Real stories
Extraordinary real-life stories of ancestry research to inspire you
Wartime weddings and trips to the beach: Discover my family history in these beautiful old photographs
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Val Thorley from Aberforth, West Wales shares her family photographs
I discovered forgotten documents that solved the 19th century murder of a sailor
Hazel Garas discovered that her 3x great grandfather William Ross was a witness to the suspected murder of his brother-in-law on board a ship
I used a DNA test to solve a paternity mystery – and discovered I’m related to William Shakespeare
William Mundy took an Ancestry DNA test to find the identity of his 4x great grandfather - and discovered he's related to William Shakespeare
I couldn’t believe the astonishing coincidence that helped my relative survive a Japanese POW camp
Thomas Price discovered that his distant cousin Jeffrey Price was a prisoner on the Burma Railway in the Second World War
Born in the workhouse in County Durham, my great grandmother lost her parents, daughter and husband
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Tommylee Smith shares the story of his great grandmother Charlotte Davison's life
My ancestor endured the ‘Starving Time’ as one of the first European settlers in Virginia
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Margaret Rice's ancestor Henry Bagwell was among the first European settlers in Virginia 1609
I used a DNA test to find my ancestor’s father – and discovered a tragic tale of lunacy in the 19th century
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Mandy Webb reveals how she used a DNA test to discover her great grandmother's father
My ancestor survived storms, shipwrecks, an attack from a French warship, and fell overboard several times
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Janice Oliver discovered her ancestor Thomas Oliver served at sea during the Napoleonic Wars
My husband’s grandparents’ letters revealed how their romance flourished despite racism
Sally George found old letters revealing how her husband's grandparents fell in love and married in England in 1926 despite racism
My great grandfather was trapped on his ship in a storm while his wife was giving birth to their first child
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Barry Maguire shares the remarkable story of his great grandfather Charles Jones
I reunited two families a century after a tragic double drowning brought them together
Jennie Long and Steve Fowler reunited their families a century after Steve's great uncle drowned rescuing Jennie's
“An ordinary man who led an extraordinary life”: I discovered my ancestor was a drummer in the Napoleonic Wars
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Stephen Browness reveals how he traced his 3x great grandfather's service in the Napoleonic Wars
I discovered the story of my grandfather’s service with Winston Churchill in the Sudan
Jennifer Anderson discovered that her grandfather Arthur Randle served with Winston Churchill at the Battle of Omdurman
I discovered my ‘Peaky Blinder’ ancestor brutally killed an old woman in 1890s Birmingham
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Bobbie Adams reveals how her relative James Twitty committed a shocking killing
I found an old photo album in an antiques shop… and set out to find out who the people were
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Rita Boswell reveals how she traced the stories behind a photo album she found in an antiques shop
My heroic relative risked being buried alive to save his brothers in a mining accident
Family historian Marion Nash reveals how she discovered that her distant cousin John McCabe saved 48 men in the Stanrigg mining disaster
In 18th century England, a couple had an illicit affair… and they have 6,000 descendants
Family historian Jenny Cross reveals how she discovered that her ancestor was a married woman who had an affair in the 17th century
My ancestors spied for British intelligence on the Scandinavian coastline in the First World War
Andrew Bradley reveals how his relatives Walter and Hugh Archer spied on the German navy for Britain in the First World War
A message from a stranger revealed the truth about my heroic relative’s wartime death
Michele Gross reveals how she discovered the truth about her cousin, who was killed piloting a bomber plane in the Netherlands
My father-in-law’s letters revealed life in the Navy as a 16-year-old recruit during the Second World War
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Sally George reveals her father-in-law Alan George joined the Navy as a sixteen-year-old
From balloon pioneers to Arctic shipwrecks: My great uncles’ extraordinary stories
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Peter Day shares the amazing story of his three great uncles' military service
From the Great Famine to the Royal Navy: My great great grandfather's extraordinary life
Richard Mulcahy tells the story of his great great grandfather, who served in the Victorian Navy and coastguard
I tracked down my Dad's long-lost cousin
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Ann Stewart Burns reveals how she traced her father's cousin Sally
My ancestor was Charles II's mistress
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Margaret Smith reveals her family connection to Charles II's mistress Catherine Pegge