Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS 2012) Competition. Free FFHS Ezine.

Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS 2012) Competition

Do you have a sportsman or sportswoman in your family tree? Write an account of the special sportsman or sportswoman in your family tree.

1st Prize - 1 year subscription to findmypast.co.uk + £150 + publication in 'Your Family History' magazine.
2nd Prize - 1 year subscription to MyHeritage.com
3rd Prize - 1 year subscription to ancestry.co.uk
4th Prize - 1 year subscription to theGenealogist.co.uk

You can send your entry in by mail or electronically (e-mail attachment) as long as it reaches the FFHS by December 31st 2012. Full details can be found at FFHS Competition

Free FFHS Ezine.

The FFHS also produces a Free Ezine. Copies are sent to member Societies (including NWKFHS) but it is also available for free to anyone who is interested. It is sent out by email every two months. Contents include brief news items about what is going on in the Federation and the world of British Genealogy in general. Full details can be found at FFHS Ezine.

Opening of the Kent History & Library Centre, Maidstone, Kent, Monday 23 April 2012. A partial Index to marriages 1837 - 1911 of the City Ark, Medway Ancestors parish registers. Calendar of Patent Rolls: Henry III to Henry IV, 1216 - 1452.

Opening of the Kent History & Library Centre, Maidstone, Monday 23 April 2012.

The Centre opens at 9am on 23 April and visitors are invited to come along and be there to for the grand opening and the displays and activities on offer. The day will culminate in an author event at 7pm with Kent thriller writer Elizabeth Haynes and book giving as part of World Book Night.

Further details can be found at Kent History and Library Centre Opening 

A partial Index to marriages 1837 - 1911 of the City Arc, Medway Ancestors parish registers.

Medway Ancestors, Medway Council's project that has images of the original parish registers in its custody, can be found on the web site CityArk. The registers extend from Dartford and Gravesend in the west to Rainham in the east and focusing on the Medway Towns.

This is an amazing resource that is free for all to use and download. The draw back is that though all the images are available for each parish they are searchable only by date. Having said that it is one of the very few places that copies of original parish registers can be searched and downloaded free of charge.

However, there is a partial Index of the marriages within the parishes on City Ark at Medway Ancestors which can help you narrow down any search for a marriage. Generally speaking these are marriages that occurred between 1837-1911 and cover such Registration Districts as Gravesend, Hollingbourne, Hoo, North Aylesford, Strood plus others. By clicking on the surname index you can download a pdf index giving the bride and grooms names, date of marriage and there is a link to copy of the original parish register page.

Calendar of Patent Rolls: Henry III to Henry IV, 1216 - 1452.

If you are lucky enough to have ancestors that you have tracked back to the 1400's and earlier, or you wish to see what may exist in Medieval records about your surname this site is a goldmine.

Calendar of Patent Rolls: Henry III to Henry IV, 1216 - 1452: details of grants, deeds etc issued by a King or his Ministers. They are fully searchable (OCR) an are completely free to search, view and download. These are the Project of Professor G.R. Boynton and the University of Iowa Libraries. The site states "These files are available for teaching and research. There should be no charge for using them. All we ask is that you acknowledge our project as you use them".

The US 1940 census is due to be released on April 2, 2012- joint initiative between Archives.com and leading genealogy organzations, to immediately start indexing to make them searchable online with free and open access.

The US 1940 census is due to be released on April 2, 2012.

Many people from the UK have left these shores for America since the 1600's. Kent has seen its fair share of such immigration. Now it will be possible to trace what happened to some of these people who left for America in the 20th century.
 
The US 1940 census is due to be released on April 2, 2012 (In the US privacy protection lapses after 72 years) The National Archives and Records Administration plans to place the entire census on the Internet.

Anyone on the Internet will be able to access the records free of charge.  However, initially they will not be name searchable. It is though that it will be at least six months before a nationwide name index is created. National Archives (US)  also see Help Create a 1940 US Census Index for details of a joint initiative between Archives.com, Family Search, findmypast.com, and other leading genealogy organisations, to coordinate efforts to provide quick access to the digital images and immediately start indexing these records to make them searchable on line with free and open access and how you can help.

Ancestry.com is also working index almost all fields and providing tools to mine the data. Ancestry plan to allow access to the index and tools  for free until the end of 2013. Ancestry US 1940 Census

WRVS (WVS) WWII- Roll of Honour and Photographs, online catalogue in 2013. National Monuments Record: Images of England-300,000 images.

WRVS (WVS) WWII- Roll of Honour and Photographs.

Founded in 1938 as the Women’s Voluntary Services for Air Raid Precautions to help recruit women into the ARP and to assist civilians during and after air raids. They provided emergency rest centres, feeding, first aid, and with the evacuation and billeting of children. 

By 1943 the WVS (WRVS) had over one million volunteers. Post War the WRVS has become a leading organisation in the field of social care.

With over one million volunteers there is a good chance that someone in your family belonged to the WVS (WRVS) during WWII. The WRVS website is the best place to start any research into a family member who belonged to the WVS during the war. You can find out about the history of the service and down load many fact sheets, including the Roll of Honour which contains the names and details of  243 members of the WVS from Great Britain and Northern Ireland killed during the Second World War: WRVS(WVS) Roll of Honour

At Pictures can be found some photographs taken during WWII and later. This site is worth keeping an eye on as 2013 is the 75th Anniversary of the WRVS(WVS) and it is hoped that  a publicly accessible on line catalogue which will include some 5,000 photographs,  Narrative Reports, uniform and accessories and  early policy documents will be launched. You can also sign up for a monthly Newsletter

National Monuments Record: Images of England.

There are over 300,000 images of English Heritage buildings, from lamp posts to lavatories, phone boxes to toll booths, mile stones to gravestones, as well as thousands of bridges, historic houses and churches that can be searched for and viewed. Kent is well represented.

You can perform a basic search or if you wish to use the advance search facility you need to register, but it is free. Images of England

National Archives online community pilot. North West Kent Family History Society Talks- April 2012.

National Archives on line community pilot.

The National Archives is setting up on line community pilot. They plan to trial an on line community to see if it could help them develop and improve their on line services. The community will provide feedback on new features and functions being developed and creating a space for generating new ideas.
 
The pilot  will have a limited the number of people to start with they asking for 100 volunteers who will be signed up on a first come, first served basis. The community will be kept closed sand only members can view and interact with the content. Those not selected for the initial trial, will be added to the waiting list and notified if they decide to expand the community and increase the number of members.

The trial will last for six months (March and August 2012). If it is decided that the trial is successful, they will look at establishing a permanent community as part of their package of on line services.  To register Community Pilot

North West Kent Family History Society Talks- April 2012.

The three branches of NWKFHS have the following talks in April.

Bromley Branch:  Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley BR1 3NS. The hall opens at 9.45am, the meeting proper is due to start at 10.30am.

Saturday 21 April 2012 Helen Allinson Life in the Victorian Kentish Workhouse. 

Dartford Branch: Dartford Technology College. This is on the north side of Heath Lane, Dartford Kent. Doors open from 9.45am with the meeting proper starting at 10.30am.

Saturday 7 April Meryl Catty & Audrey Gillett An Enumerator's Tale & Annual Meeting.

Sevenoaks Branch: Sevenoaks Community Centre, Otford Road, Sevenoaks, Kent. Doors open at 7.15pm.

Thursday 12 April 2012 Jean Stirk & David Williams "Ightham at the Cross Roads"
& Annual Meeting.

Visitors are welcome, a donation is appreciated. It is also an opportunity to meet fellow family historians and see what the Society can do to assist you. Before travelling please check the website for any changes to the program at Society Meetings  where  you can find more details about talks and meetings.

Was a member of your family or ancestor part of an aircrew in the Royal Airforce during WWII? Air Ministry: Squadron Operations Records are now available to search and download free of charge. Titanic 1912 - 2012-The National Archives have also created a new page to commemorate the centenary with searchable passenger and crew list. 19th century merchant seamen records.

Was a member of your family or ancestor part of an aircrew in the Royal Airforce during WWII? Air Ministry: Squadron Operations Records are now available to search and download free of charge.

Air Ministry and successors operations record books for squadrons can be searched and downloaded. The records consist of record books that provide a daily record of events in each squadron  including some photographs. There are also some Operations Record books for Dominion and allied air force squadrons under British Command. Though the system of Operations Record Books started after the First World War few books in this series date from before the mid 1930s.

Operation Record Books are a complete record of a unit from the time of formation, including an accurate record of operations carried out.  The records are arranged by squadron number, and date and time of sortie or flight. Information includes aircraft type and number, names and rank of flight crew, names of passengers, weather conditions and flight/sortie details.  It is possible to use these records to create a list of all the flying operations that RAF aircrew completed. Further details can be found at Squadron Operations Records

Titanic 1912 - 2012

The National Archives have also created a new page to commemorate the centenary, it includes biographical accounts of individuals on board, short videos and podcasts. The passenger and crew lists can be searched from across Titanic, Olympic (Titanic's sister ship) and Carpathia, the ship that rescued the survivors from the lifeboats. For further details and to search see Titanic passengers and crew

19th century merchant seamen records

findmypast has new merchant seamen records available. They cover the period from 1835 and 1857. Details that the records have include name, age, place of birth, physical description, ship names and dates of voyages. You will have to have a subscription or purchase credits.

North West Kent Family History Society Family History Day and the 34th AGM to be held on 28th April 2012 at the Sevenoaks Community Centre, Otford Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 5DN. 9.30am-5pm. Kent History Federation Annual Conference 2012 Headcorn-Headcorn Village Hall Saturday 12th May, 2012. 9.15am-4.30pm. Lamorbey & Sidcup Local History Society have two talks on in February 2012:

North West Kent Family History Society Family History Day and the 34th AGM to be held on 28th April 2012 at the Sevenoaks Community Centre, Otford Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 5DN. 9.30am-5pm 

Three talks are schedule for the day:

Dr Nick Barrett entitled 'The Media and Family History'.

Nick is best known for his work on the BBC Who Do You Think You Are series and his appearances at the WDYTYA family history event at Olympia. Nick is a medieval historian who worked at the Public Record Office - now the National Archives and is  one of the country’s leading family history researchers. Editor-in-Chief of Your Family History Magazine and he author of  books on house and family history. Currently he is president of the Federation of Family History Societies and a trustee on the board of the Society of Genealogists.

 Dr Ann Knief entitled 'The Bevin Boys'.

Dr Knief has a PhD in History from the University of Kent where she became interested in the Bevin Boys and chose them as the subject of her thesis.  Dr Knief has subsequently researched other wartime occupations including Munitions Workers and Land Girls. She is a well known speaker throughout the South East and also lectures about stately houses and seaside towns in Kent.

Michael Gandy entitled 'Seeing it through their Eyes - Social History Customs.

Michael Gandy will be familiar to many of you as he is a frequent contributor to our Branch meetings and events. Michael has a long association with the Society of Genealogists and is currently editor of the Genealogists’ Magazine, the journal of the Society of Genealogists. Michael has been researching his own family history for over forty years.

Kent History Federation Annual Conference 2012 Headcorn-Headcorn Village Hall Saturday 12th May, 2012. 9.15am-4.30pm

The Kent History Federation Annual conference is hosted by the Headcorn Local History Society. Amongst the talks arranged for the day are Industry in the Weald of Kent 16th – 17th centuries only – Dr Michael Zell; Hop Cultivation in Wealden Kent and hop marketing in Southwark, 1744-2000 - Dr Celia Cordle; Headcorn at War – Tim Thomas, Chairman, Headcorn Local History Society. Guided tours also available. The program for the day can be downloaded at KHF Annual Conference For further information and how to book KFH Website

Lamorbey & Sidcup Local History Society have two talks on in February 2012:

7th February: Women in Print - Monty Parkin

21st February: Curiosities of the City of London - Stuart Robinson

Meetings are held at the St.Lawrence's Community Hall, Hamilton Road, Sidcup, and start at 7.15 p.m. Parking is free after 6 p.m. in the public car park opposite the church. Visitors are welcome - there is a fee of £2.50 which includes a drink and a biscuit. Further details can be found at Lamorbey and Sidcup LHS

There will be a variety of stalls and advisers for members and their guests to visit throughout the day including CAB Search (Family History Resources) and the Society bookstall and publications. For further information see NWKFHS AGM