Real stories
Extraordinary real-life stories of ancestry research to inspire you
I discovered the missing pieces of my father’s life in his Liverpool orphanage records
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Lesley Keir accessed historic records to discover her father Leslie Dewhurst's time in an orphanage
Alone and armed only with his revolver, my grandfather saved a platoon of men in the First World War
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Sylvia Collins tells the story of her grandfather John Thompson Wright in her book A Flash of Steel
A mysterious photograph of a Second World War airman led to my meeting a long-lost cousin in America
Alan Fraser had a tangled problem to solve when he tried to identify a family photograph of an American Second World War airman
I discovered I’m related to an 18th century Italian prima ballerina thanks to a family history website hint
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Erica Moores found two distant cousins online - and traced her colourful 18th century ancestors
I discovered that in 1897, my great grandmother’s policeman husband caught her in bed with his colleague
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Linda Hiller discovered the story behind her great grandmother Eliza Hargreaves' divorce
These moving photographs show the tragic impact of the First World War on my grandmother’s family
Victoria Horton explains how her family photographs show the fates of the men in her family who fought in the First World War
I read my father’s war diary… and discovered he was at Dunkirk, El Alamein and D-Day
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Mike Wood has published A Soldier's Story, his father Neville's Second World War diary
I discovered the truth about the four British Home Children in my grandmother’s family
Rosemary Johnston discovered that her grandmother's four brothers were sent to Canada as British Home Children
“My idea of a hero”: My great grandfather was shipwrecked in the North Sea at the Battle of Jutland
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Linda Bennett describes how her great grandfather fought in the Battle of Jutland
My parents met while they were both serving in the Second World War... these photographs tell their story
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Susan Martin shares family photographs of her parents Ted Steer and Doris Hill
These moving letters from my mother’s grandfather capture live in a small English village in the 1930s
Bridget Yates explains how she found letters from her great grandfather Robert Thornhill to her mother Barbara
These old pictures capture the tragic story of my grandfather who died in a shipwreck off the coast of Chile in 1914
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Gill Hulse shares photographs of her grandfather John Ellery Tizard
I traced the history of TE Lawrence’s ‘earthly paradise’ Dorset home back to the 17th century
Martin Gething, a National Trust volunteer at TE Lawrence's house Clouds Hill in Dorset, explains how he traced the history of the house
We discovered the tragic story of our Shetland sailor great-uncles who both died in the First World War
Ann Bianchi and Ian Elliott discovered their great uncles were both sailors from Shetland who died in the First World War
My wife’s great uncle was a First World War pilot who died battling the Red Baron
Mike Christopher discovered his wife's great uncle James Wynn served with the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War
From a railwayman in India to a Dunkirk hero, my family photographs capture my fascinating ancestors
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Pat Smith shares her family photographs, including railwaymen and a relative who died at Dunkirk
The men in our family have served in the Armed Forces in every decade since 1794
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Paul Darran reveals how he traced his ancestors' service in the Armed Forces
I discovered my great great grandmother was forced by poverty to place her illegitimate son in the workhouse
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Peta McCauley shares the story of her great great grandmother Elizabeth Measey
These family photos are all I have left of my grandfather and uncle who both died in the world wars
Debbie Cameron from Formby in Merseyside shares her family photographs, including of her grandfather and uncle who died in the world wars
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
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
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
From fishing trawlers to Second World War submarines, my family have a long connection with the sea
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Hazel Garas shares some of her family photographs, including Second World War heroes
“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