Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

The latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue: 

• Break down walls with DNA How to use DNA testing to trace missing ancestors 
• Disaster strikes Tracing your family in times of misfortune and crisis
• Reader story Gethin Matthews found three brothers' letters from the First World War
• Musicians How to find performing ancestors online
• Celebrating Your Projects Kelly Horsley explored her Romany family history
• The Highland Clearances The story of a Scottish tragedy
• And more
  

Family Tree UK Magazine

The latest issue of Family Tree UK magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines.

Inside this month's issue :  

• Gone! Just like that...
• New regions added to Ancestry DNA ethnicities
• Midlands region family history show: new for 2024
• New archive research centre to open in Lancaster
• 18th-century Map of Kent reproduced for modern-day collectors
• AGRA conference a ‘resounding success’
• Mary Rose Museum welcomes special visitors for anniversary day
• New ‘Wonderlab’ aims to draw on railway heritage to inspire future engineers
• Find My Past : master game-changing tips
• Surname clues
• A lasting mark: intergenerational trauma

National Archives of Australia Military Records

The National Archives of Australia recently announced they had digitised over 1 million World War II military records.

Army records from World War II usually include:

• attestation (enlistment) form, setting out personal details such as age, next of kin and former occupation
• service and casualty form (Form B103), giving details about units and postings, injuries and disciplinary charges
• discharge form, summarising the person's service (not included in all cases)
• head-and-shoulders photograph may be included
• other documents or correspondence sometimes included

The Archives also hold other record sets related to wartime service and defence, many of which have also been digitised and made available free on their website.

These record sets include:

• civilian service
• courts-martial
• merchant navy
• munitions workers
• soldier settlement
• veterans’ cases
• war crimes
• war gratuities
• war graves
• defence administration and policy

These are in addition to the World War I military records which have already been digitised and available on the NAA site.

World War I service records usually include:

• an attestation paper – completed on enlistment, listing next-of-kin, employment, marital status, age, place of birth and a physical description
• a service and casualty form – 'Form B103', showing movements and transfers between units, promotions and details of injuries and treatment
• military correspondence – between the Department of Defence and the soldier's next-of-kin notifying of wounds or death, awards and medals and asking questions on the whereabouts of a service member

So take a look at all these records (and MORE) that are availabe FREE through the National Archives of Australia.

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day, once known as Armistice Day, is one of our most important commemorative dates. On 11 November 1918, the guns on the Western Front fell silent, and the armistice with Germany to end the fighting on land, in the air and at sea was signed.

Each year on 11 November we pause as a nation at 11am for one minute of silence to honour all those who have suffered and lost their lives during wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.

A wonderful resource for hosts of a Remembrance Day service, or those commemorating at home, is available from the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Through their ANZAC Portal, they have a free Remembrance Day Kitbag.  It includes the order of service, music, making a speech, the Ode of Remembrance, a brief history, suggestions for a personal commemoration, guidelines to making a paper poppy, and more.

This year my home town hopes to finally have a normal Remembrance Day service, after being impacted by Covid in 2020 and 2021 followed by a major flood in 2022 which saw a number of army personnel deployed to the area to assist with sandbagging, evacuations and cleanup.

So wherever you are at 11am this 11th of November, take a minute to pause and remember those who have served to protect our freedoms.

Lest We Forget.

Family Histories Podcasts

It has been announced that series 6 of the wonderful series of The Family Histories Podcasts is now complete.  Hosted Andrew Martin, seven more genealogy-obsessed guests will share how they got hooked on researching their family history, tell us the life story of one of their most fascinating relatives, and finally share one of their own current research brick wall.  

Series 6 will feature the following quests;

• James Danter
• Jackie Depelle
• Phyllis Biffle Elmore
• Rick Glanvill
• Sven Grewel
• Clare Kirk
• Teresa Vega

 

For Evermore - Stories of the Fallen

For Evermore - Stories of the Fallen is a new site to honour those from the Commonwealth forces who lost their lives in the world wars.

 
Part of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the site allows members of the public to submit stories about those who gave their lives during the world wars, and link the story to the individual's casualty page within the CWGC database.

As you submit your story, you can identify the conflict in which the person lost their life, their role (Army, Navy, Air Force, Merchant Navy, Civilian Casualty), Nationality, and even a theme (Women at War,  Post Office, Art and Literature, and more).  You can add images and even video to enhance your story if you wish.

The site even has a tutorial with an instructional video and step-by-step manual to help you post your story.

You can browse submitted stories by conflict, role, nationality or theme, or you can use the search box to search by name, role, conflict etc.

Famiy Tree US Magazine

The latest issue of Family Tree US magazine is now available free online for Campaspe Library members via our subscription to Libby eMagazines. 

Inside this month's issue :  

• Ancestry.com Updates: Fans, Dogs and DNA
• New Project : 10 Million Names
• DNA and Privacy • GEDmatch breach renews concerns about DNA and law enforcement
• Fine Print • Celebrate and share your ancestors by printing a family tree.
• Types of Family Trees • During the course of your research, you’ve probably encountered a few different styles of family trees.
• Stories Worth Telling • Learn how to adapt family letters, journals and other documents into easy-to-read narratives that relatives will love.
• Stronger Together • These four steps will help you find and meaningfully help genealogy groups in our post-pandemic world.
• Smart Photos • MyHeritage has made headlines for its library of AI-assisted photo tools.
• Season’s readings • New genealogy book releases.
• The Tin Age • Age, photo format, and clothing are just the starting points for identifying a subject.
• Saving Family Papers
• Scandinavian Genealogy
• And more.....