Finding Footprints

While packing up her deceased father's house, this young researcher made an incredible discovery which kickstarted her family tree.

Beyond the records: adding colour to your tree - Ancestry UK Blog I was visiting an old friend recently who I had not seen in some years. We talked about our lives and our jobs and all that had happened since we had last met. She was very interested to hear about Ancestry and immediately began to tell me about her father. Her father passed away in Read More

FF Timeline extracts: Military

First Afghan War - 1839-1842



In 1839, British troops invaded Afghanistan to support its deposed ruler, Shah Shuja. After initial success, by 1842 they had withdrawn in disarray.

Did you know?

* The British East India Company (EIC) governed large parts of India at the time of the Afghan War, and had its own army.
* When the British sought to expand their influence across India's borders and into Afghanistan, the capital, Kabul, fell without a shot being fired.
* When things went wrong, some 15,000 retreating British troops and followers were massacred, with only a handful of survivors.
* Officers were allowed ten servants each, and two camels were needed to carry the ci**rs for the officers of one regiment.

Picture attached: Farmer near ruined Afghan military academy, where the British were overrun

Useful resources:

East India Company army pension and service records
Before 1858, the EIC governed the whole of India. To ensure its authority, separate armies were established for each of the three main Presidencies it ruled, namely Bengal, Madras and Bombay. There are few 'service records' as such, but there are summaries of service, and payment ledgers of the various military funds that served as pensions for ex-officers and soldiers. Surviving material can be found at the Oriental and India Office Library at the British Library.
East India Company musters and pay lists
As well as service histories of your ancestors, you can also look for surviving regimental musters and pay lists for the EIC's army. However you need to know which army he served in, whether they were with the native infantry or cavalry, and then in which regiment. Printed sources such as the Indian Army List can help. These records can be found at the Oriental and India Office Library at the British Library.
Operational records and official histories
Many important military men in EIC service wrote memoirs or kept diaries that tell you about the activities of an army in the field, whilst you can also access printed official histories written about many campaigns fought in India. The best place to start looking for such material is at the Oriental and India Office Library at the British Library.

Do you have any family heirlooms that you still use today?

Just a couple of reasons why we raise a wee dram of whisky to this famous Scotsman each year.

10 things you didn’t know about Robert Burns - Ancestry UK Blog Every year on January 25, people around the UK don their tartan, rustle up a tasty plate of haggis and recite some rhymes in honour of Scotland’s favourite son, Robert Burns. But Burn’s Night is more than just a good reason to raise a ‘wee dram’ of whisky while enthusiastically belting Auld ...

Find out more about the new Jersey Parish Church Records on Ancestry and some of the famous names you might spy in the records, including a famous 'wholesale druggist' and one of golf's first international superstars.

Philanthropists and artistes in the new Jersey Parish Church Records - Ancestry UK Blog This blogpost about the Jersey Parish Church Records was written by Online Development Manager, Michele Leerson. Michele is responsible for the development of online resources at Jersey Archive. Online resources available through the Archive’s online catalogue – include wills and testaments, fun...

How to start your family tree

Wondering where to begin with your family history? Get started with our step by step guide.

1. Start with your own family

Begin by writing down the date and place of your birth (and marriage if applicable) for yourself, spouse and children, and the crucial dates for your parents, including birth, marriage and death. This is the start of your family tree and you can now work back generation-by-generation.

2. Gather family history records

Search your attic and ask other family members for family history treasures such as photos, birth, certificates, apprenticeship records, etc. These will form the basis of your research and will give you clues to start you on your journey of discovering the next generation of your ancestors.

3. Draw up a family tree

Now that you’ve collected some information, it’s time to draw up a basic family tree. Plot the youngest generation of the family at the bottom of the page, allocating a box to each person, with the oldest child on the left and subsequent siblings listed to the right of the previous name.

Next, create vertical lines to connect each sibling to the two parents (with the father shown to the left of the mother) and write the parents’ crucial dates as in generation one, creating a new horizontal line of ancestors for each generation.

4. Work backwards

However tempting it might be to try to prove a link to someone far in the past, always work backwards from yourself when creating your family tree, finding your parents, then their parents, and so on.

If you discover information about one of your ancestors on an internet forum or online tree, always double check the facts before adding the data to your own tree.

5. Discover those first crucial records

With your fledgling tree drawn up, it’s now time to start exploring birth, marriage and death records to discover more ancestors. You can search for certificates for each of these events using the free General Register Office indexes at websites such as Freereg.org.uk

A birth certificate will give you the names and occupation of the parents (your next generation of ancestors); marriage certificates provide age and occupations, plus details of the father of the bride and groom (another generation); whilst death certificates give age and cause of death.

6. Explore the internet

Family history doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby, there are lots of free of charge websites to get you started.

The National Archives catalogue allows you to search 32 million records to find out where in the UK and online more than 2,500 different archives are located. Cyndi’s List is another great starting point for exploring family history online.

7. Keep track of your research

As you discover new ancestors, it’s all too easy to lose track of your paperwork or online research. Start a research log as soon as you can and use this to record which ancestors you’ve searched for and where you looked; saving yourself from repeating the same search further down the line.

If your findings are mainly recorded electronically, use a memory stick as a safeguard should you lose access to your data.

8. Join a family history society

Consider joining a family history society either in your local area, or the society that covers the area where your ancestors lived.

Not only will you benefit from a regular journal, talks and events, you’ll also be able to socialise and share tips with other enthusiasts, both in person and online.

9. Break through that brick wall

If you reach what seems like a dead end with our family tree, don’t despair! Even the most experienced family historians face research challenges. Online forums can be a great source of help and encouragement, or consider leaving the query and moving to another branch of your tree, coming back to look at the problem with a fresh eye further down the line.

10. Visit an archive

Now that you’ve mastered the basics, plan a trip to your local history or library, where you can consult original documents, browse maps and plans, or perhaps attend a help session or workshop.

What next?

One of the best things about tracing your ancestors is that this is a quest which you can enjoy for years to come.

We wish you the very best on your ancestral adventures and we're always here to help you along the way.

Join the Finding Footprints community and share your questions, findings, and family stories with thousands of like-minded family historians.

FF Timeline extracts: Military

Battle of Waterloo - 1815



Britain and her allies joined with the Prussian army at Waterloo, to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte's French army decisively on Belgian soil.

Did you know?

* Allied forces at Waterloo numbered 67,000 men under the command of the Duke of Wellington.
* The battle took place on 18 June 1815 and lasted nearly 11 hours.
* Allied and Prussian losses were about 15,000 and 8,000 respectively.
* Napoleon had built up his army from veterans, disenchanted peasants and conscripts, all hastily trained.

Picture shows an unclaimed Waterloo medal, 1815

Useful resources:

Army service and pension records
If your ancestor was in the army at the time of the Battle of Waterloo, you should look for his service or pension records. These are stored at The National Archives, and contain details of where a given soldier was born, his age at enlistment, and discharge information.
Separate records exist for officers.
Army musters and pay lists
Many soldiers were not discharged to pension, so you may have to look for some of the names you are researching in the British army's quarterly or monthly pay lists and musters. These records do not contain much personal information, but you can compile a complete career history if you know the regiment in which a particular person served. The records are stored at The National Archives.
Waterloo Medal Roll
To reward the soldiers who fought at Waterloo, a special commemorative medal was struck. Anyone who saw service during the battle was deemed eligible to receive one, and a roll was compiled to oversee the distribution of the awards. The roll is now available at The National Archives.

Have you ever written the memoirs of someone in your family?

FF Timeline extracts: Military

Napoleonic Wars - 1792-1815



The English Light Horse Brigade attacking French Artillery
After the French Revolution of 1789 Britain was involved in a series of campaigns, known as the Napoleonic Wars, against Napoleon Bonaparte's forces on land and sea.

Did you know?

* In 1798 Horatio Nelson won his first great victory against the French navy in the Battle of the Nile.
* 110,000 died in the Battle of the Nations, in 1813.
* Both prostitutes and wives travelled with the British army; many gave birth in army camps.
* The Light Dragoons captured the silver chamberpot of Joseph Bonaparte, which became the regimental punchbowl.

Useful Resources:

Military service and pension records
If your ancestor was in the army during the Napoleonic Wars, you should look for his service or pension records. These are stored at The National Archives, and contain details of where the soldier was born, his age at enlistment, and discharge information.
Separate records exist for officers.
Limited pension and service material survives for naval ratings, warrant officers and commissioned officers. These records are stored at The National Archives.
Military musters, pay lists and official histories
Many soldiers were not discharged to pension, so you may have to look for them in the quarterly or monthly pay lists and musters. Although these records do not contain much personal information, you can compile a complete career history - though you will need to know the regiment in which they served. The records are stored at the National Archives.
Similarly, sailors moved from vessel to vessel and you can trace their movements via ships' pay lists and musters, provided you know the name of at least one ship on which they served. These records are also at The National Archives.
Military births, marriages and deaths
In addition to civil registration, introduced in Britain at various dates from the mid-19th century, the army and navy kept their own records relating to the marriages and deaths of their members, as well as payments to military widows. These records can be searched on microfilm at the National Archives and various family history centres.
It is also worth searching the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database for information on burials.

FF:TIP

If you are starting to compile your family tree the best advice is to work backwards in time. Start with a person whose full name you know, together with identifying details such as place and date of birth, marriage or death.

You will usually find tracing a Scottish line of descent back to 1855 fairly straightforward but going beyond 1855 can be more difficult.

FF Timeline extracts: Military

First Gulf War - 1990-1991


The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait prompted an American-led coaltion to go to war in the Gulf, forcing Saddam Hussein's army back across the border in 'the mother of all battles'.

Did you know?
* The United Nations declared Iraqi action in invading Kuwait illegal, and under Resolution 678 authorised the use of force if Iraq did not withdraw.
* On 16 January 1991, coalition aircraft began bombarding Iraqi positions in Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Storm - the attempt to force an Iraqi retreat.
* Iraqi SCUD missile attacks on Israel raised fears that retaliation by that country would break the fragile coalition of Western powers with Arab states.
* More than 1,000 coalition sorties were flown in the first 24 hours of Operation Desert Storm.

Pic: A British soldier takes aim with 5.56mm rifle (photo: Press Association)

The countdown is on to St Patrick's Day which means there's no better time to learn more about what your DNA could tell you about being Irish.

What does our DNA tell us about being Irish? - Ancestry UK Blog Saint Patrick’s Day is a time of year when those with Irish heritage around the world celebrate being Irish. With the launch of AncestryDNA in the UK & Ireland we have an opportunity to show a different view of Irishness using genetics. Using DNA With AncestryDNA, all customers receive a unique es...

FF Timeline extracts: Military

Falklands War - 1982


A British taskforce was despatched to the south Atlantic in 1982, to liberate the Falkland Islands after Argentine forces had invaded them, and taken control.

Did you know?
* The Falklands Islands, situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina, are a British dependency. At the time of the war, the population of the islands was around 2,000.
* Argentine forces invaded South Georgia, a dependency of the Falkland Islands, on 19 March 1982 before landing on the Falklands on 2 April.
* On 2 May 1982, the Argentine warship General Belgrano was sunk, though it was outside an agreed battle exclusion zone. Two days later HMS Sheffield was destroyed, in retaliation.
* 20 were killed and 260 survivors were rescued from HMS Sheffield.

Pic: Returning troops aboard the 'Queen Elizabeth II'

Did your British or Irish ancestors try for a new life Canada? Here are nine Canadian resources to help you on your search.

9 resources for researching your Canadian ancestors - Ancestry UK Blog While researching your British ancestry, you might discover that some of your family may have decided to try for a ‘new life’ in other parts of the world. In this blog post, Penny Allen, a Canadian who works as a Librarian in Greenwich and specialises in Canadian genealogy, discusses Canadian im...

Are you a keen genealogy blogger?

7 marketing secrets every genealogy blogger should know - Ancestry UK Blog Have you ever clicked ‘publish’ on what you believe to be a brilliantly crafted genealogy blog post, sat back and waited for the tidal wave of comments, likes and shares, only to witness nothing more than a ripple of interest? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. But there are steps you can take t...

From the horse and coach to the building of London's famous Underground system, find your ancestors or learn more about the proud men and women of Transport for London in Ancestry's new London Transport Staff Registers, 1863-1931.

We all make mistakes. Here are 5 you could be making in your family history research.

Five Mistakes to Avoid When Researching Your Family History - Ancestry UK Blog We all make mistakes! The key to success in family history research, as in life, is to learn from them. In an effort to guide you through your genealogical journey, we have created this list containing the top five mistakes to avoid when researching your family tree. 1. Assuming a family name is onl...

FF Timeline extracts: Military

Korean War - 1950-1953


The Korean War was fought between the communist North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union, and the anti-communist South, with the backing of US and British troops.

Did you know?
* Within a few days of the outbreak of war, North Korea had nearly conquered the entire South Korean peninsular.
* Britain was among other Western nations to contribute armed forces to South Korea, along with the US delegation.
* Britain sustained 686 fatalities during the three-year conflict, with 1,000 soldiers missing in action or taken as prisoners of war.
* Officially, the war has never ended - but a ceasefire has held since 27 July 1953.

Did your family rub shoulders with these famous faces from Wiltshire? Claire Skinner, Principal Archivist at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre identifies some of the famous names you can see in the new Wiltshire Parish Registers.

FF Timeline extracts: Military

D-Day - 1944


On 6 June 1944, Allied troops established beachheads on the Normandy coast, allowing a sea-borne invasion that led to the liberation of German-occupied France.

Did you know?
* Prior to the Normandy landings, the Allies fed false intelligence to the Germans, leading them to suspect that an invasion would take place elsewhere.
* One day before the landings, minesweepers cleared ten lanes through German minefields in the English Channel.
* Operation Overlord, as the assault was named, was nearly abandoned due to poor weather.
* During the first two months of the Normandy campaign, nearly 11,000 British troops were killed.

Pic: Operation Neptune assault landings

85 years and a little bit of family history research later, brothers Norman and Gerry finally found each other.

Watch their story at: http://ancstry.me/2pwFg3Q

FF Timeline extracts: Working Life

Miners' Strike - 1984



The 1984 conflict between the National Union of Miners and the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher signalled the decline of the British coal industry.

Did you know?
* The miners' strike lasted a year and was one of the longest and possibly most damaging industrial disputes ever seen in Britain.
* The strike only began to crumble when the National Coal Board offered miners various pay incentives to return to work.
* A South Wales taxi driver lost his life, when a concrete block was dropped onto his car as he drove a working miner to start his shift.
* In order to eat many families had to rely on food parcels, often organised by women's support groups and paid for by public donations.

Pic: Miners at Mid-Glamorgan coal mine, 1989

Useful resources:

Trade union records
Information on the miners' strike can be found in the records of the Trade Union movement. These are likely to be scattered across a range of archives.
Newspaper and media coverage
The Miner's Strike was reported extensively in all newspapers. A good place to start your research is the British Newspaper Library, Colindale, north London.
You might also find information reported on a national level. Check the 'Times Digital Archive', which is available at many libraries and archives, including the British Library.
Coal Mining Records
Mining records from as far back as 1850, Individual Collieries, Labour Relations and Disputes and Health and Safety

Did you know red hair is a genetic mutation? Both parents must be carriers of the mutated MC1R gene to be able to produce redhead offspring. Do you have a history of redheads in your family's DNA?

FF Timeline extracts: Working Life

National Farm Survey - 1943



All farms were assessed for productivity during 1943, providing a unique snapshot of British agriculture. The survey covered 14 per cent of holdings of 5 acres and over.

Did you know?
* The survey dealt with type of farming, length of occupation, and the managerial efficiency of occupiers - and much more.
* Many Italian prisoners of war worked on the land to increase productivity.
* The Community Farming Society (CFS) was founded to train conscientious objectors who wanted to work in farming.
* Post-war food shortages meant that the Women's Land Army continued until 1950.

Pic: National Farm Survey map, Spalding, Lincolnshire

Useful Resources:

National Farm Survey maps and plans
Records generated by the National Farm Survey provide information on the owner or tenant farmer, along with an assessment of the state of the farm.
Trade directories
The names and addresses of farmers can be traced through local trade and commercial directories.
More trade directories will be available at the relevant local archive, and there is a great national collection at the Guildhall Library.

What's one story about your ancestors that you love telling other people?

© Hulton Archive, Fox Photos

You'll find no stiff poses or eyes mid-blink in these family photos. Check out these nine photographers who are bringing a new lease of life to the humble family photo.

Nine great family photographs In their new book, Family Photography Now, Sophie Howarth and Stephen McLaren showcase innovative photographers who change the way we think about the humble family snap

Feel like your research is up against a brick wall? Here's some tips to bring that wall down. What would you add to the list?

The dreaded brick wall and what to do next - Ancestry UK Blog   When you run across a brick wall in your research, what do you do? You may be tempted to send your laptop on an expedition out of the first floor window, and who could blame you? A brick wall can be incredibly frustrating. Some researchers might advise you to abandon the individual concerned for ...

How a simple chat about football sparked one mum's curiosity around family history.

FF Timeline extracts: Working Life

World War Two Employment - 1939-1945



Many men worked in reserved occupations such as the steel industry or mining during the war. Many women who volunteered before the war joined the civil defence.

Did you know?
* Flexible working hours and nurseries soon became commonplace, to accommodate the needs of working women with children.
* From 1943 men were conscripted to work in the mines. They were called Bevin Boys after the Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin.
* From December 1941, only single women aged 20-30 were conscripted, but by mid-1943, almost 90 per cent of single women and 80 per cent of married women were employed.
* Post-war food shortages meant that the Women's Land Army continued until 1950.

Pic: Dorothy Crouch, 21, assembles nose and tail parts on a mortar bomb

Useful Resources:

Work on the Home Front
Although there is no distinct set of records for employment on the Home Front during the war, policy files from the Home Office are stored at The National Archives.
You will find records about your community during the war at the relevant local archive.
Bevin Boys
If your ancestor was conscripted to work in the mines during World War Two, you should consider looking for information about local pits.

A New Years resolution perhaps?
Tracing your family tree?
Tracing a long lost relative?
Unsure where to start? Finding Footprints is here to lend a hand!

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Finding Footprints Thinking of tracing your family tree? Researching your family history? Maybe even finding a long lost