Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine not only explores the stories behind the popular BBC genealogy TV series, but also helps you uncover your own roots. Each issue is packed with practical advice to help you track down family history archives and get the most out of online resources, alongside features on what life was like in the past and the historic events that affected our ancestors.

Welcome

SARAH’S TOP TIP • Be flexible about dates when searching probate calendars for wills

CONTRIBUTORS

Letters

CRACKING A CRYPTIC JOB TITLE

Who Do You Think You Are

Ancestry adds West Midlands police and criminal records

Lancaster University launches map of First World War dead

CAN YOU HELP?

NEWS IN BRIEF

RootsTech Connect 2021 announces keynote speakers

ON THIS DAY • 27 December 1883 Mysterious box found in river

Findmypast adds records from Coventry Blitz

Online picture archive launched

Virtual exhibition celebrates Transport for London’s role in the Second World War

50 million

Sir Malcolm Arnold

£42,000

142,670

Wilfred Owen

40,940

Historian finds evidence of forgotten Civil War massacre

A SCANDAL IN HIGH SOCIETY • Alan Crosby tells the tale of a spectacularly unhappy marriage in Georgian England

50 WEBSITES TO WATCH 2021 • It’s been an unsettling year, but there are plenty of new releases and resources to look forward to, says Jonathan Scott

LOCAL PROJECTS • These gems can help you unlock the lives of your ancestors in the areas that they cover

MAPS • Step back in time with these new and updated visual records

INDUSTRY • Shining new light on the working lives of our forebears

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS • New records for relations’ vital events

MILITARY • Explore your ancestors’ experiences as members of the armed forces

LOVE YOUR PHOTOS • Helen Dawkins explains how to safeguard your old family photographs to ensure that they are protected and preserved for generations to come

DISPLAYING PHOTOGRAPHS • You can safely share your precious photos with the world

ALTERNATIVE FORMATS • Victorian photographs can be found on metal and glass as well as paper

RESOURCES • Find the help and supplies you need

‘I INVESTIGATED MY GREAT GRANDFATHER’S MYSTERIOUS DEATH’ • The family rumour was that Katie Carmichael’s paternal great grandfather was murdered in New York in the 1930s. She explores the truth in an eye-catching new book that she crowdfunded, says Claire Vaughan

RESOURCES • These three websites proved very helpful to Katie’s research

Q&A • Our team of experts offers tips and inspiration

HAVE YOU HIT A BRICK WALL?

PICTURE ANALYSIS

BIG QUESTION

MILITARY PICTURE ANALYSIS

QUICK TIP

THE BIG PICTURE • Celebrating our ancestors caught on camera

CELEBRATING THE HISTORY OF A VILLAGE • Rosemary Collins finds out how a village in the West Country is sharing the stories of its residents in person and online

FACT FILE

THE HOLOCAUST • Jonathan Scott surveys vital resources for researching the victims of the Holocaust

EXPERT’S CHOICE • Genealogist Jeanette R Rosenberg OBE is on the UK’s ITS Oversight Committee

GO FURTHER • Eight more sites for researching the Holocaust

A Yorkshire football scrapbook, 1909–95 • Fiona Rosher of the Dales Countryside Museum shares a scrapbook capturing sport in the Dales through the decades

VISIT US

VICTUALLERS’ LICENCES • For well over 500 years, publicans have needed a licence to trade. Simon Fowler says that they are a key source if you have one in your...