Features
Guides, tutorials, interviews, research and opinion pieces on family and social history
My father never spoke about his war… but I discovered he could have been at the liberation of Belsen
Stephen King's parents ran a sweet making business and lived through the Second World War and the Blitz in Southend-on-Sea
Post Office records: How to find Post Office employee records
Susannah Coster from The Postal Museum reveals how to use Post Office records in family history
How to find Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills
Margaret McGregor explains how to find Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) wills for family history research
I discovered my great aunt was a renowned artist who painted portraits of Battle of Britain pilots
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Rebecca Blacker Jones shares the story of her great aunt Elva Blacker, a celebrated war artist
The best genealogy courses available now
Discover how to learn family history skills with our pick of the best online and correspondence genealogy courses
What is the 1939 Register?
What is the 1939 Register, when was it taken and where can you access the records? We explain how to use this useful census substitute from the start of the Second World War
I found a trove of old papers that revealed my ancestors owned a slave plantation in Jamaica
Richard Atkinson explains how the discovery that his ancestors owned a slave plantation led to his book about his family history
It took 42 years, but a DNA test revealed the truth about my elusive great grandfather
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Rosemary Wilmot reveals how she found out more about her great grandfather George Gray
“If my 3x great grandfather was an inch taller, he would have been killed at sea in 1813”
David Joy discovered his ancestor Edward Rexworthy rose through the ranks in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars
“Nine-year-old James’ guardians attached a label to him and put him on a one-way train journey alone”
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Jan Marshall discovered her missing relative James Robinson's difficult upbringing
My relative earned medals for bravery in the First World War and was one of the first men to drive a tank
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader David Stokes discovered his relative George Harrington drove a tank in the First World War
I discovered what happened to my grandmother’s missing half-sister after their mother died
Victor Nutt discovered that his great grandmother, grandmother and great aunt all overcame hardship in Victorian England
My ancestor emigrated from Orkney to New Zealand. A century later, I made the journey in reverse
Bo Harris moved from New Zealand to Britain and traced her great great grandfather Robert Harcus, who emigrated from Orkney
“Granny remembered her father going to collect the bodies that were washing up on the shore at Stornoway in 1919”
William Cumming's family in the Outer Hebrides have survived generations of sea disasters, including the Iolaire sinking
My father’s carpentry genius was crucial to Allied surveillance in Burma in the Second World War
David Cunningham used his carpentry skills to build crates for airdropping radios into occupied Burma during the Second World War
I loved my great grandparents’ incredible prize-winning fancy dress costume from 1935!
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Jayne Turner shares her photographs of her family in the early 20th century
I discovered my ancestor was a suffragist who campaigned for women and the working class
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Erica Ward talks about her ancestor Eleanor Grizzell, who was a suffragist and Sheffield councillor
Historian seeks help identifying men in moving WW1 photograph
Bristol-based historian Ian Chard shares an evocative photograph of a Gloucestershire regiment from the Western Front – and asks if you recognise any of the depicted men from your own family tree
My grandfather lost his eye after being shot in the forehead on the Western Front
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Jon Gliddon discovered his grandfather Herman Pike lost an eye in the First World War
“My ancestors who were indentured or enslaved were a big part of Britain’s history”
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Kyle Ring discovered his ancestors in the colonial history of Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados
How to find Boer War service records
Jonathan Scott picks the best websites for finding Boer War service records in your family history research
Yorkshire surnames: How to tell if your surname comes from Yorkshire
If you have one of these unusual surnames in your family tree, it's a sign that your family came from God's own country
Crufts entries and accordions: These old family photographs vividly capture my East End grandparents’ lives
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Janice Oliver from Dunstable in Bedfordshire shares her family photographs
Old newspapers revealed my relative was a working-class suffragette who worked with Sylvia Pankhurst
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Anne Padfield's relative Rosaline McCheyne was a suffragette in London's East End