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A festive round up of giveaways and news
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Welcome to this festive issue of our Newsletter. We've got a huge number of giveaways for you, including a one-year Diamond subscription to TheGenealogist, WW1 commemoration mugs and pins, tickets for Family Tree Live, a beautiful scrapbook, lots of books and more 
read on and enter before you miss out!

All of us at the Federation of Family History Society wish you a very enjoyable holiday season. We'll be back with our next newsletter in January, which will have a special focus on researching Welsh ancestry.

Emma Waltham
Marketing Manager, FFHS
In this issue:

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The Gift of Family History

In need of present ideas? How about gifting a subscription to a family history society? Typically, it costs less than £20 a year, and this usually includes a journal subscription and access to member-only resources. Members can ask for help with their particular brick walls and tap into the huge amount of expertise a society has within its membership. See our list of societies: some are regional, some have a specialist focus, others are one-name. This is a gift that will keep on giving all year long!

Book Giveaways

To celebrate Christmas, we have a book giveaway bonanza! The first title on offer is a brand new title which will be published in January: Workhouses of London and the South East by Peter Higginbotham.  We have one copy to giveaway. To enter, email competitions@ffhs.org.uk with the subject line 'Workhouses'. Our second giveaway is Criminal Children: Researching Juvenile Offenders 18201920, by Emma Watkins and Barry Godfrey. Email competitions@ffhs.org.uk with the subject line 'Criminals' to enter. Email by 7 January 2019. Good luck!

War Grave Events and Tours

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has a network of Public Engagement Coordinators (PEC) working regionally across the UK mainland. You can email them on public.engagement@cwgc.org 

In Edinburgh they recently hosted a Lest We Forget collections day at the National Library of Scotland. The public were encouraged to bring in items from the First World War they’d been keeping in the family. There are further events planned across the country, 
and the details are via this link. The event attracted a wide range of artefacts and stories.

CWGC volunteers lead tours around Brookwood Military Cemetery, the largest CWGC UK site. 
You can find the tour dates here – tours will run up until the New Year before taking a break for the spring. 

Across the country PECs were busy attending school assemblies, local services, and delivering presentations to community groups, during the centenary period. 
You can support the educational work of the CWGC through the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation, and you can email the address above if you would like one of the team to visit your local society. 

WW1 Centenary Giveaways

I was deeply touched by this year's commemorations marking 100 years since the WW1 armistice and I am sure that most Newsletter readers were too. Many of you, like me, will have taken part in Remembrance Day services, and reflected on your own family's involvement in the First World War.

I know from my own family-history research that a shocking number of my relatives in my great-grandparents' generation perished in the Great War. Most who left did not return. Many of your families were similarly affected. As family historians we feel a connection to those who came before and wish to honour them by remembering them, Lest We Forget. Our September Newsletter explained how to research family history for this era so have a read if you'd like to discover more.

In memory of those who made the greatest sacrifice in the Great War and to mark this centenary year, we have a commemorative giveaway. There are two available, each comprising a poppy pin and mug. To enter this draw, email competitions@ffhs.org.uk no later than 7 January 2019, with the subject line, 'Lest We Forget'. 

Scrapbooking Giveaway

If you're a keen scrapbooker, you'll enjoy combining family history with scrapbooking. This 'Our Family Tree' scrapbook can be used to record family details and special moments, and to store photos and other mementos.

This handmade, spiral-bound album has blank pages for you to decorate as you wish. Photos can be attached using double sided tape or photo safe glue (not included), and notes can be added using most pens/pencils. To enter, send an email with 'Scrapbook' as the subject to competitions@ffhs.org.uk by 7 January 2019.

More Book Giveaways

We've got two more book offers in this special issue. The first is Tracing Your Roman Catholic Ancestors, written by Stuart A. Raymond. We have two copies  to giveaway. To enter, send an email to competitions@ffhs.org.uk with the subject line 'Catholic'.

We also have a copy of Dickens at Christmas, by Lucinda Hawksley. It is an exploration of the 19th-century phenomenon that became the Christmas we know and love today, and of the writer who changed, forever, the ways in which it is celebrated. 
To enter the draw, email competitions@ffhs.org.uk with the subject line 'Dickens'. For both giveaways, please email no later than 7 January 2019.

Railway Project Update

Newsletter readers might have run across the 'Railway Work, Life & Death' project, looking at accidents to British and Irish railway workers around the time of the First World War. It is a joint initiative of the University of Portsmouth and National Railway Museum (NRM) – and Mike Esbester, co-leader of the project, has recently contacted me with an update on progress.

Mike writes, 'It's getting bigger! The records the project has been using are name rich, detailing who was involved in an accident, where, what happened and a host of other details – all available for free from the project website, along with a host of other information about railway worker safety and a blog updated weekly.

'Over the coming years the existing 3,900 records are going to be extended – potentially by as many as 60,000 cases! The project has just announced it is working with the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick to bring railway trades union accident records into its work. This is especially valuable as some date back to the 1870s, a period for which it is otherwise difficult to find information; they extend into the 1920s.

'They are looking for any volunteers who might be able to assist in the transcription of the records, on site at the Modern Records Centre. For more details please contact Helen Ford (
H.Ford@warwick.ac.uk) or James King (J.M.King@warwick.ac.uk).

'In addition, the project has just added a second dataset of 600 individuals, and NRM volunteers are working on accident reports produced by the state in the interwar period. At the same time, volunteers at The National Archives are working on records made by the railway companies from the late 19th century to the 1920s. All of this will take some time – but it'll be worth the wait!'

It's great to hear of all this activity! Many family historians have railway ancestors in their tree, as it was such a huge employer, so we watch this project with interest and wish it well.

TheGenealogist Giveaway

Drum roll please...! We have a 1-year Diamond subscription to TheGenealogist to giveaway (worth £119.45).

TheGenealogist features an impressive collection of records and features to help find your ancestors. Locate elusive ancestors from just an address, or the family's forenames in the census. Discover potential births and marriages direct from the census results with a single click using the unique SmartSearch. Find where your ancestors lived in the early Victorian period in the only national collection of Tithe Records online. These reveal owners and occupiers of land from all levels of society. Use the unique new online record set, The Lloyd George Domesday Survey to pinpoint where an ancestor lived in 1910, an ongoing project with The National Archives that currently covers London.

Find ancestors in the Parish and Nonconformist records. Search for military ancestors within the Militia lists, Army, Navy and Air Force Lists, Medal records, Casualty Lists, Rolls of Honour. Use the extensive collections of Directories, Occupational records, Newspapers and Magazines plus the Wills, Immigration, Emigration and Travel collections to quickly gather your family’s story and then build your family tree for free with TreeView, the online family tree builder and app.

To enter, email competitions@ffhs.org.uk no later than 7 January 2019 with the subject line 'TheGenealogist'. 

Family Tree Live Giveaway

We have two pairs of tickets to Family Tree Live to give away to readers! Family Tree Live is only 4 month's away! FFHS is partnering with Family Tree magazine to bring this genealogy how-to London on 26 and 27 April 2019. Tickets are on sale from £10 and include a wide choice of lectures. There will be many family history societies exhibiting for you to meet. We hope to see you there.

To enter the draw, email competitions@ffhs.org.uk with the subject line 'Family Tree Live' no later than 7 January 2019.

DNA Report

The Federation has launched a report about the types of DNA tests available and how they may help family history research.

Written from the view point of the researcher, the report suggests questions to ask before deciding whether to purchase one of the products available.

You can read and download your own free copy of the report here.

Family History Partnership Giveaways

Our next giveaways are from Family History Partnership, the publishing arm of the Federation of Family History Societies. The first is a copy of My Family History, an efficient and attractive method of recording and displaying the result of family history research and a handy 'aide memoire' to carry around when researching. The product is in two main parts; a ten generation record book and a loose-leaf, two-sided ten generation pedigree chart, plus a system for recording re-marriages and new partnerships. To enter, send an email to competitions@ffhs.org.uk with the subject line 'My Family History'.

We also have a copy of Ancestral File, a convenient system for organising your research findings. In the middle there is a double pedigree chart which allows you to see both the paternal and maternal sides of your family at a glance. From this chart there is a link to the information page for each family group in your direct ancestry. Each family page is set out with boxes in which to enter vital facts
marriage information, birth dates and places, details of children and census check list. To enter the draw, email competitions@ffhs.org.uk with the subject line 'Ancestral File'. For both giveaways, please email no later than 7 January 2019.

The Creative Craft Show Ticket Giveaway

Win a pair of tickets to visit an ICHF Events show in 2019! We have three pairs to give away.  Uncover new products and innovations, watch demonstrations and take part in workshops on a range of techniques to make sure that your projects shine. You’ll uncover the latest kits, fabrics, patterns and tools with the industry’s top names to guide you and enjoy exclusive feature displays. Groups, societies, and guilds from across the UK attend these events in their droves – perfect for an away day!
 
You could use your ticket to visit The Creative Craft Show  the UK’s destination events for hobby lovers at shows in Manchester (31 Jan –2 Feb); Glasgow (7–10 March); Birmingham*  (14–17 March); London* (4– 6 April); and Birmingham (28–30 June). There are many other events to choose from too.

*FFHS attending!
 
To enter the draw, email competitions@ffhs.org.uk with the subject line 'Creative Craft' no later than 7 January 2019. Tickets will be valid for one day at any 2019 ICHF event. See the full programme and find out more on their website.

Roots in England's North West?

Jacquie Crosby, Archives Service Manager, Lancashire Archives has been in touch with a request for people to give their views in a survey:

'Do you know what used to be on your street before your home was built? 
How long has your road been there? What did it look like in the past? Where did your ancestors live or work? Do you know where to find this information?

'Can you help us to help you to find this information?

'Across the North West of England, libraries and archive services have thousands of original maps, photographs and research which can answer these questions and more, but they are fragile and often only available at these sites. We want to create a website which links digital maps, photographs, plans and other images. Most of these maps would be digitised in colour for the first time. Digital technology also offers us the chance to preserve the maps.

'Users would be able to pick a specific place and instantly see digitised archive maps for that location. Archive maps could be linked to current maps and potentially satellite images, allowing easy, accurate comparison. They could also be linked to local photographs and other archives and research.

'We need your help to explore the potential for a new and exciting project which is all about opening access to maps. We have developed a survey to collect your views and ideas on the project. This survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete, and is totally anonymous. The survey is at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/dm20189.

'It closes at 5pm on Sunday 13th January.'


We'd love to hear what you think of our Newsletter. What would you like to read about in future Newsletters? Email us at newsletter@ffhs.org.uk
 

On FFHS Facebook

Have you used The Online Genealogical Index?


 

Do you have family links to Whitechapel in London? Researchers would like Jewish families with East End links to input their history into an interactive map


 

A Street Near You: Explore the impact of the First World War on your neighbourhood

How one family spotted their grandfather in Peter Jackson's colourised WW1 film

 
Find a Spring Family History Event
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Issue number 78


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