1921 Canadian Census online at LAC

The 1921 Canadian Census has been made freely available online at the Library and Archives Canada website (www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng).

From the site:

About the Census of Canada 1921 database

If you have ever been keen to research genealogy, a simple search in the 1921 Census database will give you access to a vast amount of historical information, including the following:

Dwelling, house
Family, household or institution
Name of each person in the dwelling, including:
relationship to the head of the household
gender
marital status
age
country of birth and nationality
religion
language
race
literacy level and education
profession, occupation and employment status

Visit the Library and Archives Canada website and start your 1921 Census database search today!

To search the database visit www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2017/1921-Census-Canada.aspx.

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Find Naval ancestors with Forces War Records

The latest press release from Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

Forces War Records, the specialist genealogy website, now holds over 10 million military individuals' records, 1000s of which are Naval. In remembrance of all Naval heroes on Merchant Navy Day, we'd like to help you to find your Naval ancestor today. We have 1000s of Naval records for you to search (including exclusive collections) which may hold the information you've been looking for. There's 1000s of original publications and articles within our online Archive, and military specialists on tap to help you overcome genealogy brick walls, and find your ancestor.

Search our complete Navy record collections and also download your free tutorial - 'How to search Navy records' - to help make sure you find your ancestor online.

Visit Forces War Records to search the full Naval collections HERE.


(With thanks to Jennifer Holmes)

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

FamilySearch extends microfilm loans deadline by a week

FamilySearch is extending its microfilm lending period by an additional week, before permanently pulling them from distribution. From the FamilySearch news site:

UPDATE: FamilySearch Digital Records Access Replacing Microfilm

Salt Lake City, Utah (30 August 2017), Thursday, September 7, 2017, marks the closing of an 80-year era of historic records access to usher in a new, digital model. FamilySearch is discontinuing its microfilm circulation services in concert with its commitment to make billions of the world’s historic records readily accessible digitally online. (See FamilySearch Digital Records Access Replacing Microfilm). As its remaining microfilms are digitized, FamilySearch has provided additional information to users of its historic microfilm program. Find and share this news announcement easily online in the FamilySearch Newsroom.

FamilySearch, a global leader in historic records preservation and access, began microfilming historic records in 1938. Advancements in technology have enabled it to be more efficient, making an unbelievable tide of digital images of historic records accessible much quicker online and to a far greater customer base.

FamilySearch released a list of helpful facts and tips to help patrons better navigate the transition from microfilm to digital.

QUICK FACTS AND TIPS

• Patrons can still order microfilms online until Thursday, September 7, 2017.
• After film ordering ends, if customers need access to a particular film yet to be digitized, they can express interest to have it added to the priority digitization list by contacting FamilySearch Support (Toll Free: 1-866-406-1830). 
• All of the microfilm rented by patrons in the past 5 years have now been digitized by FamilySearch—over 1.5 million microfilms (ca. 1.5 billion images).
• The remaining microfilms are being digitally scanned at a rate of 1,000 films per day and are projected to be complete by 2020.
• New digital images are available as they are scanned in the FamilySearch.org Catalog.
• Films currently on loan in family history centers and affiliate libraries are automatically granted extended loan status.
• Affiliate libraries now have access to nearly all of the restricted image collections as family history centers.
• Visitors to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City will still be able to order needed microfilms to use during their research visits. 
•  

HOW TO FIND DIGITAL IMAGES ON FAMILYSEARCH
Digital image collections can be accessed today in 3 places on FamilySearch.org, all under Search.

• Catalog. Includes a description of all the microfilms and digital images in the FamilySearch collection. This is where all of FamilySearch's digitized microfilm and new digital images from its global camera operations are being published. A camera icon appears in the Catalog adjacent to a microfilm listing when it is available digitally.
• Records includes collections that have been indexed by name or published with additional waypoints to help browse the unindexed images.
• Books include digital copies of books from the Family History Library and other libraries, including many books that were previously copied to microfilm. 
•  

For additional help, see Finding Digital Images of Records on FamilySearch.org, or watch this how-to video “Where are the digitized records on FamilySearch?”

“FamilySearch is committed to meeting customers’ needs as much as possible during this transition to digital access,” said Diane Loosle, FamilySearch’s Director of Patron Services. “We really appreciate the wonderful feedback we have received since the initial announcement. It is helping us better facilitate customer experiences during this next phase.”

Loosle said FamilySearch's over 5,000 family history centers will continue to provide access to relevant technology, premium subscription services, and digital records, including restricted content not available at home. Centers have the option to return microfilm that is available online or otherwise not needed. As more images are published online, centers may reevaluate whether to retain microfilm holdings.

See Frequently Asked Questions: Digital Access Replacing Microfilms for more information.

(With thanks to FamilySearch)

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

The International German Genealogy Partnership

For the last three weeks I have been travelling across Australia and New Zealand with Dirk Weissleder of the Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft Genealogischer Verbände (www.dagv.org), who has himself been on something of a world tour for longer, taking in additional speaking engagements in the United States and in Singapore.

One of the things that Dirk has been promoting is a recently established venture, the International German Genealogy Partnership (https://iggpartner.org), a body which started off originally as the German-American Genealogical Partnership in 2015, but which has since expanded to take in additional partner societies from across the world, including the Anglo-German Family History Society (www.agfhs.org) in the UK.


The Partnership lists the following aims on its website to help unite German genealogy researchers worldwide:

Mission

• The International German Genealogy Partnership’s mission is to facilitate German genealogy research globally as the internationally recognized federation of German genealogy organizations.

Vision

• We seek partner relationships with and support societies whose purpose includes a major focus on German genealogy research.
• We seek relationships with and support affiliate organizations whose purpose coincides with the goals of our societies.
• We sponsor, support, and encourage German genealogy research conferences, meetings, and publications in Germany and throughout the world.
• We foster and nurture personal connections between fellow researchers as well as local and international connections for friends and colleagues who desire to advance the genealogy research interests of the worldwide community of German genealogists.

Over the last three weeks I have listened to many of Dirk's talks on German genealogy, and have learned a lot. Germany has never had much of an existence as a centralised state (bar its existence under the Nazis), with its organisational history comprised for most of its past as a series of strong independent states. Things that we take for granted in the UK and Ireland, such as extensive archives access and the use of DNA for genealogical research, have a different flavour in Germany - DNA testing, for instance, is not at all popular, in a country which once required its citizens to prove their ethnicity, whilst many archival records were destroyed in the world wars. At the same time, however, many records do survive. The real battle for many modern genealogists in Germany is to change the attitudes of earlier generations in terms of the merits of genealogical research and the provision of access to such records, and Dirk has been doing his part to promote efforts in this direction.

If you are interested in German research and in connecting with the wider German diaspora, do check out the DAGV and IGGP websites.

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Shropshire extracted Anglican parish registers on Ancestry

The following collection has been added to Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

Shropshire, England, Extracted Church of England Parish Records, 1538-1812
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61516
Source: Electronic databases created from various publications of parish and probate records.

This database is a collection of historical parish records from Shropshire, England. The 1,450,900 records in this collection can range in date from the early 1500s to the mid- to late-1800s. Some non-parish records may be included from as early as the twelfth century. Parish records--primarily baptisms, marriages, and burials--provide the best source of vital record information in the centuries before civil registration. The records include baptisms/christenings, burials, marriages, tombstone inscriptions, obituaries, tax lists, wills, and other miscellaneous types of records. Also included are some records from non-conformist churches. All of the data was converted as it was originally presented in various published registers and books. For this reason, you will find interesting phonetic spellings and large descriptive tables of contents.

The collection page has a detailed list of parishes for which this collection applies, which is fairly substantial, but does not provide info on the published works from which the records were extracted.

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Free FamilySearch courses and webinars for September

Forthcoming free FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org) courses and webinars - for further details please visit http://media.familysearch.org/free-family-history-library-classes-and-webinars-for-september-2017/.

Sat, 2 Sep, 1:00 pm
Investigación genealógica de Perú (Beginner)

Tue, 5 Sep, 10:00 am
Family Tree Next Step: Attaching Sources in Family Tree (Beginner)

Tue, 5 Sep, 11:00 am
Using Digital Libraries to Find Your German Ancestor (Intermediate)

Tue, 5 Sep, 1:00 pm
British Case Study (Beginner)

Wed, 6 Sep, 10:00 am
French Language Indexing (Intermediate) (1½ hours)

Wed, 6 Sep, 12:00 pm
Ask Your United States Research Question (Beginner)

Thur, 7 Sep, 11:00 am
Helpful Websites for Finding Your German Ancestor (Beginner)

Mon, 11 Sep, 9:00 am
2017 Is the Year of Nordic Records! Learn What’s Coming (Beginner)

Mon, 11 Sep, 10:15 am
The Who, What, Where, Why, and How of Nordic Records on FamilySearch (Beginner)

Mon, 11 Sep, 1:15 pm
Exploring European Feast-Day Calendars (Intermediate)

Mon, 11 Sep, 2:30 pm
Scandinavian-American Resources (Intermediate)

Tue, 12 Sep, 9:00 am
What’s New in the Swedish ArkivDigital (Intermediate)

Tue, 12 Sep, 10:15 am
Name Searchable Databases in Swedish ArkivDigital (Intermediate)

Tue, 12 Sep, 11:00 am
Submitting Names for Temple Ordinances (Intermediate)

Tue, 12 Sep, 1:15 pm
Swedish Naming Customs (Intermediate)

Tue, 12 Sep, 2:30 pm
Military Records in the Swedish ArkivDigital (Intermediate)

Wed, 13 Sep, 9:00 am
Probate Laws and Records for Swedish Genealogy (Intermediate)

Wed, 13 Sep, 10:15 am
Databases for Swedish Genealogy (Intermediate)

Wed, 3 Sep, 1:15 pm
Introduction to Icelandic Church and Census Records (Beginner)

Wed, 13 Sep, 2:30 pm
Finnish Immigration and Methodology: How to Tackle Finnish Challenges (Intermediate)

Thur, 14 Sep, 9:00 am
Norwegian Church Records (Beginner)

Thur, 14 Sep, 10:15 am
Norway: We’re Getting Married! Traditions and Records (Beginner)

Thur, 14 Sep, 1:15 pm
Lensrekneskapsbøker in Norway (Intermediate)

Thur, 14 Sep, 2:30 pm
Norwegian Migration and Immigration (Beginner)

Fri, 15 Sep, 9:00 am
Danish Estates (Intermediate)

Fri, 15 Sep, 10:30 am
Little Used Records on Arkivalieronline (Intermediate)

Fri, 15 Sep, 1:15 pm
Danish Tax Records (Beginner)

Fri, 15 Sep, 2:30 pm
Research in Copenhagen (Beginner)

Sat, 16 Sep, 1:00 pm
¿Qué, cuándo, y dónde? Los inicios de la investigación italiana (Intermediate)

Mon, 18 Sep, 10:00 am
Using the FamilySearch Catalog Effectively (Beginner)

Tue, 19 Sep, 11:00 am
Starting Family Tree: Research Help and Searching Records (Beginner)

Wed, 20 Sep, 10:00 am
Spanish Language Indexing (Intermediate) (1½ hours)

Thur, 21 Sep, 1:00 pm
Scots-Irish Research (Beginner)

Mon, 25 Sep, 10:00 am
Using the FamilySearch Catalog Effectively (Beginner)

Wed, 27 Sep, 10:00 am
Portuguese Language Indexing (Intermediate) (1½ hours)

Thur, 28 Sep, 11:00 am
Finding Original Records: The Real Game of Hide and Seek (Beginner)

Thur, 28 Sep, 1:00 am
Tracing Early LDS Church Convert Ancestry in England (Beginner)

Fri, 29 Sep, 1:00 pm
Your British/Irish Research Questions Answered (Beginner)


Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Forthcoming Northern Irish family history and DNA classes

From the North of Ireland Family History Society (www.nifhs.org):

Family History & DNA Classes from the North of Ireland Family History Society

The North of Ireland Family History Society (NIFHS) have a wide selection of family history and DNA courses starting soon at their Library just outside Belfast. Bookings are open to everyone but be quick as some are already heavily booked after an email was sent to their members. Also included in the listings is a selection of free events including their upcoming open day and a library lock in. The courses are in addition to the monthly talks and meetings programmes arranged by NIFHS Branches across Northern Ireland.

The courses for Autumn 2017 are as follows:

September 5th – Family Finder 1 – 3 Tuesday evenings
September 9th – Starting your Genealogy – Beginner’s Course – 3 Saturday afternoons
September 30th – Transcription – Methods and Benefits – 1 Saturday afternoon – FREE EVENT
October 3rd – Family Tree Maker – Basics and Benefits – 1 Tuesday morning
October 3rd – Websites for Genealogy – 2 Tuesday evenings
October 10th – Valuation Records – 1 Tuesday morning and afternoon
October 16th – Family Finder 2 – 3 Monday evenings
October 17th – Writing up Your Family History – 3 Tuesday mornings
October 17th – Researching Military Ancestors – 2 Tuesday evenings
October 31st – Halloween Lock-In – 1 Tuesday evening – FREE EVENT
November 7th – Understanding Heraldry – 1 Tuesday morning and afternoon plus a walkabout to be arranged
November 8th – It’s All About Me – 1 Wednesday afternoon
November 11th – Making the Most of Your Autosomal DNA Results – 2 Saturday afternoons FULLY BOOKED!
November 14th – Emigration to Australia and New Zealand – 1 Tuesday afternoon
November 14th – The Advantages of Y-DNA – 1 Tuesday evening
November 15th – Using Family Search – 1 Wednesday afternoon
November 28th – Life in Ulster in the 1830s – 1 Tuesday afternoon
November 22nd – Land Records – 1 Wednesday morning and afternoon

The courses are open to the public but, as they are so popular, they must be booked in advance by email. They are held in the Honneyman Room, NIFHS Library, Unit C4, Valley Business Centre, 67 Church Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT36 7LS. There's plenty of free parking on site.

Courses last between one and three sessions. The cost ranges from £7 to £15. Many of the classes are run on Tuesdays when the Library is already open (2pm - 8pm) so there will be an opportunity to do further research. For day-time classes, there is a café on site.

More information is on the NIFHS website: www.nifhs.org/resources/courses/

(With thanks to Maeve Rogan)

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Unlock the Past roadshow ends in Perth - report

Having left Adelaide on Friday, the Unlock the Past Researching Abroad roadshow (www.unlockthepast.com.au/events/researching-abroad-finding-british-isles-and-european-ancestors) made its way to the final venue on our trip, the city of Perth in Western Australia – and to one of my fave venues in the whole continent, the State Library of Western Australia (www.slwa.wa.gov.au). I have spoken at this venue on three previous occasions, and the main theatre is always a delight to present within.

Having arrived on the Friday we first met up for dinner with several members of the Western Australia Genealogy Society, aka ‘WAGS’ (www.membership.wags.org.au), allowing an opportunity to catch up with many old friends, and some new. The society is more than holding its own in terms of membership, and has an astonishing 16 Special Interest Groups, meaning that its dedicated library premises are always in use every weekend. From what I can gather the DNA group is one of the more vibrant of the newest additions, with meetings regularly attracting about 40 members to discuss all things new in the world of genetic genealogy!

Unlike most of our venues, this was a one day event, meaning that Dirk Weissleder and I were giving in talks in parallel, with myself in the theatre and Dirk in a separate room, which was booked out due to high demand on all things German and continental European. The main theatre itself was also busy on the Scottish and Irish strand, and in addition to myself there were presentations from Rosemary Kopittke on MyHeritage, Lionie Hayes on the British resources at the State Library, and Ian Simon on the British resources available at WAGS. In the audience I also had my sister-in-law present, along with her husband and one of his cousins, taking it all in as novice genealogists! The following are some pictures from the event…

It was a truly fantastic event to end a great tour. A huge thanks to Alan Phillips and the Unlock the Past (www.unlockthepast.com.au) team for bringing me back out to Australia once again, to Seonaid Lewis from Auckland for the kind invite to the Auckland Family History Expo, to all who have hosted me on my trip, to Dirk for his wise European council on all things genealogical (and in some cases political – we share a range of interests!), to the various sponsors, and to all who attended the shows. National Family History Month in Australia and New Zealand is a superb thing, and something we could certainly learn from in the UK in a post-Who Do You Think You Are Live world.

As the sun sets on my latest trip, here are a few final photos from Perth, Western Australia, from my penultimate night here – it never fails to impress that your winter here is warmer than my Scottish summers!

Until the next time… :)

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Unlock the Past roadshow - Adelaide report

I've just arrived in Perth after a great few days in Adelaide. On Wednesday and Thursday the Unlock the Past Researching Abroad roadshow visited the German Club in Adelaide, with myself giving four talks on Wednesday and Dirk Weissleder speaking yesterday. The enquiries between talks came thick and fast, with some interesting queries!

In addition to Rosemary and Eric Kopittke from the UTP team, we also heard from speakers from Genealogy SA (www.genealogysa.org.au) and the Lutheran Archives (www.lca.org.au/departments/ministry-support/lutheran-archives/), which is the main archive for the Lutheran Church in Australia and New Zealand. Various vendors were also in attendance, making this a busy two days.

As Unlock the Past's parent company Gould Genealogy is based in Adelaide, we had a much bigger book shop available over the two days, with many taking the opportunity to purchase Unlock the Past guide books, Pen and Sword genealogy books, and much more. I picked up a copy of Blaine Bettinger's Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy, as it is about time I escalated my understanding of genetic genealogy to level 2.0...! In the evening we then had dinner with Ben, Aileen and others from the German group of Genealogy SA, before a final night's kip in SA.

The following are some images from the event - a huge thanks to all who attended! Tomorrow (Saturday) is our final event in Perth, at the State Library. For details, please visit www.unlockthepast.com.au/events/researching-abroad-british-isles-european-ancestors-perth - we'll hopefully see some of you there!

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Bedfordshire petty session and land records on Ancestry

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added three new collections which may be of interest to those with Bedfordshire connections:

Bedfordshire, England, Petty Sessions, 1854-1915
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61345
Source: Bedfordshire Petty Sessions, Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.

Petty sessions were the lowest tier in the court system and usually involved cases such as drunkenness or minor theft. They were presided over by magistrates and did not involve a jury.
Details for each individual recorded in this collection may include (where available):

• Name
• Role in the case
• Date of the hearing
• Location of the court

Please scroll right to see the fines or punishment given to the defendent(s).


Bedfordshire, England, Land Tax Records, 1797-1832
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61321
Source: Bedfordshire Land Tax Records, Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.

Details found within this collection include (where available):

• Year of Residence
• Given Name and Surname of Occupier
• Given Name and Surname of Owner
• Parish of Residence

Parts of this description have been taken from the Bedfordshire Archive website. You can find out more about their collections at http://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/GuidesToCollections/GuidesToCollections.aspx.


Bedfordshire, England, Valuation Records, 1838-1929
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61323
Source: Bedfordshire Valuation Records, Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.

Details found within this collection include (where available):

• Year of Residence
• Given Name and Surname of Occupier
• Given Name and Surname of Owner
• Parish of Residence

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Visiting Gould Genealogy in Adelaide

The Unlock the Past Researching Abroad roadshow (www.unlockthepast.com.au/events/researching-abroad-finding-british-isles-and-european-ancestors) is now in Adelaide, which is also the home of Gould Genealogy (www.gould.com.au), Unlock the Past’s parent company. Having previously been to Adelaide just once before to give a talk during a brief stopover on an Unlock the Past genealogy cruise, I had not yet had the pleasure to visit the company’s base, something that was duly rectified on this visit!

Gould Genealogy has a shop in the city, where many products, including the Unlock the Past book range, are manufactured and sold to the public, as well as a facility in the Adelaide Hills where postal orders are sorted from. I popped into the city shop two days ago and caught up with Alona Tester, who gave me a quick tour of the facility, including a look at their print set up from which the various guides I have written are published on demand (there are similar facilities in England and Canada where the same books are published for the UK and North American markets). We of course also grabbed the requisite selfies, with both of us being shameless bloggers and social media users!

Gould Genealogy is a family business run by Alan Phillips, and from his home in the Adelaide hills, his wife Anthea handles the mail order side of the business; being a guest at their home for my current stay I have also been privileged to see this side of the business, and have even visited the local post office to post some orders!

I have been privileged to work with Unlock the Past for the last seven years, and so it has been wonderful to at long last get to see Genie Central in Adelaide! If you are looking for products to help with your research, whether books or support materials, do take a look at the company’s online catalogue at www.gould.com.au. The company also produces ebooks for various products via www.gen-ebooks.com, and of course its highly popular and successful genealogy cruise ventures via www.unlockthepastcruises.com. Having just completed a cruise to Papua New Guinea, the company’s next cruise venture will be to Alaska, on which I will be one of the international speakers – for more info on this please visit www.unlockthepastcruises.com/2018cruisealaska/.

Thanks again to Alan and Anthea for their wonderful hospitality in Adelaide, and to Alona for the tour!

(NB: Alona blogs her personal genealogy journeys at www.lonetester.com, and writes a dedicated Genealogy and History News blog for the company at www.gouldgenealogy.com)

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Visit to Australia’s National War Museum

On Sunday I had the pleasure to visit Australia’s National War Museum (www.awm.gov.au) in Canberra, a superb museum and space to commemorate the fallen from Australia’s many conflicts, including the two world wars, and to understand Australia’s experience of war. The starting point for the visit is the superb Commemorative Courtyard, with the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier at the far end. Alongside two galleries overlooking the courtyard are brass plates listing the names of all soldiers who fallen in service to Australia, amidst a sea of poppies. The Roll of Honour is also hosted at the end of one of these galleries, with some 120,000 names recorded.

Inside the complex are various galleries and a research centre (sadly closed on my visit as this was a Sunday). I visited the galleries dedicated to the First and Second World War, as well as one dedicated to the efforts of the air force. Various vehicles, airplanes, and even a submarine were amongst the exhibits, as well as interpretative panels on the histories of various campaigns involving Australian forces. I also managed to catch one of the interactive shows involving a Lancaster bomber, whereby an air raid on Germany was recreated using screens surrounding the craft carrying old newsreels and CGI reconstructions of craft in formation.

At the end of our visit was the daily remembrance ceremony, at 5.00pm in the main courtyard to commemorate a fallen soldier, with relatives in attendance to lay wreaths. We stood in respectful silence as wreaths were laid to a piper's lament, and with the Last Post played on a bugle shortly after.

The facility is well worth visiting to understand Australia's experience of war - here are some images from the day...

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.