British Red Cross WW1 Volunteers

A digitisation and transcription project to make thousands of nursing records available on the web has reached completion. Family historians can now search through over 244,000 British Red Cross personnel index cards, providing details of men and women who served as Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) workers during the First World War. First launched in 2014, the project was undertaken by the British Red Cross in partnership with Kingston University, with help from more than 800 volunteers around the world. You can search the collection for free here.

Over 90,000 people volunteered for the Red Cross in World War 1 both at home and overseas.  Volunteers were not just from Britain - they came from all over the Commonwealth, including a number of Australians.  Below are the cards for Victorian volunteer Jessie Traill, who spent much of the war nursing in France.

Inside History Magazine

The latest issue of Inside History magazine is out now - issue 34, May-Jun. Feature articles of this edition include:

• 140+ new family history resources online
• Our expert’s guide to DNA tests
• The mysterious bigamist and his historian descendant: uncovering a criminal ancestor
• What’s new on Trove
• The Australian Women’s Army Service in World War II
• Life on the River Murray for lock-building families
• Anne Summers’ take on Australian women’s history
• How the scientific discovery of longitude shaped maritime history
• The life and lies of Aussie conwoman Ethel Livesey
• A history lover’s guide to Albany
• An 1840s whaling shipwreck discovered in WA
• The 19th-century Irish town and maps now online
• The latest history news, events, book and app reviews, and more. On sale now!

The British Colonist Newspaper

On December 11th, 1858, in the midst of a gold rush, Amor de Cosmos inked up an old hand press and launched a newspaper -- the British Colonist -- into the world.    Published in Victoria, Canada, it became the leading paper in the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia.  From the extraordinary discoveries of gold and outbreaks of war, to the mundane shipping news and advertisements for insomnia cures - “In every thing that concerns British Columbia we shall take a deep and permanent interest” said de Cosmos.

The website BritishColonist.ca published online this historic newspaper from 1858 to 1950.  At various times named the British Colonist, the Daily British Colonist and the Daily Colonist, it is still published today in Victoria as the Times Colonist. The most recent addition to the online archive (1941 to 1950) covered some 67,000 pages. The Times Colonist is the oldest newspaper in Western Canada and contains a wealth of information for anyone researching Victoria, Vancouver Island and the surrounding areas. The database can be searched by keyword and access is free.

IGRS Launches 80th Anniversary Archive

Do you have an interesting tale to tell about one of your Irish ancestors? Then the Irish Genealogical Research Society would like to hear from you.  Since the Society’s beginning, eighty years ago, their main objective has been to offset the loss of the Irish Public Records at the Four Courts, Dublin, in 1922, by creating a unique collection of Irish genealogical material.  That founding policy continues to this day and is the stimulus for the Society to celebrate its 80th anniversary by creating a special archive of the personal stories of Irish-born ancestors.

The IGRS are interested in hearing about one special ancestor in no more than 2,500 words. They are not asking you to deposit whole family trees, although you are welcome to include a short branch at the end it you wish to place your ancestor in context. They ask you to introduce your chosen ancestor with a few words explaining why they are important to you; and to end with some personal reflections on their life to make the story yours, too. 

All stories received will be deposited the Society’s 80th Anniversary Archive and they intend to publish a selection of them as an e-book. If you would like to submit a story, you are asked send it to the project co-coordinator, Ruth Mathewson, including your full name, address, and email address.  The deadline to make a submission is Wednesday, 31st August 2016. 

New to Ancestry

Two new collections of records relating to the 1916 Easter Rising have been added to Ancestry.
Digitised in partnership with The National Archives at Kew, the releases together provide access to more than 2,600 records, each providing crucial information about Irish Republicans involved in the uprising.
The larger of the two collections, spanning 1916-1922, contains a series of Courts Martial Files, containing details of individuals arrested and tried without a jury for their nationalist activities. This includes papers ordering the execution of the seven signatories of the 1916 Proclamation – Padraig Henry Pearse, Eamon Ceannt, Thomas James Clarke, James Connolly, Sean MacDiarmada, Joseph Mary Plunkett and Thomas MacDonagh.
The second collection, spanning 1914-1922, gives family historians the opportunity to search newspaper clippings and notes gathered by the British intelligence, naming people suspected to have been disloyal to the crown.
If your ancestor was a part of the unrest around this period, there may be information he for you.  And even if they were not a part of the uprising the data still provides a fascinating insight into this piece of Irish history.