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The Newsletter of the Family Records Centre (FRC)
Issue 39 - July 2007

Prize Competition
GRO Service Targets
Scottish Family History Conference
Podcasts
What's on at the FRC

Closure Dates

2007
Monday 27 August
Tuesday 25 December & Wednesday 26 December

2008
Tuesday 1 January

Project Updates

Kew 2008

We are in the process of improving the services we offer at Kew to better meet your needs and to incorporate our Family Records Centre services from spring 2008. This will entail some building work. As a result there will be some disruption to the services we offer from late summer 2007 to spring 2008, including the possibility of closing the Kew reading rooms for a short period of time.

The timetable for the building works is in the process of being finalised so we are unable to provide you with any additional information at this moment. However, as soon as we have further information we will post it on our website and display information at Kew and at the Family Records Centre.

DoVE: Digitisation of Vital Events

Work continues on the DoVE Project with some 74 million historic birth records covering the years 1837-1934 scanned and data captured by Siemens Business Services. So far 69 million records have passed the ONS quality checks.

Scanning has also commenced on the historic death records covering the years 1837-1957. It is expected that both these events will be completed this year. On completion of this, work will commence on the modern records for births and deaths, followed by the scanning and data capture of both historic and modern marriages and finally stillbirth records.

The DoVE project will provide GRO with a modern system of accessing registration information and help streamline the certificate production process.

EAGLE: Electronic Access to GRO Legacy Events

In the April 2007 edition of The Family Record we reported that Eagle, our internal system for producing certificates from digitised images, was scheduled for launch in early 2007. Unfortunately technical issues have delayed the implementation, which is now due in the latter part of 2007.

This delay will not affect our ability to provide certificates to our customers.

The delay has given GRO an opportunity to provide additional training for staff, improving their confidence and ability working on the new system. This has been achieved using a test environment that mirrors the live system. It is envisaged that this additional familiarisation training will reduce problems, issues and delay when the system goes live.

We are also using the time to populate our Customer Relationship Database with regular user and account customer details. This will enable GRO to send these customers their new system account number which they must quote when ordering certificates. This work will remove the need to collect customer details when they place their first order, thus speeding up the process. It will also reduce queues in our Call Centre and Customer Service Unit, improving the service for all our customers.

Rigorous testing of the system is nearing completion and management are pleased with the results to date. The system has performed well and we are confident that it will deliver measurable improvements for our customers and our operation.

Prize Competition

This month the FRC is pleased to offer a year's subscription to Ancestors, The National Archives' family history magazine. For a chance to win, all you need to do is answer the following question.

When was the first edition of Ancestors published?

a) January 1996
b) September 1997
c) November 1999
d) April 2001

Answers by email to: frc@nationalarchives.gov.uk with the word 'Competition' in the subject heading. One entry per person please. The closing date for entries is Friday 28 September 2007.

The draw for April's prize competition (3 copies of Easy Family History) will take place at the end of July and the winners will be notified by email. The correct answer to the question "On which date was the 1841 census taken?" was '6 June'.

For the Record…

It's often suggested that registration of births wasn't compulsory until 1875 and, while it's certainly true that the 1874 Registration of Births & Deaths (Amendment) Act transferred the ultimate responsibility for registering births from the registrar to the parents, research has shown that the Act had no effect whatsoever on the rate of registration.

Documents held by The National Archives (HO 39/4 & HO 39/5) include many letters from registrars regarding individuals who had refused to register births. The impression is that the Home Office was reluctant to prosecute if they could persuade, and in many cases a threatening letter from the Registrar General did the trick.

There were, however, some actual prosecutions and an Explanatory Notice and Handbill were produced, giving details of the prosecutions in 1837 of John Wainwright at Sheffield Sessions and James Barlow at Bury Petty Sessions. These were sent as a warning to those who refused to comply, and provide firm evidence, not only that registration was far from being optional, but also that the law could be, and sometimes was, rigorously enforced.

Family History Podcasts

It's now over six years since the FRC started hosting public talks and we've now held more than 250 of them.

We're frequently asked about making the talks available to people who are unable to travel to London so we're pleased to be able to announce that some of our most popular talks are to be made available online as Podcasts. Audrey Collins' talk on Tracing Your Irish Ancestors at The National Archives and Dave Annal's recent talk on Wills for Family Historians are both available online now and more will follow over the next few months.

FRC Open Meeting

The following questions were raised at the open meeting in May.

Q. How will people be able to order certificates after the closure of the FRC if they do not have a credit card?
A. Certificates can be ordered by sending a cheque through the post to GRO at Southport. They can also be ordered in person at the local register office in the district where the event was registered. There will be no facilities to order or collect certificates at The National Archives at Kew.

Q. Will it be possible to view certificates online?
A. No, as the law currently stands GRO can only provide the information on a certificate if it is purchased.

Q. Will the current GRO reference numbers be available on the new index?
A. No, there will be a new series of reference numbers, but it will still be possible to use the old ones to order certificates.

Q. Will TNA at Kew be able to cope with the extra numbers of onsite visitors once TNA relocates its facilities from the FRC in 2008?
A. We believe so. We anticipate that the number of reader visits to Kew will increase by approximately 30% and we are currently planning changes in the reading rooms and other services at Kew to accommodate the extra numbers. The Map and Large Document Reading Room on the second floor will be largely unaffected.

Q. Certain facilities seem to have been removed from the 1901 census website, such as displaying the full reference and moving to the next page. Is this correct?
A. Changes have been made to the website but it is still possible to do both of these things. Staff at the Research Enquiries desk will be pleased to demonstrate.

Q. What will happen to FRC staff when the service closes?
A. All TNA staff have been offered a post at Kew. GRO staff will be made redundant as a last resort.

TNA News

The National Archives' monthly email newsletter is a must for family, local and military historians - in fact, anyone interested in history. You'll get updates on recently released government files and new online services for you to try as well as previews of our latest history publications, prize competitions and special offers. To sign up for your free subscription, visit: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/enewsletter.

GRO Service Targets

Certificate production is monitored against a number of targets on a monthly basis. The table below details GRO performance over the period 1 April 2007 to 30 June 2007 for some of the areas monitored. The ONS target for each area is to process at least 95% of applications within the set number of days. The figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number. As you will see, all targets for the last three months have been exceeded.

Ancestors on Board

Ten more years of passenger lists have been added to the ancestorsonboard website, bringing the coverage of this invaluable database up to 1929. To access the records, visit: www.ancestorsonboard.com.

WW1 Pensions Online

On 27 July, ancestry.co.uk will release the entire WO 364 record series of First World War pension records available through their website.

The service will provide a searchable name database linked to images of the records that can be downloaded for a fee. Access to the records will be free onsite at the Family Records Centre and at Kew.

GRO Open Days at Southport

The General Register Office (GRO) opened its doors again this summer to hundreds of customers and local residents for the Certificate Services 2007 Open Days. Over two Saturdays in June, more than 300 people were provided with escorted tours of the work undertaken by the branch and given the opportunity to attend various family history talks. An exhibition area in the ballroom hosted stands from many areas of registration including the DoVE project and the Adoptions and Overseas Sections as well as external exhibitors such as The National Archives, South West Lancashire Family History Society, Lancashire Record Office and North Meols Family History Society.

The feedback has been excellent with customers commenting on the high level of professionalism, enthusiasm and expertise. Many visitors travelled long distances to attend the event and the feedback forms show that customers clearly appreciate the opportunity to see the work of the branch at first hand.

New Books From The National Archives

Some new and forthcoming titles from The National Archives:

Family History Cultures and Faiths - Michael Gandy (£7.99)

Discover your ancestors through the wide range of religious records and sources in this accessible and affordable guide.

Army Records: A Guide for Family Historians - William Spencer (£12.99)

Clarity and a practical approach, combined with the expert advice of the National Archives' military specialist make this book invaluable to anyone tracing an ancestor or researching an auxiliary service, regiment or conflict.

Shot Down and in the Drink - Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork (£9.99)

Now in paperback - the perfect companion volume to Shot Down and on the Run. A fascinating insight into the drama and action of Air Sea Rescue in all theatres of war, told through compelling first hand accounts and previously unpublished official and private photographs.

The Cecils: Privilege and power, behind the throne - David Loades (£18.00); September 2007

Explores the power wielded by one of England's major political dynasties and reveals the public and private lives of two of the nations greatest unsung heroes, through contemporary portraits, private letters and official documents.

The Chart

The current top sellers in the FRC bookshop:

1. The Genealogist's Internet - Peter Christian
2. My Family Tree Book (for Children)
3. Reading Old Handwriting - Eve McLaughlin
4. Genealogical Research in Victorian London - Cliff Webb
5. Greater London Cemeteries and Crematoria - Cliff Webb

All our books are available from the shops at the Family Records Centre and The National Archives, Kew, and from all good bookshops throughout the country. They can also be purchased by telephoning 01904 431213 or online from: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/bookshop.

New to the FRC?

If you're a first-time visitor or if you simply want to find out a bit more about the wide range of services available at the FRC you might want to take advantage of our 'New to the FRC?' drop-in sessions. Sessions take place in the Meetings Room on the first floor at 11.30 every Monday, Thursday and Saturday and last roughly 20 minutes.

Please note that, due to staff training, we will not be holding 'New to the FRC?' sessions on Thursday 6, 13 & 20 September. There will also be no session on Saturday 13 October.

Family History Surgeries

We are now taking bookings for our ever-popular Family History Surgeries up until the end of December 2007.

Aimed at helping you to get over the brick walls in your research, these free one-to-one sessions are held every Tuesday and Saturday. Our expert staff will help to analyse the research you have already carried out and hopefully suggest some other sources that you may not have considered.

Computer Tutorials

Nowadays, if you're really serious about researching your family history, you need to know your way around the internet and you have to know what to do with a mouse!

If you want to find out how to make the most of the huge range of material available online, why not give us a ring today and book yourself a free half hour one-to-one Computer Skills Tutorial. Sessions are held every Thursday, throughout the year.

To book a family history surgery or computer skills tutorial, please phone us on: 0208 392 5300 or send an email to: frc@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Family History Lectures

We're pleased to announce the final two dates in this year's series of Family History Lectures.

• 30 August - Problem Solving for Family Historians
• 27 September - Scandals in the Family

In the first of these, Dave Annal will take a practical approach to overcoming some of the most common problems facing family historians, and in the second, Audrey Collins will tell the tale of Captain Boynton and the Heiresses - a story of family scandals in family records, featuring fraud, deception, adultery, litigation and much more!

Flower of Scotland

The FRC is proud to announce a one-day conference dedicated to Scottish family history research taking place this autumn.

On Saturday 13 October, the FRC will be joining forces with GRO Scotland and scotlandspeople.gov to present 'Flower of Scotland' - a whole day dedicated to researching your ancestors from north of the border.

The event will feature lectures from Audrey Collins and Dave Annal (The National Archives), Dee Williams (GRO Scotland), Dr Irene O'Brien (Mitchell Library) and Dr Bruce Durie (University of Strathclyde).

Tickets for the event are £10 each and are available now. Places are limited and tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. For more details, or to book your place at the conference, please contact us by email: frc@nationalarchives.gov.uk or by telephone on: 0208 392 5300.

We're Talking To You
- in association with Ancestors Magazine

There's another full programme of talks coming up at the FRC this Autumn. All talks start at 2pm. Saturday talks for beginners are in italics.

• 4 Aug - Family History on the Internet
• 7 Aug - Prisoner of War Records at TNA
• 14 Aug - Sex, Lies & Civil Registration
• 21 Aug - How To Find Records of Births, Marriages & Deaths
• 28 Aug - Census Returns Online
• 1 Sep - Introduction to Family History
• 4 Sep - Tracing Coastguard Ancestors
• 11 Sep - Irish Tenants and Their Landlords
• 18 Sep - The National Register of Archives
• 25 Sep - Tracing Living Relatives
• 2 Oct - Criminal Ancestors
• 6 Oct - Census Returns Online
• 9 Oct - 10 Good Reasons To Visit Hyde Park Family History Centre
• 16 Oct - Local Heroes: A Guided Walk Around Clerkenwell
• 23 Oct - Using Islington Local Studies Library
• 30 Oct - The Fleet Marriage Registers
• 3 Nov - Tracing Your Ancestors

Please note: Tickets for the talks are free and can be collected on the day of the event from the New Customers desk on the first floor. Places are strictly limited. Tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be booked in advance.

Further information

If you would like more information about any of the items in this newsletter please telephone us on 0845 603 7788 (GRO enquiries) or 0208 392 5300 (TNA enquiries). You can also email us at: frc@nationalarchives.gov.uk or visit our website at: www.familyrecords.gov.uk/frc.

To subscribe to the electronic version of the Family Record please send an email with the word 'Subscribe' in the subject heading to: FRC-Newsletter@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

The Family Record is jointly produced by the General Register Office (GRO) and The National Archives (TNA)