There are over 80,000 records of people who served in the Home Guard in the County of Durham only, between 1939 and 1945. You can search the entire Durham Home Guard collection.
However, they have run across a problem in that many who served in the Home Guard were younger than expected, thus if the date of birth is less than 100 years ago the records may not be available to download. If this is the case you may be able to gain access to the records by making a Freedom of Information request. The National Archives pilot project has revealed that 50 per cent of the records selected for the project, were of men under the age of 27, with 28 per cent of the men aged 18 or younger. This means half of the records from the pilot cannot be released into the public domain, because for data protection reasons they are subject to a closure period of 100 years from date of birth.
The question has to be asked how will this affect the original plans to digitise the rest of the Home Guard records with Partner organisations. Will commercial companies wish to take part in an expensive digitisation if such restriction apply to many of the records?
The record search page and more details can be found at Durham Home Guard
The Archives Hub: New Regional Search Available.
The Archives Hub is a gateway to thousands of archives in the UK. Representing over 180 institutions across the country, the Archives Hub is an effective way to discover unique and often little-known sources to support your research.
To make it easier to search for archives held in particular parts of the country, you can now search by pre-defined regions. There is also a search area box that can be moved by manipulating the corners, so researchers can customise the area.
In addition to the regional search, the results list, which now includes the title and dates, and also a display, which includes a new utility bar, designed to enable us to add functionality over time, such as various links, output option, social networking widgets and information about digital content.
Ancestry is offering free access to 1911 census until 2 November 2012.
All you need to provide is a name and e-mail address for access.
The British Library and Qatar Foundation unveil project to digitise half a million pages of archive material.
Though first announced in July it is worth repeating due to the importance and scope of the project. British Library and Qatar Foundation will digitise more than 500,000 pages from the archives of the East India Company and India Office, in addition to 25,000 pages of medieval Arabic manuscripts - all of which will be made freely available on line for the first time.
This material could only be consulted by visiting the British Library’s Reading Rooms in London. Once digitised and uploaded onto a dedicated on line platform, it will be freely available to researchers across the UK, throughout the Gulf and around the world.
More details can be found at The British Library and Qatar Foundation Project
Other Events in and around Kent.
The Workhouse a exhibition held at London Metropolitan Archives from 24 September 2012 - 10 January 2013 is FREE. Inspired by Dickens and his desire to reveal the horrors of nineteenth century poverty, the LMA have searched the records for the stories of real Londoners in the workhouse, from Master to the inmate, to uncover what the archives tell us about their lives.
Workhouse: Dickens and Philanthropy. A morning of talks, document discovery and an introduction to the new exhibition on life in the workhouse to be held at London Metropolitan Archives on Friday 26 October from 10.30 am to 3.30 pm is £10
In the afternoon there is a guided walk around Clerkenwell will focus on Dickens and philanthropy. (bring a picnic) Booking essential – call 020 7332 3851. See Visitors information
In the afternoon there is a guided walk around Clerkenwell will focus on Dickens and philanthropy. (bring a picnic) Booking essential – call 020 7332 3851. See Visitors information
