British medical and military records added to FindmyPast

Just added to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.com):

Britain, Physicians and Surgeons, 1830-1923
Search for your English ancestry in thousands of pages from the Calendar of The Royal College of Surgeons in England and Members of The Royal College of Physicians. Containing over 31,000 names, these publications will provide you with your ancestor's residence and years of appointment.

Prisoners of War 1715-1945
Over 876,000 additional records created by the International Committee of the Red Cross during the First World War have been added to our collection of Prisoner of War records. Between 1914 and 1918, all belligerent countries involved provided lists of prisoners to the ICRC, which created an index card for each prisoner and detainee.

British Armed Forces, First World War Soldiers' Medical Records
Over 85,000 additional records have also been added to our collection of First World War Soldiers' Medical Records. Including both transcripts and images of original documents, these records will enable you to discover when and where your ancestor was wounded, the nature of their disease or wound, the medical facility they were sent to and the dates of their treatment as well as details pertaining to their military career.

British Armed Forces and Overseas Browse
Browse through more than 85,000 additional records from The National Archives related to births, marriages, and deaths of British civilians and members of the armed forces. The records include individuals who were working or travelling abroad or who were serving their countries overseas. The details found in each record will depend on the original source.

Canada, Ontario, Oddfellows Life Insurance Applications images
Images have now been added to the index of Ontario, Oddfellows Life Insurance Applications we published last week.

International Records Update – Germany
Over 57 German million births, baptisms, marriages and burials are now available to search and explore on Findmypast. Consisting of three new indexes covering the years 1558 to 1958, these new additions will generate hints against your Findmypast family tree. The new German collections now available on Findmypast include:

Germany Birth and Baptism Index 1558-1898
Germany Death and Burial Index 1582-1958
Germany Marriage Index 1558-1929

British & Irish Newspaper Update
This week we have added 57,277 new pages to our collection of historical British & Irish newspapers. We are excited to welcome specialist sporting title – the Football Post (Nottingham) – to our collection, with 1069 issues added so far. We have also updated five of our existing titles, including three of our London titles – the Harrow Leader, the Ealing Leader and the Hayes & Harlington Gazette – as well as the Reading Evening Post and the Buckinghamshire Examiner.

Links and further details at https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/british-armymilitary-recordsarmy-ancestorsgerman-genealogyeuropean-rec-2637795508.html

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) for just £11.99 at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ancestry adds UK, Allied Prisoners of War, 1939-1945

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has a new collection which may be of interest for those who may have UK ancestors interned as Allied prisoners of war between 1939 and 1945:

UK, Allied Prisoners of War, 1939-1945
https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61642
Source: Original data: AIR 40: Rolls of POWs 1939-1945, WO 392: POW lists 1943-1945, WO 361: Casualities and Missing Personnel 1939-1945, WO 345: Japanese Index cards of Allied POWs 1942-1947, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England.

About UK, Allied Prisoners of War, 1939-1945
During the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of allied troops were captured during and following military battles and were held in Prisoner of War Camps in both Europe and Asia. Whilst a large number were liberated once fighting had ceased, sadly many died before the end of the war, whilst being held in the camps. This collection contains information about the soldiers captured, where they were held and often, what happened to them.

Whilst details vary between sets of records, you may find the following information (where available):

Name
Camp name
Nationality
Place and Date of birth
Place and Date of death
Father’s name
Mother’s name
Gender
Date and Place of Capture
Service (e.g. Army, Air, Navy, Civilian)
Service rank
Service number

COMMENT: Some basic index information is returned on Ancestry for a search - but just for the record, I think that it stinks that Ancestry wants you to pay for another subscription on its Fold3.com platform to see the original record.

And equally for the record - I think that it also stinks that The National Archives is going along with this.

Chris

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.

Forces War Records free tutorials

From Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

Forces War Records – 5 FREE military genealogy tutorials are now online and available to download

With 10 million records covering over 300 years of conflict, and thousands of new records being added daily, there’s always something new to find on the site. But there’s so much more to gain from a visit to Forces War Records. The military and genealogy specialists have a wealth of knowledge and information to help anyone rese
arching their family tree, or with those with military queries.

These 5 free guides have been put together in-house and are free to all, perfect for complete beginners to advanced researchers:

1: Understanding your ancestor's record
All the details of your ancestor's record made easy

2: Breaking down brick walls
Renowned historian Simon Fowler gives his top 10 tips to get your family tree started

3: Trench Traumas & Medical Miracles
If your ancestor was wounded in WW1, this is what his medical journey would have been like

4: How to trace your POW ancestor
Want to know if your ancestor was taken a prisoner and what would have happened to him?

5: Quick guide to requesting WW2 records
Struggling to find your WW2 ancestor's record? Here's to get hold of them.

They can be downloaded here: https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/free-tutorials

(With thanks to Jennifer Holmes)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Beginner's Guide to British and Irish Genealogy, A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

FindmyPast adds enemy aliens and internees in Britain records

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.com) has added the following records:

Britain, Enemy Aliens and Internees, First and Second World Wars

Were your ancestors suspected of being enemy sympathisers or spies? Were they interned or declared exempt from internment? During the First and Second World Wars, thousands of foreign nationals were investigated and interned in camps across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. These records comprise enemy alien index cards from the Home Office, nominal rolls, correspondence, and much more.

Sources:

First World War
HO 144/11720 - First World War internment lists (1915 and 1918): Enemy aliens in London This series contains lists of German nationals who were assessed for internment, but not interned.

HO 45/11522 Parts 1 and 2 - Aliens and Nationality and Naturalisation: Central Register of Aliens in United Kingdom; policy of internment and repatriation of alien enemies, 1914-1924 This series contains registrations of enemy aliens in lunatic asylums, investigations by the Home Office into reports of suspicious characters, and quantified lists of enemy aliens by district from the 1911 census, as well as lists of enemy aliens, organised by age, with familial information such as spouse and children.

Second World War
PCOM 9/661 - Reception and internment of aliens: list of internees, 1938-1946 The lists include internees from prisons in Holloway, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Lincoln, Lewes, Dorchester, and Leeds. You will find notifications of the reception of enemy aliens into prisons and the dates of their arrests and arrivals. These files include a large number of female internees.

PCOM 9/662 - Reception and internment of aliens: list of internees, 1938-1946 In this series, you will find reports of internee movements and transfers and internee complaints about conditions and investigations. For example, three internees complained that the prisons were not set up for non-criminals and that they were kept in solitary confinement for 19 ½ hours a day. However, the prison officers disputed the complaints.

Nominal Rolls
HO 215/469 - Hutchinson, Isle of Man: Nominal roll, September 1943
HO 215/471 - Metropole, Isle of Man: Nominal roll, October 1943
HO 215/473 - Mooragh, Isle of Man: Nominal rolls, 1943-1945
HO 215/475 - Onchan, Isle of Man: Nominal roll, May 1943
HO 215/478 - Port Erin, Isle of Man: Nominal rolls, 1943-1944
HO 215/502 - Married camp, Isle of Man: Nominal roll, November 1943 Nominal rolls will include your ancestor’s name, birthdate, and birthplace. Some rolls will have additional remarks such as the name of your ancestor’s spouse or occupation.
HO 396 - 308 volumes of people interned or considered for internment by the British in the Second World War (1939-1947)

Further details at http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/britain-enemy-aliens-and-internees-first-and-second-world-wars

COMMENT: Don't forget my website also at http://ruhleben.tripod.com which looks at British and British Empire based citizens interned in Germany in WW1.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Forces War Records to make 4 POW records collections free

From Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk):

Forces War Records will be making 4 POW collections FREE to search…

In remembrance of the surrender of Japan on 14th August 1945, we’re releasing our POW collections (two of which you won’t find anywhere else online).

The following record collections will be completely FREE to search from 13th - 15th August; highlighted on those days by a ‘FREE TO SEARCH’ icon here: https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/collections/

* Imperial Prisoners of War Held in Japan (Exclusive to Forces War Records)
* Korea – British Army Prisoners of War
* Imperial Prisoners of War Held in Italy (Exclusive to Forces War Records)
* Prisoners of War of the British Empire Held in Germany

FREE DOWNLOAD:

MEET OUR POW EXPERT: Tim Hayhoe, his inside story on Japanese POW camps
PLUS: EXTRACTED FROM OUR ARCHIVE: ‘Prisoner of War’ Journals

Download from here.

(With thanks to Jennifer Holmes)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Directories, US POWs and Worcestershire baptisms join TheGenealogist

From The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

TheGenealogist releases British Telephone Directories, United States WW2 PoWs and more Worcestershire Baptism Transcripts

TheGenealogist has just launched a new collection of British telephone directories. Complementing the early UK Telephone Directory from 1899-1900 that is already available on TheGenealogist, this new release includes the 1907 Post Office National Directory which adds a resource for finding names and addresses before the 1911 census. This directory was published at a time when the telephone was becoming more important to our ancestors. The Post Office's first coin-operated call box had been installed at London’s Ludgate Circus just the year before, and Trunk (long distance) telephone charges were reduced to half-price for telephone calls made after 7pm and before 7am.

In addition, and at the same time, TheGenealogist has released the 1938 South Wales District Post Office Telephone Directory. The big contrast between this and the earlier directories are that so many more ordinary people had become telephone subscribers. For this reason the directories were by now split up into regions to cope with the large number of names and addresses.

* Containing names and address details for subscribers the telephone directories are a useful resource for discovering ancestors who had a phone
* Find private names and small businessmen’s addresses. If your ancestor worked as a fishmonger, butcher, ironmonger or bootmaker, then all these and more feature in the fascinating records.
* The difference between the turn of the century directories and the 1938 South Wales District Directory is marked by the number of new telephone subscribers, so making it possible to find many more ancestor’s names and addresses.

TheGenealogist has also just released online the United States WWII Prisoner of War records to compliment those that are already online for British and former Empire Prisoners of War of the Germans in WWI and WWII.

* These new records reveal the names of U.S. military as well as U.S. and some Allied civilians who were prisoners of war and internees
* Covering the years 1942 - 1947, Prisoners of both Germany and Japan are included in this collection
* The record for each prisoner provides
* Name
* Casualty status
* Rank
* Service number
* PoW camp
* Regiment, branch of service or civilian status
* Home town or place of enlistment
* Date reported
* Race
* State of residence


In another record release TheGenealogist have added over 37,450 individuals to their Baptism Transcripts for Worcestershire in partnership with Malvern Family History Society, expanding their coverage and bringing the total to over 2 million individuals. These records range from the years 1544 to 1891.

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Second World War British POW records online

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has released over a million British prisoner of war records for service personnel and civilians from the Second World War:

Released in partnership with the National Archives to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the War’s end, the records cover some of the most infamous POW camps in history, including Stalag Luft III, the Nazi camp renowned for the mass escape by British and Commonwealth prisoners that inspired the film The Great Escape, and the horrific Far East Prisoner of War camps immortalised in films such as The Railway Man and Bridge on the River Kwai. The collection contains nearly 668,000 records of POWs held in the Far East and over 353,000 records of POW’s held in Europe as well as a number of records relating to German and Italian camps located in Africa.

The records cover the period 1939-1945 and contain the names, ranks and locations of Prisoners of War, along with the length of time spent in camps, the number of survivors, details of escapees and the nationalities of prisoners. Britons represent the largest number in the collection, followed by Dutch, Americans and Australians. In addition to this type of data, the collection comprises 360,000 images, including pages from personal diaries and photographs. Many official World War II records remain classified, making this an invaluable resource for those researching the histories of relatives and those held captive during the war. The records are taken from 433 digitised Archival pieces held by The National Archives and form part off the wider Prisoners of War 1715-1945 collection.

The collection is accessible at http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/prisoners-of-war-1715-1945.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Imperial Prisoners of War held in Japan

From Forces War Records (https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk)

New Collections Release - Imperial Prisoners of war held in Japan
Record Qty: 56,000+

Original Source: Transcribed from the National Archive reference WO392/23-26 ‘British Prisoners Of War Held In Japan Or Japanese-Occupied Territory’

In 1945, 37,583 British and Commonwealth soldiers were released from Japanese captivity and Forces War Records has their details.

During the course of the Second World War, over 140,000 Allied soldiers were captured by the Armed Forces of the Empire of Japan. These men were kept in barbaric conditions, utilised as forced labour, tortured for information and used for medical experiments. Japan, while a signatory of the 1929 Geneva Convention, never ratified it and thus ignored it. Treatment of Allied prisoners was so poor that over 30,000 died in captivity. Many of the guards responsible were subsequently tried for war crimes.

Immortalised in films such as “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) and “To End all Wars” (2001), there is no denying the significant impact that these events had and continue to have on survivors, veterans and their families. Indeed, Japanese War Crimes against Prisoners of War are often a hotly debated topic.

This collection was compiled by the Directorate for Prisoners of War and lists the soldiers, along with the occasional civilian, who endured these conditions. Prisoners were only obliged to provide their name, rank and number so the amount of military information is limited, however the records do include the date of capture, the camp in which they were held and the date of liberation, be that through release, escape or death.

On the 70th Anniversary of the Empire of Japan’s surrender we are pleased to present this collection of 56,363 records, a permanent memorial to the servicemen involved and an invaluable resource for genealogists.

In addition, the record set includes such notable entries as:

Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey, the senior Allied Officer held at Tha Maa Kham PoW camp and the officer upon whom Alec Guinness’ Colonel Nicholson from ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ was based.

James Clavell, born Charles Edward Dumaresq Clavell, co-writer on the films ‘633 Squadron’ (1964) and ‘The Great Escape’ (1963) and author of the novel ‘King Rat’ (1962), based on his experiences in Changi camp.

Ernest William Swanton, the BBC Radio Sports broadcaster and journalist who was a regular commentator on ‘Test Match Special’.

(With thanks to Neil White)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

FindmyPast releases Yorkshire, Co. Clare and POW records

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has released the following new records for Yorkshire:

Over 1,2 million new Yorkshire baptisms, 1538-1914
Over 1.3 million new Yorkshire bishop’s transcripts of baptisms, 1578-1914
Over 277,000 new Yorkshire banns, 1653-1930
Over 709,000 new Yorkshire Marriages 1539-1930
Over 684,000 new Yorkshire bishop’s transcripts of marriages 1534-1899
Over 885,000 new Yorkshire burials 1538-1966
Over 945,000 new Yorkshire bishop’s transcripts of burials 1578-1972

It has also released 43,000 POW records from the First World War.

Amongst other releases is the following collection from Ireland:

Containing over 7,000 records, Clare County Government Proceedings 1732 – 1882 record the members, presentments and correspondence of Clare’s Grand jury. Grand juries were the forerunner of county councils and functioned as local government authorities. Letters and circulars to the Grand Jury are also to be found.

For further details visit http://blog.findmypast.com/2015/this-findmypast-friday-new-pow-records-plus-phase-2-of-the-yorkshire-collection/

Chris

For details on my latest book Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, and my other genealogy guide books please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. To commission me for genealogical research, please visit my research site at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk.

Remembering Ruhleben: The other RHS

A forthcoming event by the Garden Museum and the Royal Horticultural Society to commemorate some of the British and British Empire prisoners who were interned at the Ruhleben POW camp near Berlin during the First World War:

Garden Museum in collaboration with the RHS presents 

REMEMBERING RUHLEBEN: The other RHS

An evening of readings, music & song to celebrate the forgotten story of a horticultural society that sprung up in the midst of war

WEDNESDAY 12 November 2014

7.00pm - 8.30pm

'A story of British ingenuity and gumption, which had horticulture at its heart'
The Daily Telegraph

November, 1914. War has been declared. An order is given for British men in Germany to be arrested and sent to Ruhleben Internment Camp - a bleak and abandoned racetrack near Berlin. Faced with no facilities, limited supplies and winter fast approaching, the prisoners did the only thing they could: 'maintain the British ideal of patriotism, patience, courage and usefulness through four long years.'

As Ruhleben was transformed through the prisoner's efforts, a very British Horticultural Society was set up, and - just like any Horticultural Society back home - they turned to the RHS for help.

Largely forgotten today, this remarkable story will be retold by actors, using diary extracts, live music, poems, and various musings from the Ruhleben Camp Magazine.

Programme
6.30pm
Doors open

7.00pm
Performance

8.00pm
Q&A with Fiona Davison, Head of the RHS Lindley Library

This event celebrates the Gardens and War Exhibition, on at the Garden Museum until 5 January 2015

Tickets
£20 Standard
£15 Garden Museum and RHS Members

To book, please visit www.gardenmuseum.org.uk or call 020 7401 8865

The RHS is searching for stories about the Ruhleben gardeners from their friends and descendants. Anyone with information can contact the RHS at libraryenquirieslondon@rhs.org.uk

COMMENT: Thanks to organiser Dudley Hinton for sending this through. I'm unfortunately not going to be able to attend, but for those who had relatives interned at Ruhleben, check out my The Ruhleben Story web project at http://ruhleben.tripod.com, where details of some 2000 of the 5500 or so POWs who were there have been recorded (my great uncle was one of them, which sparkled off my interest in the camp).

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And please consider purchasing the great new version of Caledonia by The Libations at 79p via www.caledonia2014.com - all profits go to help fund Scottish foodbanks

Red Cross First World War POW records now online

A quick announcement to say that the International Red Cross has now added its ICRC Prisoners of the First World War records collection online at http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/.

Lots of good stuff there - I've just found a document on Ruhleben camp in Germany "Visit of Mr. Th. Aubert, S. Horneffer, captain Hjort, P. Nabholz, P. Bonifazi. M. de Muller, J.-B. Micheli to the camps for the Russian prisoners of war in Germany, in Bohemia and in Poland", although it's in French! Lots of individual records also - happy hunting.

And a record for my civilian great uncle John Brownlee Paton who was interned at Ruhleben in 1916:

Lots still to explore....!

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And please consider purchasing the great new version of Caledonia by The Libations at 79p via www.caledonia2014.com - all profits go to help fund Scottish foodbanks

Red Cross First World War POW cards to go online August

Peter Calver's latest Lost Cousins newsletter at www.lostcousins.com/newsletters/jun14news.htm carries news that the index cards currently being digitised by the International Prisoners-of-War Agency, set up by the Red Cross, will be available online in August of this year.

The agency's website notes that some 500,000 pages of lists and six million index cards index cards for both military POWs and civilian internees will be included. Looking forward to seeing if they might have anything on my civilian great uncle John Paton, who was interned at Ruhleben in Germany from 1916-1918.

The agency has not been accepting research requests for some time (five years) because of this project, so this should hopefully help when it makes an appearance.

The full story is available at http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/article/other/archives-first-world-war-2011-07-27.htm

UPDATE 13 SEP - above link now broken, but see http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/ for the database.

(With thanks to Peter)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And FindmyPast - please reinstate the original Scottish census citations on your new site.

First World War POW records on TheGenealogist

From The Genealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk), the following is an abridged press release:

First World War P.O.W. Records launched online

TheGenealogist uniquely has launched over 80,000 fully searchable records of British and Commonwealth prisoners, of all ranks, captured in the Great War. Many thousands of Allied servicemen were taken prisoner in the First World War and comprehensive records have been notoriously difficult to find with many related  records being destroyed in the 1930s and the World War 2 Blitz of 1940. The new records provide access to records of all servicemen taken prisoner between 1914 to 1918.

Search all Ranks from The Great War.
From senior Officers Captured, to the NCOs and Privates in the Infantry, the records are all found in the exclusive ‘Prisoner of War’ collection on TheGenealogist.  You can search all ranks for the first time on any family history website, giving access to the many soldiers, sailors and airmen captured and held behind enemy lines.

The records are fully searchable and provide the main details including, forename, surname, rank, regiment and the date the information was received. Records are found quickly and easily using the specific ‘Prisoner of War’ interface on TheGenealogist. It is also possible to trace if a soldier was moved around in captivity, as certain soldiers had multiple records published by the War Office.

The records also provide details on sadly if the prisoners never made it home. Conditions and treatment did vary but on the whole it was tough and often brutal with food scarce and sanitary conditions basic. Typhus and cholera epidemics were sadly all too common and many of the records detail the prisoner died in captivity. With records such as these, TheGenealogist provides a further link to view where the person is buried or commemorated.

The comprehensive collection is derived from daily and weekly lists published by the War Office during and after the First World War.

Mark Bayley, Head of Online Content at TheGenealogist comments: “The new Prisoner of War records we’ve published are a great new unique resource for all family historians. If our ancestors were either officers or in the lower ranks, there’s now more chance than ever to discover their details including when they were taken prisoner and when they were released. Sadly many men never returned and our records will hopefully show the brave men who endured the terrible hardships of the Prisoner of War camps will not be forgotten and can now easily be traced by their descendants.”

(With thanks to David Osborne)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And FindmyPast - please reinstate the original Scottish census citations on your new site.

British POWs 1939-1945 on Ancestry

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has launched a new collection on its site entitled UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945. The collection has been sourced from a previous CD release by Naval and Military Press.

For further details visit http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1601

(Correction: this collection has been updated, not launched as new)

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

WW1 Holzminden & Ruhleben POWs

Yesterday I posted a short story on my other blog about a young British boy who was arrested in Berlin at the outset of the First World War for having defamed Germany, and British Foreign Office attempts to have him freed with the help of the American Embassy in Berlin. The story emerged from some Foreign Office documents that I am currently working through for my Ruhleben Project website (http://ruhleben.tripod.com), in which I am trying to produce short biographical extracts for some 5500 British civilian and merchant seamen POWs who were interned at the camp on the outskirts of Berlin - it can be read at http://walkingineternity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/youthful-indiscretion-in-first-world-war_27.html.

On the back of this post, I have just had another useful site pointed out to me by reader Brenda Merriman, concerning the POWs who were interned in another camp at Holzminden. Mostly military prisoners, some merchant seamen were also included. The site is at www.facesofholzminden.com and includes a downloadable PDF document with the names of some 500 or so individuals known to have been interned there.

Elsewhere on the Ruhleben front, Marcus Bateman has also been in touch to let me know that his current website on British Merchant Seamen interned at Ruhleben (and elsewhere) is soon to be deleted, and instead replaced by a new site at www.spw-surrey.com/mt9/. Amongst new content recently added he has a new page with names extracted from a National Archives document reference MT 9/1094, for surnames beginning A and B in September 1916. Well worth a look.

Meanwhile I am ploughing on with extracting names from a few other sources, including the Ruhleben Football Association Handbook from 1915 and files from TNA FO 369/710. I've added 70 short biographical extracts over the last 2 days, with plenty more to get on the site. With the anniversary of the war set to happen next year it's an ambition of mine to try to get the name of Ruhleben and its many stories as well known again as it once was throughout the conflict, as a tribute to my civilian great uncle who was interned there, and my civilian great grandfather who died after hiding for 16 months in Brussels to avoid arrest. Many people have been in touch in recent weeks and months with new material for the site - thanks for this, and I'll try to get through it as quickly as I can!

(With thanks to Brenda Merriman, Marcus Bateman and Simon Fowler)

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.