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Archive for the ‘Genealogy’ Category

Have you ever been to Who Do You Think You Are Live?

If you are a researcher or Historian or Genealogist this show is a must. So many helpful avenues you can go down to expand your research.

Its held on the 24th to the 26th February at London Olympia and expect to pay around£15 for a day or £30 for a 3 day ticket.

This year at Who Do You Think You Are Live HDYTYAL there are over 140 exhibitors and 100 workshops. The Society of Genealogists run a large number of workshops over the course of the show which can provide you with invaluable information and advice about researching your family history. All in all, over one hundred workshops will be given by leading genealogy experts and attending one is a fundamental part of visiting the show.

Attending will be DNA experts to explain how this technology can help you with your research and number of photo experts for dating, and improving your photos. There will also be a Military pavilion with a long list of military museums being represented. There is even a section to ensure your Irish ancestors wont be left out either in the Irish section.

If going all that way to London seems like too much of a hassle and you need your photo restored then why not send it in to us

If you go along to WDYTYA then have a great day!

 

 

 

 

The Story of a brave soldier in second battle of Ypres 1915, William Ford, joined the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1915 and went to war.

It was the battle of Ypres 1915. The trenches and dugouts stretched as far as the eye can see, like a maze of organized spaghetti. Omnipresent gunfire rang in the air, the smell of powder, thick clay and damp clung to the inside of the soldiers nostrils. Lieutenant William Ford took the initiative to vault the trench and make his move. He was making good progress into enemy territory and out of nowhere came a loud crack and a shot whizzed through the battle smog and ripped through his webbing belt and his stomach, stopping him in his tracks.

He fell into the mud, amongst the other downed soldiers. Still alive but bleeding badly he crawled out of sight of the gunfire and waited for his next move. A fearsome sound caught his attention and for a moment drew his mind away from his agony. He heard footsteps in the squelching mud close by and pistol fire of a German officer systematically walking from one downed soldier to the next, shooting the wounded and dying. He lay still, closed his eyes and feigned death not breathing for fear of being discovered and shot. The footsteps passed by!

During that night a British patrol came by with stretchers looking for the wounded. William managed a feeble groan and the party spotted him. He was rushed off the battle field and his wounds were dressed and patched and in due course he recovered and was sent home.

Soon after the war, William now Sergeant, was sent with his Northamptonshire regiment to Ireland in Dublin to help keep the peace. During his service in Ireland he met a lady and who was desperate to get out of Ireland and the prospect of marrying a Sergeant soon became good friends. William was allowed to court this lady as long he didn’t wear his uniform and he visited through the back door. He survived yet another crisis. Through out the following years he climbed the ranks to Company Sergent Major and served in both India and the Andaman Islands but was sent home with family in 1939.

William Ford was then recalled for action once more in the Second World War. His contribution to the Second World War was a step back from his previous encounters in the front lines but still and important part of the war effort, training the new recruits through out the 1940′s. At this time he had progressed through the ranks to Major, he eventually and died around 1971 aged 73. A true man of British grit!

William Ford Born 1898.

Hi all

I will be holding a stand at the Woking Family History Fair on November the Saturday November the 5th  10 am to 4.30pm at Kind Field Road,  Woking Park, Woking Leisure Centre in Surrey and entrance is free and so is parking, nothing to lose!

View Larger Map

WSFHS OPEN DAY AND FAMILY HISTORY FAIR

Do YOU have an ancestor in Italy, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Glamorgan,

Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kent, London, Manchester, Middlesex,

Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex or Wiltshire?

If so, visit the Society’s

OPEN DAY

The following organisations have reserved tables:

Anglo-Italian FHS • *Bedfordshire FHS • Berkshire FHS • Buckinghamshire FHS • Buckinghamshire GS

*Dorset FHS • *East Surrey FHS • *Glamorgan FHS • *Guild of One Name Studies

*Hampshire GS • *Hertfordshire FHS • Hillingdon FHS •*Huntingdonshire FHS • Kent FHS • London Westminster & Middlesex FHS

Manchester & Lancashire FHS • *Nottinghamshire FHS • *Oxfordshire FHS

Romany & Traveller FHS • Somerset & Dorset FHS • *Suffolk FHS • Sussex FH Group

*West Middlesex FHS • *Wiltshire FHS

The Society of Genealogists

 

• • • • • •

British Association for Local History • Brookwood Cemetery Society

*Family & Community Historical Research Society • Friends of Woking Palace •London Family History Centre

*Send & Ripley History Society

*Southwark Family History • *Sunbury & Shepperton Local History Society

*Surrey Heath Local History Club, Surrey Heath Museum, Archaeological & Heritage Trust

Surrey Heritage • Surrey History Trust • Surrey Record Society • The Lightbox, Woking

Woking & District Philatelic Society • Woking History Society

• • • • • •

AMP Family History Services • Bookzone • Brian Brinkley – Postcards • C E Jones (Postcards and Books)

CAB Search • Family History Shopy • Footsteps

Genealogy Printers • Genes Reunited • Image- Restore.co.uk Photo Restorations • John Owen Smith • John Townsend Books • Life Histories

M M Publications • Michael Goldsmith – Postcards • My History • Parchment (Oxford) Ltd

Priceless Treasures • R A Longley Publications • S&N Genealogical Supplies

*Staunton Park Genealogy Centre • The Genealogist • This Way Books & Cassini Maps

• • • • • •

RESEARCH! Research material available for use on the day in the adjacent Research Room will include the Computerised Surrey Marriage Index, indexed transcriptions of many Surrey Parish Registers (baptisms, marriages and burials), the Index and Calendar of Surrey Poor Law Records, the Index of Surrey Monumental Inscriptions, the IGI and other materials from the Society’s Reference Library on a wide range of genealogical related subjects.

HELP DESKS! Help desks for beginners and more experienced researchers.

FREE TALKS! A series of short talks on a range of subjects. See website for details. Book on the day.

Computer look-ups will also be available on Ancestry and Findmypast .

FREE Parking • Refreshments available • FREE Admission