html.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Naval and Military Press summer sale
From the Naval and Military Press:
Summer Sale
20% discount on all orders placed by 6pm Monday 26th July 2010
This offer applies to every title that we stock, including those which are currently available on Special Price (with the exception of the Early Bird Offer price on THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR FRANCE & BELGIUM DVD-Rom). You may order from any category and choose from the vast range of books, CD-ROMs and DVDs available from our website:
www.naval-military-press.com
The popular facility to spread payments over four or twelve months still applies. Orders may be placed via our website and you can pay online by PayPal, credit or debit card. All products have already had the 20% discount calculated for you, it couldn't be easier. We feel that our range is second to none, and our normal pricing structure offers tremendous value, but with an additional 20% discount we are sure that you will find the titles that we offer more irresistible than ever.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Summer Sale
20% discount on all orders placed by 6pm Monday 26th July 2010
This offer applies to every title that we stock, including those which are currently available on Special Price (with the exception of the Early Bird Offer price on THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR FRANCE & BELGIUM DVD-Rom). You may order from any category and choose from the vast range of books, CD-ROMs and DVDs available from our website:
www.naval-military-press.com
The popular facility to spread payments over four or twelve months still applies. Orders may be placed via our website and you can pay online by PayPal, credit or debit card. All products have already had the 20% discount calculated for you, it couldn't be easier. We feel that our range is second to none, and our normal pricing structure offers tremendous value, but with an additional 20% discount we are sure that you will find the titles that we offer more irresistible than ever.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Family Relatives adds Royal Naval records
The following is an abridged version of a press release I've just received from FamilyRelatives.com:
The records of commissioned officers of the Royal Navy dating back 163 years have been published online for the first time by Familyrelatives.com
Familyrelatives.com is pleased to release the most comprehensive online collection of Royal Navy Lists from 1847 to 1945. More than 2 million names are included in the Lists which date from the mid - 19th Century (or the Eleventh Period in Navy History) when Britain was involved in a number of conflicts.
The Navy Lists contain the details of all Royal Navy and Royal Marine commissioned officers on the Active List of those serving at the time of publication. It was said that every Captain in the Navy had a copy of the list as he was always anxious to know the exact status and seniority of other officers he met.
The information covers every aspect of both Royal Navy and Royal Marine officers whether Active, Retired or on the Reserve Lists, from the date they entered the Service. The List of appointments range from navy and marine cadets to Admirals of the Fleet. Masters and Commanders are featured alongside Physicians, Paymasters and even wounded officers. There is even a section on officers dress regulations, awards and decorations.
An important part of the records is the Lists of Ships in the Navy with their Commanders and Officers names as well as Commissioned Packet Ships and Revenue Vessels, together with captured prize ships and their bounties.
For example the 1934 List of Ships and Vessels includes Submarines of the Royal Navy, also the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy arranged in their various classes, their Officers and present Stations. The lists also include RAF Units for Naval Cooperation which was extensive at the time.
The following detailed information is also disclosed; the type of ship and where deployed, the Displacement Tonnage, the indicated horse power or shaft horse power and the main armament. This excludes field guns and machine guns used by the navy as an auxiliary land force as in the siege of Ladysmith. The Name and first names of Officers is shown with an initial denoting his qualification for duties i.e. G for Gunnery duties, T for Torpedo duties, N for Navigating duties, S for Signalling Duties, W/T for Wireless Telegraphy duties, or I paid as an Interpreter. The dates shown are the dates of first appointment to a ship and where two dates are shown for a Marine Officer, the date in brackets indicates when his current sea time commenced.
The site is also making changes to its social netowrking capabilities:
As many of you are aware Familyrelatives.com was one of the first to introduce social networking specifically designed for both amateur and professional genealogists.
As part of our ongoing commitment to you and in order to enhance and develop the website we will be making a number of changes in the coming months.
We will be making it easier to invite family and friends, add photos, add important dates to your calendar which you may choose to share, we are also developing the home page to make it more informative and allow you to keep in touch with family as well as all the usual features which you have come to love and use.
As the profile side has grown beyond our expectation we need to add capacity to allow additional profiles. As we make these changes we will let you know so that you can make a note of these. We are very excited by these upcoming changes and hope that you will find them useful as an additional tool to tracking down those illusive ancestors.
(With thanks to FamilyRelatives.com)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
The records of commissioned officers of the Royal Navy dating back 163 years have been published online for the first time by Familyrelatives.com
Familyrelatives.com is pleased to release the most comprehensive online collection of Royal Navy Lists from 1847 to 1945. More than 2 million names are included in the Lists which date from the mid - 19th Century (or the Eleventh Period in Navy History) when Britain was involved in a number of conflicts.
The Navy Lists contain the details of all Royal Navy and Royal Marine commissioned officers on the Active List of those serving at the time of publication. It was said that every Captain in the Navy had a copy of the list as he was always anxious to know the exact status and seniority of other officers he met.
The information covers every aspect of both Royal Navy and Royal Marine officers whether Active, Retired or on the Reserve Lists, from the date they entered the Service. The List of appointments range from navy and marine cadets to Admirals of the Fleet. Masters and Commanders are featured alongside Physicians, Paymasters and even wounded officers. There is even a section on officers dress regulations, awards and decorations.
An important part of the records is the Lists of Ships in the Navy with their Commanders and Officers names as well as Commissioned Packet Ships and Revenue Vessels, together with captured prize ships and their bounties.
For example the 1934 List of Ships and Vessels includes Submarines of the Royal Navy, also the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy arranged in their various classes, their Officers and present Stations. The lists also include RAF Units for Naval Cooperation which was extensive at the time.
The following detailed information is also disclosed; the type of ship and where deployed, the Displacement Tonnage, the indicated horse power or shaft horse power and the main armament. This excludes field guns and machine guns used by the navy as an auxiliary land force as in the siege of Ladysmith. The Name and first names of Officers is shown with an initial denoting his qualification for duties i.e. G for Gunnery duties, T for Torpedo duties, N for Navigating duties, S for Signalling Duties, W/T for Wireless Telegraphy duties, or I paid as an Interpreter. The dates shown are the dates of first appointment to a ship and where two dates are shown for a Marine Officer, the date in brackets indicates when his current sea time commenced.
The site is also making changes to its social netowrking capabilities:
As many of you are aware Familyrelatives.com was one of the first to introduce social networking specifically designed for both amateur and professional genealogists.
As part of our ongoing commitment to you and in order to enhance and develop the website we will be making a number of changes in the coming months.
We will be making it easier to invite family and friends, add photos, add important dates to your calendar which you may choose to share, we are also developing the home page to make it more informative and allow you to keep in touch with family as well as all the usual features which you have come to love and use.
As the profile side has grown beyond our expectation we need to add capacity to allow additional profiles. As we make these changes we will let you know so that you can make a note of these. We are very excited by these upcoming changes and hope that you will find them useful as an additional tool to tracking down those illusive ancestors.
(With thanks to FamilyRelatives.com)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Inverness: Then and Now exhibition
From Highland Council's news page:
The Highland Council's Highland history and culture website, “Am Baile”, is displaying a photographic exhibition of old images of Inverness on Monday 5th July in the Eastgate Centre, Inverness, at the Falcon Square entrance.
The exhibition, entitled 'Inverness Past and Present' will showcase the heritage and culture of the area and be of interest to both the local community and tourists. The display will feature some of Am Baile's many and varied online collections including photographs of the 'Eastgate' in its various stages of development over the years. Other topics will include transport, events, shops, theatres, Highland Games, schools and a 'Then & Now' feature.
Joyce Watson, Highland Council’s Principal Libraries Officer said: “We hope that the photographs will spark memories and encourage local people to rifle in their attics and rake through their cupboards for photographs of everyday life in Inverness.”
Anyone wishing to publish their material on the website should get in touch with a member of the Am Baile team who will be in attendance at the Eastgate Centre exhibition from 12 noon till 2 pm Monday to Friday. The exhibition will run for two weeks until Sunday 18th July.
The Am Baile website, www.ambaile.org.uk, managed by Highland Libraries, has become the major online resource for exploring the rich heritage of the Highlands and Islands and is available in English and Gaelic.
(With thanks to Am Baile at Facebook)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
The Highland Council's Highland history and culture website, “Am Baile”, is displaying a photographic exhibition of old images of Inverness on Monday 5th July in the Eastgate Centre, Inverness, at the Falcon Square entrance.
The exhibition, entitled 'Inverness Past and Present' will showcase the heritage and culture of the area and be of interest to both the local community and tourists. The display will feature some of Am Baile's many and varied online collections including photographs of the 'Eastgate' in its various stages of development over the years. Other topics will include transport, events, shops, theatres, Highland Games, schools and a 'Then & Now' feature.
Joyce Watson, Highland Council’s Principal Libraries Officer said: “We hope that the photographs will spark memories and encourage local people to rifle in their attics and rake through their cupboards for photographs of everyday life in Inverness.”
Anyone wishing to publish their material on the website should get in touch with a member of the Am Baile team who will be in attendance at the Eastgate Centre exhibition from 12 noon till 2 pm Monday to Friday. The exhibition will run for two weeks until Sunday 18th July.
The Am Baile website, www.ambaile.org.uk, managed by Highland Libraries, has become the major online resource for exploring the rich heritage of the Highlands and Islands and is available in English and Gaelic.
(With thanks to Am Baile at Facebook)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Scotland - land of many tongues!
Scots or Gaelic? Both are as Scottish as each other!
If ye dinna ken the difference, no nach eil fhios agad carson a tha iad eadar dhealaichte, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/northeastscotlandnorthernisles/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8790000/8790315.stm !
If you're unsure how Scots compares to English, consider the following clips from that Shakespearean classic, Star Trek:
Scots:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT08xFj836I&feature=related
English:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvGHIW3GQv8&feature=related !
I trust that has clarified it! :)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
If ye dinna ken the difference, no nach eil fhios agad carson a tha iad eadar dhealaichte, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/northeastscotlandnorthernisles/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8790000/8790315.stm !
If you're unsure how Scots compares to English, consider the following clips from that Shakespearean classic, Star Trek:
Scots:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT08xFj836I&feature=related
English:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvGHIW3GQv8&feature=related !
I trust that has clarified it! :)
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Professional genealogical problem solving and research
http://twitter.com/ChrisMPaton
Researching Scottish Family History (New book)
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