Free Access to US Military Records

Do you have family members who fought in the United States military in World War 2?
The Ancestry website Fold3 (which specializes in US military records) is offering free access to their 113 million World War II records for the entire month of December 2016.
Included in this collection are 35 million WWII draft registration cards. Also included in the free search for the month are World War II navy muster rolls, missing air crew reports and European army records.
Other records include :

• Submarine Patrol Reports
• Missing Air Crew Reports
• WWII "Old Man's Draft" Registration Cards
• Draft Registration Cards
• Pearl Harbor Muster Rolls
• Naval Press Clippings
• Army JAG Files
• Navy JAG Files
• Holocaust Collection
• Hesse Crown Jewels Court-Martial
• Japanese Air Target Analyses
• WWII Allied Military Conferences
• WWII War Diaries, 1942–1945
• WWII Foreign Military Studies, 1945–54

PRONI Historical Maps viewer

From the PRONI website comes the following announcement :

PRONI and Land and Property Services (Ordnance Survey and Spatial NI) have worked together to digitise and make available a range of historical Ordnance Survey maps.

The historical maps available on this application are from the 6 inch County Series mapping; and latterly the Irish Grid. Maps available cover the six counties of present-day Northern Ireland: counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone.

Historical Ordnance Survey Maps

The historical maps available on this application are from the 6 inch County Series mapping; and latterly the Irish Grid. Maps available cover the six counties of present-day Northern Ireland: counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone. The following map editions are available on the application:

Edition 1 (1832 – 1846)
Edition 2 (1846 – 1862)
Edition 3 (1900 - 1907)
Edition 4 (1905 - 1957)
Edition 5 (1919 – 1963)
6” Irish Grid (1952-1969)
1:10,000 metric Irish Grid (1957-1986)

To access the maps visit https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/search-proni-historical-maps-viewer 

So take a look and the new maps available.

Family History Secrets

Have you discovered family secrets during your family history research?  I would suspect there are few of us who haven't - secrets, lies, black sheep, dark events - every family has them.

Volunteers are being asked to take part in a new survey to help with research at the University of Melbourne.  Below is the statement from the survey's homepage.  If you have a spare half hour, consider participating. 

Family Secrets, National Silences

A Sociological Study of Intergenerational Storytelling

Have you discovered secrets kept by past generations in your family history research?

A researcher from the University of Melbourne, sociologist Dr Ashley Barnwell, is seeking volunteers for an online survey. The project aims to better understand the social role of family secrets and the impact of social mores and policies on families over time. The survey consists of 7 questions and will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. All identifying information will be carefully anonymised to protect your privacy.