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This is the first Ezine of 2008 but my last as FFHS Chairman as my terms of office on its Executive end in March. A lot has happened since the last edition.
GENfair is
now being operated on our behalf under franchise by S&N and its new
web site
went live on the 12th December.
Our member
societies contributing data to FamilyHistoryOnline are now signing the
new Agreement allowing their data to be progressively transferred to
findmypast.com, under our partnership with that company. In January,
findmypast.com announced it is amalgamating with Scotland Online, who
operate the Scotland People online databases.
Future FFHS books will be published in partnership with the Society of Genealogists, and we discounted our existing stocks, enabling us to close our warehouse at Bury to streamline our operations. That marks the end of an era and the FFHS owes a debt of gratitude to those involved in FFHS Publications over the years.
We continue to protect your access to archives, and TNA’s provision of
online access to the old GRO indexes avoids the need for you to squint
over the microfiche indexes. It’s a time of change, and I wish the FFHS every success in continuing to champion the cause of family history and its researchers. Geoff Riggs, FFHS Chairman Top of page
21st October 2008 for 17 nights Fred.Olsen’s m/s Boudicca.
Take all the elements that make-up a Fred.Olsen cruise and
then add Family History lectures and workshops - a perfect
holiday! :: Lloyds offer includes :: 52½% discount off Fred.Olsen brochure fare, £100 on-board credit, Free transport Lloyds 5% discount if booked by 31st March 08 Fares from £1050pp
2008 Electoral Roll
So if you have ‘lost cousin’ or are searching for someone that has moved house or changed name, now is your chance to find them! This release also includes a preview of Age Guides for people on the current Electoral Roll.
For anyone who missed the Radio 4 series ‘Tracing Your Roots’ program broadcast last year, the series producers in collaboration with the BBC’s 'Who Do You Think You Are?' genealogy magazine have created two CDs, each featuring three programmes from the first series of 'Tracing Your Roots'. If you would like a free copy of the CD’s all that's required is that you send a large (preferably padded) self-addressed envelope, to:
Tracing Your Roots
(CD’s) Postage will be paid by ‘Tracing Your Roots’ The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) reopened on Monday 21 January 2008 after several months closure. Work was undertaken in the reading rooms to enable the LMA to provide improved online access. If you are planning a visit to the LMA, do visit the LMA website first where a number of online resources are available. These include:
The Family Records Centre will finally close its
doors to the general public on 15 March 2008. At the very last
talk at the FRC on 4th March 2008, Dave Annal will look at the history
of Myddelton Street, the home of the FRC since it opened in
1997.
Improved Access to GRO
Indexes
WDYTYA? LIVE celebrities announced! Both Alistair McGowan and Nicky Campbell will be appearing at this year’s Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE. You can hear the stories of Alistair McGowan’s Anglo Indian roots and Nicky Campbell’s search for his adoptive family in Australia first hand from the celebrities themselves. This year the show sees new areas dedicated to military history and archaeology Peter and Dan Snow will be hosting a new ‘Battle Theatre’ where you’ll be able to learn about the strategy of key battles plus Tony Robinson will be on hand giving advice and tips to eager archaeologists who love to dig up the past. For those of you searching for information about ancestors who served in the armed forces, the show offers you the opportunity to speak directly to organisations who can aid your research including The Imperial War Museum, The RAF Museum and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The event takes place at in the Grand Hall, Olympia, London from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th May 2008.
“It is time to look again at whether historical records can be made available for public inspection much more swiftly than under the current arrangements.” Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown MP, ‘Liberty’ speech, October 2007. This has lead to the Prime Minister commissioning a review of when historical records are transferred to The National Archives and largely opened to public access. This currently happens 30 years after an event, and the Prime Minister's review will look at whether this period should be reduced. Contribute your views The review team has now launched the 30-year rule review website. You can contribute your views to the 30-year rule review until Friday 29 February 2008 by filling in the online questionnaire. The Federation of Family History Societies Directory of Speakers is now fully searchable online.
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If you are
interested in advertising in our FFHS
5 Explorer
Subscriptions To win one of 5 *Explorer subscriptions to findmypast.com simply answer the following question. Q. How many entries are there for the county of Bedfordshire in the National Burial Index records at findmypast.com? a) 355,503 b) 137,063 c) 8,709
Send your
answer in the Subject Line of your email to
competition@ffhs.org.uk
by
*The Explorer subscription gives you unlimited access to over 500 million records from 1656 to 2005 for a whole year find out more >
The Federation organises an annual award to the member society with the best web site, in recognition of the growing importance of this media. The first award was made in June 2001 and sponsorship for this event is kindly provided each year by ABM Publishing who present a £100 cheque to the winning society.
The deadline
for entering for this years award is 30 April 2008 for full
details visit:
The Elizabeth Simpson Award was first introduced in 1979 and is awarded annually to the society whose journal has made the best contribution to family history during the preceding twelve months. Judging takes place in the first half of the year and the results will be announced at the Federation General Meeting on 30 August 2008 at the University of Essex, Colchester. The deadline for entering your society journal for the 2007 award is 30 April 2008.
download the full details
Sponsorship
for this event is being provided by
Family History Monthly magazine
ARCHIVE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN 2008 Archive Awareness 2008 campaign will take place in November on the theme Community Participation: Take Your Place in History. It will target users new to archives, with particular focus on community groups, Black and Minority Ethnic groups and schools. Family History Societies are free to register their activities throughout the year on the Archive Awareness Campaign events directory using the on-line registration form at www.archiveawareness.com. Archive Awareness Campaign is run by the National Council on Archives and funded by The National Archives and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
For
all those event organisers or those like me, who enjoy
attending family history events, a visit to
to find out more or
to list your event
>
Building work at The National
Archives
During the ongoing building work at The National
Archives, Kew there will be significantly reduced seating
capacity as well as noise and disruption to services until late
spring 2008. This may result in long waiting times to find a
seat and gain access to microfilm/microfiche readers, computer
terminals and original documents.
ATTIC ARCHIVE
Are you sitting on old
letters from a long lost generation that talk of grand tea parties,
village scandals or wartime romances? Have you inherited a box of
shrapnel or an ancient wedding dress? Denham Productions are making a new
TV series for ITV Westcountry and ITV West. They
are interested in unearthing hidden treasures relating to the
Westcountry, not for their monetary value but to tell the People’s
History of Britain, and produce a kind of People's Archive.
Free online access to
The National Archives
announced recently that it had agreed free onsite
internet access to the births, marriages and deaths indexes
through findmypast.com, the UK family history website. We
reported this briefly on 16th January in the Latest News
section of the FFHS website.
Competition Winners |
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If you require a printed copy of the FFHS
Ezine please contact: |
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