News & Information

Congratulations are due to one of our honorary life-members, Stanley Baker.  On April 24th he was awarded the Mayors’ Award for Services to the Weston-super-Mare Town Council.  It was in recognition of the enormous part he has played with the Society in producing a searchable database for all the graves in Weston Municipal Cemetery in Milton Road. 

Congratulations Stan! – it is great that all the work you have done has been recognised and at 95 your grasp of some of the modern technology puts all of us in awe of you! You’re so much more than a Silver Surfer! 

The photograph shows the actual presentation in the Blakehay Theatre by the Town Mayor, Councillor Keith Morris.

I’m the eternal optimist –

• I know that one day I will find out where my 4 x great grandparents, Robert & Hester LONG were hiding before they married in St Mary’s Church, Bitton in Gloucestershire in 1767.  This was one of the very first things I found out when I started researching in 1975.  Armed with information from my grandfather and visiting the church (where in those days they kept the parish records) I was able to trace my family back to their marriage but I've never got behind it!. 
• I know that one day I’ll discover that one of my family was involved in some epoch making event - (other than Jack the Ripper!) – And I’ll find a well documented and resourced account of whatever they did.
• I know that one day FindmyPast will again be a site which I can wholeheartedly recommend as I have always done previously.  For those of you who have been reduced to shouting at your computer with frustration during the past month as you try to work out why  those facilities with which we were all so familiar and were so useful to us have apparently disappeared take a look at this video.  It does explain the reasoning behind the changes and I have noticed that in the last few days changes are beginning to take place to restore some of the missing features.

If you need to talk over a brickwall or to get someone else’s suggestions on how to progress do come in to the Library one Saturday between 2.00 and 3.30pm and see if we can help.  You do not have to be a member and you do not have to book. 

To facilitate a weekly presence in Weston Library is a great commitment and the Society is very grateful to those who have volunteered to help.  You do not need to be available every week – even if you think you could come in just once a month Maureen Harvey would be very pleased to hear from you.  You can contact her by using the Contact Us button on this site and choosing Weston Library Enquiries as the Category and your message will be forwarded to her.  You do not need to be an expert in every branch of family history research - we're not! - but we aim to give  people the confidence to discover their own family history and to know where to ask when stuck .  

Some web sites which may be of interest

• If you are researching Essex ancestors FamilySearch has just added nearly half a million baptisms, marriages and deaths to their free site.
• Similarly FamilySearch has also updated their Dorset Records - it is always a good idea to check to see if more records have become available
• The Families in British India Society has recently added many of its records to FindmyPast but you can still access them free of charge on its own site.
• The Gazette, or as it used to be known the London Gazette, is a very useful free source of information.   This short video explains the workings of the Gazette and its function in the recording of official information.  If you’ve not used the Gazette before do take a look – I’m sure you will find it useful and some unexpected information may turn up.
• Pathe News has released a selection of films taken at the time of WW1.  The whole Pathe collection which is now available gives a fascinating background to our research

How are you getting on with your WW1 research?  We are all familiar with the large WW1 Cemeteries in France but it is also humbling to see how many casualties were buried in this country.    You can search The Commonwealth War Graves Commission site for Cemeteries, and then narrow it down to WW1 personnel.  Why not search to see how many people from WW1 are buried in local cemeteries and churchyards.  For example:  On the CWGC home page click on “Find a Cemetery” - choose United Kingdom as the Country and then enter the name of a parish – perhaps the home parish of your family - it doesn’t have to be in the Weston-super-Mare area.

Just a reminder that the deadline for WW1 related articles for Buckets & Spades is the 20th of May – earlier if you can.  Contact Paul Tracey if you have any queries about suitability or presentation. Use the Contact Us Button on this web site and choose Journal Editor as the Category. Caroline Morris is coordinating the exhibition of WW1 material for our Open Day on July 12th and would love to hear from you about what you have to display. Use the Contact Us Button on this web site and choose Memories of WW1 as the Category.  

I’ve just found this Post Card in an aunt’s effects.  It’s dated 1906 probably Battersea but can anyone make any suggestions about why a Wedmore lad should be member of the Band of the Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service (Rifle Volunteers) which appears to have strong London connections.  Reg PUDDY who sent the card later lived in Weston ran a Dairy in West Street and leased the Thatched Cottage Cafe on the sea front for several years. Any suggestions by using the comment facility at the end of this item.

The next Buckets and Spades will be special.  Dedicated to those who were alive during The Great War.  Lets make this special.  Do you have any snippets of information about your ancestor in WW1?  If you wish to put an article together, however short or submit a photograph please do contact me via the website.  The deadline for articles is Tuesday 20 May.

Caroline

Project leader - Memories of WW1

The next edition of Buckets & Spades will be dedicated to those who lived through World War One.

If you are working on any research for Memories of WW1 we need your project to be ready for the END OF MAY!

Have you thought about investigating what your relatives did between 1914 and 1918?  It is not too late to start and their story could be included in Buckets & Spades and our special Open Day in July.  It does not matter how small the research project is we want to know!  We already have some interesting stories to tell.  One of our members is working on research for an ancestor who dug trenches in WW1, others have nurses and land girls in WW1 and of course we do have soldiers and sailors.  Does anyone have a link with one of the early RAF pilots?

Do tell us your ancestors story especially if they have links to Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding district.

If you are working on a project please do contact Caroline Morris who is collating all the projects.

Have you ever thought of family history being like an Easter Egg Hunt?  Our ancestors seem to have hidden themselves away and are so difficult to find but the excitement of discovering them can be like eating chocolate – it makes you feel so good!  Some years ago, many months after Easter, when I was looking for something else, I found an egg which had eluded the family at Easter – again very much like family history - you discover something when you least expect it.  

It will soon be Easter but please note that there will not be a Help Session in Weston Library on Easter Saturday, the 19th April. But back to normal the following week! 

Our AGM at the end of March brought a number of pleasant surprises.

• Our Chairman, Brian Airey, in recognition of the 30 years since the first meeting of this society, had brought a cake to celebrate the occasion.
• Paul Tracey, our indefatigable webmaster and editor of Buckets and Spades was presented with a well deserved Honorary Life Membership of our Society. 
• After a year of Brian Airey fulfilling the triple role of Chairman, Secretary and Librarian, Mark Sayer was elected to take on the role of Secretary. 

Proposed change in Membership Rates

The membership also passed a proposal that from 2015 there would be a change in the subscription rate.  The annual rate remains at £9.00 for those members who accept a digital version of Buckets and Spades, but for those who prefer to read it in its current printed format there will be an increase to £12.00 per year for UK members and to £20.00 per year for those members who live outside of the UK.  It should be remembered that within our membership we also receive free access to the transcriptions of local parish records.  We recognise that the majority of members from outside UK are researching North Somerset families and that the availability of the transcriptions is particularly important to them. Although local members may not be researching local families they do benefit from the costs incurred in the monthly meeting with its speakers.

Try these Links

• On the research front, after the AGM, we looked at Internet Resources and Paul Tracey led us through some ideas for getting more use out of Google as a search engine and how to narrow down our searches.  For those of you who were not at the AGM, on Youtube there are several videos which look at the same area.  The Google Genealogist (new tips and tricks) is just one example.
• For those of you who want to use your North Somerset Library Cards to look at sites from home (with the exception of Ancestry) this is the new link to access the Online Services available to you.  If you live elsewhere in Somerset, Bristol, Bath or South Gloucestershire go to Librarieswest  and follow the links under “Explore our collections” - Online reference library. 
• For a little light relief take a look at Common Genealogy Mistakes – it comes with a warning that you should not follow the advice given but it may make you smile or nod wisely that you already know better!
• Many of you will have enjoyed and learned a lot from presentations given by Dr Janet Few so you may be interested in her web site – The History Interpreter – on this she keeps you up to date with her work and interests.    Having just celebrated Mothering Sunday, her article on “Grandparenthood – a family historian’s perspective” is particularly topical.

Looking Ahead

A reminder that the deadline for articles for the next issue of Buckets and Spades, which will be devoted to the commemoration of WW1, is May 31st.  Please submit your articles however small, to Paul Tracey – Your research can concern any aspect of the war in which you have an interest – for example:

• Stories handed down about life in the forces – on land, sea or in the air.
• What have you been told about life in this country during the war?
• How the war affected your family
• Any information about Women at War
• Military Hospitals in this area etc.

This probably seems a long way ahead but plans are in hand for our Open Day on July 12th at St Paul’s Church Hall – if you have any display material regarding your WW1 Research there will be the opportunity to show this at the Open Day.Caroline Morris is coordinating this exhibition and she is collecting exhibits and would welcome information which can be displayed.Do you have any WW1 memorabilia which can form part of this exhibition?Display Stands will be available. Please get in touch with Caroline – use the “Contact Us” button on the home page and choose the Category “Memories of WW1” – we all have family ancestors who lived through the Great War so we should all be able to contribute either to the journal or the Open Day Display or both.

During April, the Exhibition “Face to Face” continues at Weston-super-Mare Library.With free admission to the exhibition, it is a fascinating display of North Somerset People in photographs.It finishes on April 27th. More details can be seen on the Weston Town Council web site.  While on the Town Council Web site - have you seen this entry under Community?

The April Members’ Meeting on April 29th will feature our own member Pete Williams with a follow-up talk describing how he has successfully broken down some of his brick walls.   If you have any brickwalls why not ask for help - either by posting a Query on the Research Forum or by coming into the Library on a Saturday (but not Easter Saturday!)

The number of new people coming into the Library on a Saturday asking for help with their family history has been increasing and for those of us who form the volunteers it has been an intriguing exercise leading us into areas with which are sometimes new to us! We have been taken to American censuses sparked off by an enquiry concerning a guitar belonging to a member of The Beach Boys; to crew lists of sailing barges based in Bridgwater; to the Isle of Man TT Races looking for a fatality, as well as through the rather more familiar parish records , street directories and electoral rolls which are on the shelves. If anyone is thinking of joining the volunteers please come into Weston-super-Mare Library any Saturday just to see what goes on! It's a two-way process helping to break down brickwalls or to start someone off with their research.

• Getting started with Family History can be one of the most exciting times you will have doing your research. There are so many ways in which technology can speed up the initial hunt for your ancestors. This site from the BBC  gives some very general guidelines for successful family histpory research. The same site also has some interesting items concerning aspects of WW1 which you may not have thought about before.
• The Federation of Family History Societies has launched the 2014 edition of their ‘Really useful information leaflet’ which has an article ‘Tracing your First World War Ancestors’, written by Simon Fowler, as well as useful websites to help further your research. You can download the latest version from the FFHS website - just scroll down the page until you find the advertisement which simply says "Available for Download".
• At the meeting in February I mentioned the advantages in researching the whole family rather than just your direct ancestors. I know that many of you already do this but when you are beginning it is easy to overlook uncles, aunts and cousins who you may well be later mentioned in Wills, share the same occupations or be involved in looking after older relations. It gives you a rounded picture of your family.
• For those of you with Irish Ancestry have you seen the Irish Genealogy Toolkit site? It includes a very informative description of the recent WDYTYA with special reference to the General Register Office of Northern Ireland and an advance notice of their new online facility for viewing Irish Certificates for births, marriages and deaths which will soon be launched.
• During February more Welsh Newspapers were added to their free site.  As many news items were syndicated to multiple newspapers, even if you do not have Welsh ancestors, a search of the Welsh newspapers for articles concerning an individual surname or even just Weston-super-Mare or any other place (not in Wales) can be very enlightening.
• If you have found difficulty in locating Church of England christenings for your ancestors you may find that the England and Wales, Non-Conformist Record Indexes on Familysearch may be of help to you. Some of the baptismal registers are surprisingly detailed.

 It's our AGM in March and it will be followed by an update on resources that are available to assist our research.  Please bring with you details of any interesting sources you have used recently.  If you can bring examples of how they have assisted you that would be a bonus as with the wide range of our experiences we can all learn from each other.

Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum seek WW1 photos.

"We at the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum in Caernarfon are starting the mammoth task of looking for photos of individual soldiers from the RWF who were killed in the Great War.

We are trying to put each man’s name on display on a screen on the centenary of his death and would dearly love to be able to add a photograph of each man to go with his name.  It is a huge undertaking as there were over 10,400 men from the RWF that were killed.  But even if we only get a fraction of the photographs we believe it is worth doing.  Many of the RWF were from all over so we are asking please could you help?

Many families have photographs tucked away so this might prompt them to seek them out.  We accept scans or copies and any that appeared in newspapers, which often carried obituaries including photographs. We need as much information as possible to go with the photo to make sure we
fit the right photo to the right man – but sometimes a name and date of death might be all we need.

Email us on rwfmuseum1@btconnect.com for more details or to send us a photo.

You can also follow our progress on Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr  and Facebook "
 

Shirley Williams
Museum Education Officer
RWF Museum