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Website and email "down"
For the 2-3 days up to the 10th of July, this website was down - we would like to apologise for any any inconvenience this may have caused.
In addition, at the same time, we were unable to access any email, and in fact any email received was, we understand, "bounced".
Regrettably, this of course means we did not receive it, and so if you tried to contact us during this period, we again apologise, and ask that you try again now.
We have - at the time of writing - been unable to ascertain from our web hosts the exact cause(s) of these problems, but thankfully
normal service appears to have been restored
Short-term Closure
Please note that Pastfinders will be closed between the 4th and 12th of October inclusive, as we are helping lead an
educational tour of the WW1 battlefields of Ypres and the Somme. We apologise for those clients whose research this disrupts
Three men. Three Bikes. John O'Groats to Land's End
This June, three men of questionable fitness cycled from John O'Groats to Land's End (for those overseas clients
who may not be aware, this is the longest route possible on the British mainland - about 1,000 miles) to try and raise money for Great Ormond Street
Children's Hospital. Pastfinders was proud to sponsor them in this foolhardy venture, and also to provide a "base camp" in Monmouth
What has this got to do with genealogy? Absolutely nothing, except that they are members of my own family, and it is a worthy cause.
So if you feel you might wish to sponsor some-one who you have never met who did something worthwhile, please visit
http://www.jogtole.com
1911 Census
The National Archives is now providing a basic research service to enable users to request information from specific
addresses in the 1991 census. To request a search, you will need to provide (a) House name or number (b) county, and (c) civil parish.
The cost is currently GBP45 per address search, with no refunds on unsuccessful searches. To request a search, go to
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/1911census.
Please note that Pastfinders can NOT undertake searches of the 1911 census for the time being
Pastfinders - Out and about
Following the success of our trip to the US, where we
exhibited at The Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Conference on Genealogy (above),
we are now actively seeking similar events to attend. To this end, we are considering making a trip to
Australia next year. This is likely to be in November/December (which is our quiet time).
We are on the look-out for any genealogy events we can exhibit at, but are also interested in
any Family history society or genealogy groups in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. If you are a
member of a FHS group, and would like us to attend a meeting or give a talk, we would be
very interested in hearing from you. Likewise, if you know of any Family History Fairs, or genealogy events,
that we can exhibit at, we would really like to know about them.
Hear your ancestor's voice!
Well, not exactly..but it's all too easy to forget that our forebears did not speak in the same way we do. Most importantly, their accent
and dialect would have been very different. The British Library have started a fascinating project to record English regional accents and dialects.
So far, they have only covered some northern accents, but more will follow. Check out their sound archive at
http://www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/accents.html.
Changes to this website
Our unclaimed convicts section is now operational, and covers hundreds of transported
convicts. We are constantly adding to this listing, and it is expanding rapidly.
Old Pathe Newsreels
Thousands of old Pathe newsreels, covering the period from 1920s to 1970, have recently become freely available at
www.britishpathe.com . Ranging from coverage of major historical events, to snippets
of social history, to quirky stories, it's a fascinating glimpse of an England
now gone.
For an example
click here. It will take a minute to download |
