Ancestry have released the pension records for Metropolitan Police officers covering the period 1852 – 1932.

The searchable database consists of transcripts and scanned images of the original records held by the National Archives.

The records hold a wealth of information including…

• Name
• Date and place of birth
• Physical description
• Names of Parents
• Career details such as ranks held, dates of promotion and length of service
• Next of Kin
• Address
• Pension payment amount

All rich information to build a picture of your copper!

If you find your police ancestor, just be aware that the information on each officer spans more than one scanned image. So make sure you click to view the next page too!

Get sleuthing like your ancestor here:

Metropolitan Police Pension Registers, 1852-1932

Last March findmypast announced plans to release the 1939 Register…

And after a L O N G build up (the teases) the project is finally complete.

Over 40 million records held at The National Archives have been restored, scanned and transcribed to produce a fully searchable database for your sleuthing delight.

Get cracking here…

Search the 1939 Register on findmypast

What Is The 1939 Register?

At the outbreak of the Second World War the government undertook an assessment of the population in order to issue identity cards, ration books and aid other planning (e.g. conscription).

On 29^th September 1939 each household completed a form to provide the government with the following information about each household member:

• Address
• Name
• Sex
• Date of Birth
• Marital Status
• Occupation
• Membership of the armed forces or reserves

Unlike the census records the exact date of birth is recorded which will make it much easier to track down other records, such as birth certificates.

Citizens were also asked to record any other names they had previously been known by, such as maiden names. This extra information should help you to track down the correct birth and marriage certificate much quicker.

Plus, the details of any name changes by deed poll could help you solve some mysteries!

What’s also great about this record set is that it was maintained right up until 1996, so any future name changes are also recorded.

The records for anyone born less than 100 years ago will be closed to protect the privacy of the living. As time passes more records will be released as individuals pass the 100 year old threshold.

However, you will be able to request that a record for someone born less than 100 years ago is opened if you can provide proof of death.

How Do I Access The 1939 Register?

The 1939 Register records are available to search on the findmypast website from today.

The database is free to search and you can see a preview of the record transcription before you commit to purchasing the full record.

The preview will show name, year born and place of residence. The number of other people in the household is also shown with a breakdown of how many are available to view now, and how many are closed due to the 100 year rule.

With the 1931 census destroyed by fire, no 1941 census due to the war and the 1921 census not due for release until at least 2021, the 1939 Register really is a crucial resource.

It enables you to connect the dots from the Victorian generation recorded on the 1911 census to the present day…

…and provides a fascinating insight into your ancestors lives as they prepare for 6 years of war.

Start discovering your family’s wartime story with the 1939 Register here.

Crew lists for Merchant Navy ships are held by several different archives and there is no index to the names listed.

But thanks to an exciting new record release things got a little bit easier this week…

The National Maritime Museum and The National Archives have been working in partnership to make the crew lists for the year 1915 available online for the first time.

Around 39,000 crew lists have been scanned and transcribed by volunteers from all over the world to mark the First World War centenary.

The searchable database went live this week and contains the names of 750,000 people…

Crew Lists of the British Merchant Navy – 1915

Once you have found a record of your ancestor on a ship you can view a scanned image of the original crew list which reveals…

• Name and Official Number of Ship
• Name
• Year of Birth or Age
• Address
• Last Ship Served On and Year of Discharge
• Date and Place Agreement Signed
• Rank or Rating
• Date To Be On Board
• Details of Wages Paid
• Date, Place and Cause of Discharge

If you are tracing the career of a Merchant Navy man during the First World War this could provide a massive breakthrough in your research.

I was actually planning a trip to the National Maritime Museum in a couple of weeks to look up a crew list for my Great Grandfather. I’d finally found the name of a ship on a WW1 medal roll and had tracked down the crew list to the National Maritime Museum.

But thanks to this new release I found not only the record I was looking for but also the names of three other ships I knew nothing about. I have now traced all of his voyages for the year 1915…

…and thanks to the Last Ship Served On information I now also have the name of a ship he served on previously in 1914. The crew list for that ship is at The National Archives which is my next port of call…

The site of Saint Dunstan and All Saints has been a place of worship for East Enders for over 1000 years.

The current Grade I listed building dates from the 15th century. A bomb blast during WWII may have taken out the stain glass windows but the building itself miraculously still stands.

St. Dunstan’s is also known as the “Church of the High Seas” due to its strong connections with the Merchant Navy and marine trades. You can see the Merchant Navy flag The Red Ensign flying from the tower in the picture to the right. Many mariners and merchant navy men worshipped here and were laid to rest in the churchyard.

The church’s 10 bells are referenced in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons – “Pray when will that be, say the bells of Stepney”

If you have Stepney ancestors in your family tree then it’s highly likely that you will find some trace of them at St. Dunstan’s.

Here is a guide to the parish records available…

Where Are The Original Parish Registers Held?

Saint Dunstan and All Saints only hold the most recent parish records. The older registers are kept at the London Metropolitan Archives.

The table below shows you the years covered by the registers that survive and where they are kept…

What Records Are Available Online?

Ancestry have worked in partnership with the London Metropolitan Archives to scan and transcribe their collection of parish records, which includes Saint Dunstan and All Saints. You can search the database and view the scanned images of the original parish registers here:

• London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
• London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906
• London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
• London, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1980

If you’re not already a member of Ancestry you can get a 14 Day FREE Trial here.

How Can I See The Records Not Yet Available Online?

Saint Dunstan and All Saints

You can view microfilm copies of all the archived records for free at the London Metropolitan Archives.

The records are listed in chronological order, so you will need a rough date of the event you are looking for to begin your search…

However, there are transcripts of some of the records available on microfilm allowing you to search for records by surname. The years covered by the transcripts are shown below:

Further Resources

www.stdunstanstepney.com – Saint Dunstan’s website is well worth checking out for its fantastic collection of historical photographs that capture both the church and the community it served.

findmypast have worked in partnership with Devon Heritage Services to scan and transcribe the original parish registers held by both the Devon Record Office in Exeter and the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple.

Baptisms, marriages, banns and burial records are included for the vast majority of Anglican parishes in the area and include notable Devonshire folk such as Charles Babbage, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Agatha Christie.

The new data set is now available to search on the findmypast website and offers full colour scans of the original records covering the period 1538 – 1915.

Devon Baptisms

Devon Banns Registers 1538-1915

Devon Marriages

Devon Burials

The remaining areas of Devon are covered by the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office whose records are already available to search on the site.

With the addition of this latest release findmypast can now boast the biggest collection of parish records for the county and are a go-to resource for anyone with ancestors in the area.

The records detail the service of over 4.2 million non-commissioned officers and other ranks who served between 1914 and 1920. The level of detail recorded for each person varies but typically you can expect to find:

• Name
• Date and place of Birth
• Service Number
• Rank
• Regiment and Unit/Battalion
• Date and details of attestation

An individual’s service record can also contain several documents covering details of attestation, medical history, occupation records and casualty records. Using these documents you can piece together the dates and details to reveal your ancestor’s Great War story.

Unfortunately only around one third of service records for the period survive. The rest were destroyed during a fire after a bombing raid in the Second World War. Evidence of this incident can still be seen on the surviving records with many showing burn marks round the edges, hence the name “The Burnt Documents”.

Also included in the release are the service records of soldiers who were discharged from the army due to injury or illness and claimed a pension. These records were stored in a different location to the main collection of service records and were therefore not affected by the fire.

This is not the first release of these records online…

Both record sets have been available to search on Ancestry for some time.

However findmypast have worked in partnership with The National Archives, who hold the original documents, to produce a brand new index and transcriptions of the records. During the process they found several lists of men buried in the records that had not previously been indexed. With the addition of these soldiers Findmypast now boast the most thorough database of the service records (WO 363) and pension records (WO 364) for the First World War.

Start your search here:

British Army Service Records 1914-1920

The Imperial War Museum’s Lives of the First World War is an ambitious project with one simple aim…

…to tell the story of every single man and woman who fought and served to push Britain to victory in the First World War.

To realise this vision the Imperial War Museum have created an innovative new digital platform which will eventually hold a life story page for everyone who served.

Members of the public are encouraged to help build up as full a picture as possible of the people whose contribution they want to commemorate by adding their personal stories, photographs and images.

Users can also group individuals together in communities such as regiments, local football teams, family groups or everyone commemorated on a particular memorial for example.

Finding 8 million people and creating pages for each of them is a daunting task to say the least, so how does it work?

The Medal Index Cards (one of the biggest surviving record sets covering people who served in the First World War) have been used as a seed record to get things started.

So at the moment a life story page exists for everyone who has a Medal Card Index record. There are many people of course who do not appear in these records and so more seed record sets will be added as the project progresses.

The IWM are also working in partnership with DC Thompson Family History, owners of Findmypast, to provide access to official records such as census returns, BMD records and additional military records on the site.

You can attach these official records and fill in the details of the facts they reveal, such as date and place of birth, names of family members, occupation etc, to build the life story page of an individual.

IWM are committed to keeping and maintaining Lives of the First World War as a lasting, permanent memorial. Help preserve your family tales and mementoes for future generations by uploading stories, photos and images of memorabilia such as medals and diaries to the life story pages of the WW1 heroes in your family.

I just love the idea that you can pay tribute to your ancestors by telling their story in as much detail as possible in this way. I have been lucky enough to be a beta tester for the site prior to launch and have already started adding to the life story page of my great grandfather Thomas Hewitt, who served in the Royal Engineers.

The more I uncover and research any family member who fought for their country during this dreadful war the more in awe of them I become.

The terrible conditions and awful sights they must have endured…

The sense of duty and the strength of character they must have had to carry on until the end…

It really is inspiring.

I have family members who survived and lived with the memories and lasting wounds of that dreadful time…

And family members who paid the ultimate price.

It will be an honour to commemorate them all on Lives of the First World War.

To take part in this extraordinary project and start telling your ancestor’s stories, visit the website here www.livesofthefirstworldwar.org

Spanning the years 1883 to 1942, the records include the details of those who served in the First and Second World War plus smaller campaigns such as the Boer War.

Attestation papers were filled out upon new recruits joining the Royal Artillery and were revisited and added to throughout their career.

The details you can expect to find vary depending on the period your ancestor served. The earlier records pre-1930 contain the greatest amount of information including:

• Full name
• Regimental number
• Age on attestation
• Date and place of attestation
• Any existing trade or occupation
• Place of birth
• Next of kin
• Details of marriage and children
• Details of service including campaigns served in, wounds sustained and medals awarded
• Details of discharge and pension

findmypast have scanned and transcribed the original enlistment books to produce a fully searchable record set released as part of their 100in100 campaign.

Start your search here:

Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942

Also released are The Royal Artillery Other Ranks Casualty Cards covering the Second World War period.

Around 30,000 who lost their lives serving in the Royal Artillery between 1939 and 1946 are listed.

The information recorded includes full name, rank, number, age, birthplace, cause of death and when and where killed.

The original records for both these new record sets are held by The Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich. The museum is open to the public and houses exhibits designed to give you a taste of life as a gunner during war time. So if you find an ancestor in the collection and want to find out more it may well be worth a visit!

Richard Caldwell, who spent four years in a reform school for stealing a pigeon.

Ancestry have released thousands of records detailing Yorkshire’s 19th century criminals and young offenders.

The West Yorkshire Collection 1779-1914 includes four new fully searchable record sets enabling family historians to track down Yorkshire ancestors on both sides of the law…

Over 9,000 young offenders can be found in the reformatory school records for West Yorkshire. These include admission and discharge registers for Calder Farm Reformatory, East Moor Community Home School, and Shadwell Children’s Centre.

Reform schools were set up as an alternative to prison to provide young ne’er-do-wells an opportunity to get their lives back on the straight and narrow. The schools were based on strong discipline, education and training as a way out of a life of crime.

One boy listed is Richard Cardwell, aged 12 years, who in 1909 was sentenced to 4 years at East Moor Community Home School for stealing a pigeon! They certainly had a zero tolerance policy in those days…

Vital details covered in the records include name, age, birth date and birthplace. And in some cases additional information such as physical description, details of family members and remarks on behaviour can also be found along with photographs.

Records on adult offenders can also now be discovered in the West Yorkshire, England, Prison Records, 1801-1914.

Over 30,000 inmates of Wakefield Prison and St. John’s Community Home School are covered in the release.

Information on each offender includes age, name, occupation, offence, sentence and dates of admission and discharge. There may also be physical descriptions and remarks on the prisoner’s history.

But it’s not just robbers…the cops can also be found too…

West Yorkshire, England, Police Records, 1833-1914 offers details relating to the appointment and careers of around 32,000 local policemen.

And West Yorkshire, England, Militia, 1779-1826 covers almost 3000 militia men.

Ancestry have worked in partnership with the West Yorkshire Archive Service to publish these rich record sets for the first time offering a fascinating insight into Victorian law and order.

Working in partnership with the Shropshire Archives, findmypast have transcribed the original parish registers to provide a fully searchable database with around 155,000 scanned colour images available to download.

The collection contains baptisms, banns, marriages and burials spanning right back to the 1500s for over 200 parishes in the county.

Although the vast majority of records are from Anglican parishes some non-conformist records can also be found in the collection. These include Methodist, Baptist, Unitarian, United Reform Church and Congregational.

This is the first time these Shropshire parish records have been published online… so a record that previously would have required a visit to the Shropshire Archives can now be found from the comfort of your own home!

Use the links below to start your search…

Shropshire Baptisms 1538-1900

Shropshire Banns 1760-1900

Shropshire Marriages 1538-1900

Shropshire Burials 1538-1900