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Thursday 30 August 2012

The Federation of Family History Societies announces that findmypast is about to launch one, fully searchable, World Collection of records. The Government announced in July 2012 that it will issue a new type of Death Certificate. War Memorials in Bromley, Kent.

The Federation of Family History Societies has announced that findmypast is about to launch one, fully searchable, World Collection of records.

Findmypast has been creating regional collections in Australia, Ireland and the US with the launch of a full set of American censuses. Now all the regional collections are to be brought together in one, fully searchable, World Collection.  The NBI (National Burial Index) records and other society-contributed records in the ‘Parish Records Collection’ of the UK site, with  further datasets to be added over the course of  next three months will be available in the World Collection.
The World Collection will be showcased at the FGS Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, next week with a special findmypast day.

The Government has announced that it will issue a new type of Death Certificate in 2012.

Under common law it takes 7 years for presumption of death to be accepted where there is no body to be found. Now a certificate for presumed death will be available and will be equivalent to a death certificate in its legal power. It will simplify  the processes and problems faced  by families and help to deal with the array of legal and financial issues that need to be resolved when a person is missing and presumed dead, such as direct debits with a mobile phone company or access to bank accounts.

War Memorials in Bromley, Kent.

Bromley  Local Studies Library and Archives has a downloadable (pdf) Document describing all the war memorials in Bromley. It can be found at War Memorials in Bromley Other downloadable leaflets can be found at Downloads


Monday 27 August 2012

Canadian War Brides of the First World War. 16th October 1834 The Day Parliament Burned Down: Archives for London Talk. Thursday 6 September 2012.Tonbridge Historical Society: Artificial Light - an illuminating history of domestic light Thursday 6th September 2012, 7.45 pm. Riverside Room in the Angel Centre, Tonbridge.

Canadian War Brides of the First World War.

We are more familiar with Canadian War Brides of the Second World War but during WWI many British Women married Canadian Soldiers and went to Canada to start a new life. They faced many of the problems and successes that War Brides were to face some 30 years later.

The number of Canadian Soldier dependents who came to Canada from Britain during WWI was some 54,500, a significant number to say the least. Researching WWII War Brides is a little bit easier in that they were in living memory and there are more ways to find information.

Canadian War Brides WWI  is the site to start any such research. There is a wealth of information and links that lead to even more.

16th October 1834 The Day Parliament Burned Down: Archives for London Talk. Thursday 6 September 2012, 6:00pm (doors 5:30pm) - 7:30pm at London Metropolitan Archives - Huntley Room 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB.

The talk is being given by Caroline Shenton, Clerk of the Records at the Parliamentary Archives. If you live within travelling distance this is a chance to find out more about this fascinating story which eventually led to the Houses of Parliament as we now know them.
You need to book in advance . It is free for AFL members or £5 for non members email City of London to book or go to AFL Events for more details.

Tonbridge Historical Society: Artificial Light - an illuminating history of domestic light Thursday 6th September 2012, 7.45 pm. Riverside Room in the Angel Centre, Tonbridge.

The talk being given at the THS is by  Peter Gillman who is a volunteer at Knole and is on the speaking panel of the National Trust Southern Region. The introduction of domestic lighting was to change the lives of many of our ancestors so this should be a talk worthwhile going along to.
Visitors as well as Society Society members are welcome There is a very reasonable charge of £2 for non members.  Further details can be found at THS Lectures

Tuesday 21 August 2012

The Federation of Family History Societies has reported that the London Family History Centre is temporarily using accommodation on the first floor of The National Archives at Kew. Bluewater Family History Event: Thursday 6th September - 9th September 2012.

The Federation of Family History Societies has reported that the London Family History Centre is temporarily using accommodation on the first floor of The National Archives at Kew due to building work at its former location at Hyde Park Chapel.

This arrangement lasts until 31 March 2013. The TNA will have further discussions with representatives of the Centre. Further details can be found at FFHS

Bluewater Family History Event: Thursday 6th September - 9th September 2012.

North West Kent Family History Society volunteers will present all day, every day, at the Federation of Family History Societies' stand at Bluewater, Greenhithe, Kent DA9 9SH. The FFHS stand is part of Prima Homemade: The Creative Stitches & Hobbycrafts Show. There will be information available about other surrounding FHS as well as NWKFHS. There will be information leaflets about how you can carry out your family research and free prize draws every day, plus feel free to have a chat with the volunteers. They are always ready to talk about Family History.

If you are going to be at the show why not call in at the stand. More details about the day can be found at NWKFHS Events and  at Hobby Guilds

  

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Who Do You Think You Are? returns on Wednesday 15th August. Crossness Open Day Crossness Engines Trust, The Old Works, Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, Belvedere Road, Abbey Wood, London SE2 9AQ. Sunday September 23rd - Open House London (Free entry) 10.30am-4pm. Sevenoaks Library, Buckhurst Lane, Sevenoaks, TN13 1LQ 29 September 2012 Family History Drop in Session.

Who Do You Think You Are? returns Wednesday 15th August on BBC at 9pm.

They are 10 shows in the series the first being Samantha Womack one of the stars of Eastenders. More details can be found at WDYTYA? 

Crossness Open Day Crossness Engines Trust, The Old Works, Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, Belvedere Road, Abbey Wood, London SE2 9AQ. Sunday September 23rd 2012- Open House London (Free entry) 10.30am-4pm.

The Crossness Pumping Station built by Sir Joseph Bazalgette as part of Victorian London's main sewerage system. It was officially opened by the Prince of Wales in April 1865.

The Beam Engine House is a Grade 1 Listed Industrial Building and features some of the most spectacular ornamental Victorian cast ironwork to be found today. It also contains the four original pumping engines (which are possibly the largest remaining rotative beam engines in the world, with 52 ton flywheels and 47 ton beams. This is a "steaming day". See Crossness Engine Trust for more details about the site and Open Day    for further details including how to get there.

Sevenoaks Library, Buckhurst Lane, Sevenoaks, TN13 1LQ 29 September 2012 Family History Drop in Session.

NWKFHS volunteers will also be at the Sevenoaks Library - FH drop in session on Saturday 29 September 2012. If you would like help with your Family History or more information about how to start please fell free to just drop in and have a chat. 

Monday 13 August 2012

North West Kent Family History Society Branch Talks-August and September 2012. Visitors welcome, a donation is appreciated. NWKFHS volunteers will also be present at a Family History Drop-in Session on Saturday 8 September at Townley Road Library, Bexleyheath, DA6 7HJ. Dartford Heritage Week-17 September, 2012.

North West Kent Family History Society Branch Talks-August and September 2012. Visitors welcome, a donation is appreciated. 

Bromley Branch. Meetings are now held on the third Saturday morning of the month, in the main hall, Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley BR1 3NS.  The hall opens at 9.45am, the meeting starting at 10.30am.

18th  Aug 2012 Kathy Chater Turning your tree into a tale - Writing up your family history
15th Sep 2012 Geraldine Charles Anglo Indians & the East India Company

Dartford Branch. Meetings are held on the first Saturday of the month, at our new venue Dartford Technology College, Dartford. Open from 9.45am with the meeting starting at 10.30am.

1 Sep 2012 Jane King Coram's Children: the Story of the Foundling Hospital.

Sevenoaks Branch. Sevenoaks Community Centre, Otford Road (at junction with Crampton Rd.), Sevenoaks, at 7.15pm.       
         
13 Sep 2012 Helen Allinson Farewell to Kent - Assisted Emigration


Further details can be found at NWKFHS Meetings Please check the website before travelling to see if there have been any changes.

NWKFHS volunteers will also be present at a Family History Drop-in Session on Saturday 8 September 10am - 12 noon & 1.00pm - 4.00pm  at Townley Road Library, Bexleyheath, DA6 7HJ. Anyone is welcome to drop in to see if we can help with your research or have a chat about family history.

Dartford Heritage Week-17 September, 2012.

On Monday 10 - Mon 17 September  Dartford Heritage Week - Explore History Dartford Library, Market Square, Dartford. Janet Rose, NWKFHS Society Librarian is to give a talk on the 15th. 

Further details can be found at NWKFHS Events

Tuesday 7 August 2012

First World War Centenary-The FFHS becomes a member of the Imperial War Museum Centenary Partnership. Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Grants to mark the Centenary of WWI.

First World War Centenary-The FFHS becomes a member of the Imperial War Museum Centenary Partnership.

The Federation of Family History Societies is to make available a variety of content on its website aimed at helping people to research their First World War ancestors and publicising a range of events and activities that will be taking place around the country in the lead up to the centenary in 2014. FFHS WWI

Imperial War Museum Partnership.

The Imperial War Museum is asking people to remember the 16 million people who died during the First World War by lighting a light on our centenary wall. Your light and name will appear on a new installation in the galleries at IWM London. By signing up, you are marking your commitment to remembering the First World War and you are joining the centenary now. Soon the Museum will be asking people to help uncover millions of life stories, transcribe thousands of letters and diaries and tag some of the Museums 1 million First World War photographs.

Full details can be found at First World War Centenary

Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)

The HLF has available Grants to help funding of projects by not for profit organisations to mark the Centenary of WWI. The grants range from £3,000 to £50,000 and over. You can down load a leaflet (pdf) which gives full details, how to apply or seek advice at  HLF Remembering the First World War

Friday 3 August 2012

National Archives publishes refreshed action plan for archives, 'Archives for the 21st Century In Action: Refreshed'

National Archives publishes refreshed action plan for archives, 'Archives for the 21st Century In Action: Refreshed' Archives for the 21st Century. and Current Initiatives

In what promises, to be a major revamp on access to Archives and their records and organising the sector to cope with the 21st century has been published by the National Archives. This is not the first attempt to plan changes, as the title 'Refreshed' implies.

The policy has  five recommendations:

Develop bigger and better services in partnership - working towards increased sustainability within the sector.

Strengthened leadership and a responsive, skilled workforce.

Coordinated response to the growing challenges of managing digital information so that it is accessible now and remains discoverable in the future.

Comprehensive online access for archive discovery through catalogues and to digitised archive content.

Active participation in cultural and learning partnerships promoting a sense of identity and place within the community.

But what is meant by the 5 recommendations and how will this revamp be any different to previous plans?

The University College of London is carrying out a research project to investigate the current funding of the UK archives sector. Funding the Archives  The project aims were to investigate: 

How archives in the UK are funded; what funding resources are underdeveloped within the sector  and what advice and training support can be delivered by The National Archives to improve access to funding resources.

The project advisory group included representatives from The National Archives, University College London, CyMAL: Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales (a division of the Welsh Assembly Government), and the Archives & Records Association.

Opportunities for the sector to come together and exploit economies of scale for digitisation and licensing with the commercial sector are also being looked at . This approach is being piloted, bringing together over 100 services to digitise school registers dating from before 1914.

Following an invitation to express interest and supplier days which took place at Manchester Archives and Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in June 2011, bids were considered and contract negotiations are now proceeding. Digitisation Consortium 

Future national series which might be explored include:

Wills; Quarter sessions; Petty sessions; Poor Law records; School records; 1910 valuation records and Parish registers.

The National Archives are sharing their expertise in archiving government websites to pilot a web archiving model to preserve important local online information for future generations. The pilot encourages local archive services to create web archives, providing a digital history of their communities.  Seven local authority archive services, representing 20 local authorities, are participating, together with a wider focus group from the archives sector. Web Archiving

It looks as if one of the big proposals is to increase the involvement of  commercial companies which means more records on pay per view sites, which could be a plus. However, how will this affect Family and Local History Societies and others who have been involved in indexing/transcribing/recording and filming  such records for many decades? Will the contracts restrict the ability of Societies to carry on this work? Should there be more involvement of the voluntary sector in these plans?