Federation Of Family History Societies

General Register Office (GRO) Digitisation and Indexing (D&I) Project

 

The following link will take you to an update on the IPS/GRO website: http://www.ips.gov.uk/cps/rde/xchg/ips_live/hs.xsl/1090.htm.

I have written to the GRO as follows:

“While I accept that it might be too early to confirm the details, I would like an assurance that the previous promises made by GRO in connection with DoVE and MAGPIE will be carried over to the new project.  I understand that they included the following three items of data from the start of Civil Registration (i.e. the indexes for the Jul-Sep quarter of 1837):

“Indexes of Births: Maiden Surname of Mother - currently only included from the Jul-Sep quarter of 1911 onwards;

“Indexes of Marriages: Surname of Spouse - currently only included from the Jan-Mar quarter of 1912 onwards;

“Indexes of Deaths: Age at Death - currently only included from the Jan-Mar quarter of 1866 until the Jan-Mar quarter of 1949 (after which the date of birth is shown).

“I know from past experience of IT projects that if particular requirements are not set out initially it can be very expensive to incorporate them subsequently and so they are omitted, when inclusion from outset could have been achieved at relatively little extra cost.  It is for this reason that I believe IPS/GRO should be consulting with representatives of users NOW so that the best value for money can be obtained from this project.”

Roger Lewry
FFHS Archives Liaison

7 April 2010