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5 Stunning WWII Photos of the London Blitz: Everyone Brave is Forgiven

5 Stunning WWII Photos of the London Blitz: Everyone Brave is Forgiven

WWII_Blitz_FeatureImage

Check out these compelling WWII photos! These remind me of the vivid scenes in the best-selling novel Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave.

genealogy book club family history readingRecently, I’ve been inspired and riveted by the stories in Everyone Brave is Forgiven, the current Genealogy Gems Book Club featured title. Though author Chris Cleave writes so compellingly you feel like you’re there, I love pictures. So, I curated this mini-exhibit of five stunning WWII photos of London during The Blitz. I have also included a bonus sixth photograph of Malta where part of the book takes place.

[Note: click on images to see original files and full source citation information.]

WWII Photos from London

View_from_St_Paul's_Cathedral_after_the_Blitz WWII photos

View of London after the German Blitz, 29 December 1940.

Blitz_West_End_Air_Shelter WWII photos

London Underground station, in use as an air-raid shelter during World War II.

WWII photos children made homeless

Children of an eastern suburb of London, made homeless by the random bombs of the Nazi night raiders, waiting outside the wreckage of what was their home. September 1940.

WWII photos The_Reconstruction_of_'an_Incident'-_Civil_Defence_Training_in_Fulham,_London,_1942_D7917

During a 1942 training exercise, ambulance crew and civil defense workers place a “casualty” into an ambulance. Women comprised most of the crew of the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service during WWII.

WWII photos Blitz_Canteen-_Women_of_the_Women's_Voluntary_Service_Run_a_Mobile_Canteen_in_London,_England,_1941_D2173

Blitz Canteen: Women of the Women’s Voluntary Service run a Mobile Canteen in London, 1941.

BombDamageMalta WWII photos

Service personnel and civilians clear up debris on a heavily bomb-damaged street in Valletta, Malta on 1 May 1942.

Everyone Brave is Forgiven cover imageI hope you get a chance to read Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave and check out our exclusive interview with him in the Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode 139 (find an excerpt in the free Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 195.)

Do you have a friend who is a WWII buff? Why not share this post and book with them, after all, it’s nice to share!

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Local Histories Found in New and Updated Genealogical Records

Local Histories Found in New and Updated Genealogical Records

Search through new and updated genealogical records and histories galore. We are covering the world this week, reaching places we haven’t touched on before. Search records from familiar collections in Canada and the U.S., then check out what’s new in Russia and Ghana.

dig these new record collections

Canada – World War I

We know many of our readers have ancestry from Canada and we want to point your attention to the holdings at the Library and Archive Canada. This repository has many digital collections online and even includes a portrait portal with over 4 million images!

genealogy for Canada

Today, we shine a light on just over 330,000 files now available online in the Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database.

The Soldiers of the First World War database is an index to the service files held by Library and Archives Canada for the soldiers, nurses, and chaplains who served with the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force.) Each box of service files holds approximately 50 files and envelopes. The individual’s name and service number or rank, if an officer, is written on each envelope. This database was organized by entering the name and number found on the outside of each of these file envelopes.

When the attestation papers and enlistment forms were digitized from the Attestation Registers (RG 9, II B8, volumes 1 to 654,) the images were linked to the database. Tip: When searching by name, be sure to look for alternate spellings as well.

The original paper documents can no longer be consulted, so your only option is to view these records digitally. For those items not yet digitized, you can order a copy from the Archives. As we mentioned, not all the documents have been digitized, but are are being done so regularly. Check back often!

United States – State and Local Histories

Findmypast has updated their United States, State & Local Histories collection and now holds 332 digitized books of state and local histories in PDF format. These histories come from Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

You can narrow your specific search by publication year, title, county, and state, or search by keywords. These books often add clues and hints to the lives of our ancestors. You may also come across a biographical sketch of your ancestor which may hold key information you have been looking for.

Additionally, a sister collection titled United States, Family Histories may also prove fruitful. This collection contains over 930,000 images taken from 3,926 family histories and genealogies from all 50 states and several locations overseas. These PDF records can be searched by publication year, title, county, and state, page number, and key words. The publications emphasize tracing the descendants of the early, colonial immigrants to the United States. If you have a targeted ancestor that falls into that category, you will want to check these histories thoroughly.

United States – New York – Histories

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record is the second oldest genealogical journal in the U.S. This week, Volume 27, Issue 2 (January 2016) of this publication is available at Findmypast. You can search or browse to find possible hints and clues to aid you in your research.

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record is a quarterly publication, published since 1870. It publishes compiled genealogies that are documented, transcriptions of original records, and much more. To further learn about the NYG&B and their society, click here.

You might also be interested in the NYG&B’s quarterly review titled The New York Researcher. Formerly known as the NYG&B Newsletter, The New York Researcher has been published since 1970. Volume 147, Issue 2 (Summer 2016) of this publication is available now at Findmypast.

You will enjoy instructive articles on genealogical research techniques and New York resources, profiles of repositories, and profiles of genealogical societies across the State of New York.

Russia – Church Records

FamilySearch has digitized more than 2 million records in their collection titled Russia, Tatarstan Church Books, 1721-1939. Though these records are not indexed yet, you may find images of births and baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials performed by priests of the Russian Orthodox Church in the republic of Tatarstan. These records were acquired from the state archive in that province.

Places are identified by their historical name and jurisdiction when it was part of the Russian Empire. If you are unsure of the history of your targeted location, remember what our Google Guru Lisa says…”Just Google It!”

The collection covers records from 1721 to 1939. These records are written in Russian, but remember that FamilySearch offers a helpful cheat sheet of common words and their translations!

There may be some restrictions on viewing these records. Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, rights to view images on their website are granted by the record custodians. In this case, the Russia, Tatarstan Church Books, 1721-1939 images can be only be viewed online at a Family History Center near you, or the Family History Library.

Ghana – Census

FamilySearch has also added the Ghana Census, 1984. This population census for Ghana is a complete enumeration of the 12.3 million people residing in Ghana as of midnight March 11, 1984. The census is divided into 56,170 localities. According to the government of Ghana, a locality is defined as any “nucleated and physically distinct settlement.” Localities may include a single house, a hamlet, a village, town or city. In some areas of the Upper West and Upper East Regions, these localities are based on kinship groups. Only those individuals, including foreign visitors, who were present in Ghana on March 11, 1984, were included in this census.

There have been some records lost in Ghana and so not all localities are available. Important: Be aware that the printed date on the census enumeration form usually says 1982, but this census was formally conducted in 1984.

The 1984 Ghana census may hold the following information:

  • Detailed address of Ghana Census 1984the house
  • Name of town/village
  • Full name of members present on census night
  • Relationship to head of household
  • Gender, age, birthpla
    ce, and nationality of each individual
  • Level of education
  • Occupation
  • Employment status
  • Names of visitors on census night
  • Names of members absent on census night

 

 

Texas State Genealogical Society Conference 2016 Welcomes Lisa Louise Cooke

Texas State Genealogical Society Conference 2016 Welcomes Lisa Louise Cooke

Texas State Genealogical Society Conference 2016 is coming up next month and there is still time to register! Learn from some of the elite genealogists in the field, including our own Lisa Louise Cooke.

Attend Texas State Genealogical Society Conference 2016

Pre-Conference Research Day

The Texas State Genealogical Society (TSGS) Conference begins on the 27th of October with the Pre-Conference Research Day. This free research day is being hosted by the Dallas Public Library and the Dallas Genealogical Society.

Held at the Dallas Public Library from 10 am to 8 pm, this research day will include:

  • Staff-led tours available of the Genealogy Division (8th floor), the Dallas History & Archives (7th floor), and the Government Documents Division (6th floor);
  • Volunteers on hand to assist people with research and Texas Heritage Certificate applications;
  • and light refreshments to be served.

The Texas State Genealogical Society Conference 2016

This year’s conference venue will be the beautiful Crowne Plaza in downtown Dallas. You can really get excited for this three-day conference packed with 70 sessions and 35 speakers. The TSGS hopes to provide something for every genealogist. The conference will also include special afternoon breakout sessions and five in-depth workshops among the noted activities. An exhibit hall packed with the latest and greatest from genealogy companies and researchers will be enticing and Genealogy Gems will be there, so don’t forget to stop by and see us!

Lisa’s Sessions at the Conference

Lisa will be presenting a class titled Beginning Evernote for Genealogists on Friday. You will gain a firm grasp of what Evernote can do and how to get started. Best of all, learn how easy it is to put all your genealogical research notes (text, audio, images, etc.) into Evernote and to have it at your fingertips with super fast note retrieval.

On Sunday, Lisa will present Using Google Earth for Genealogy. In this popular class, Lisa (our Google Guru!) will teach you how to unlock the mysteries in your research from unidentified photographs, to how an ancestral location looked a hundred years ago. You will be amazed to discover how Google Earth is one of the best free genealogical tools available today.

Register for the Texas State Genealogical Society Conference 2016

If you haven’t already done so, there is still time to register. Early bird registration is available through October the 7th. See all the price options and register by clicking here: http://www.txsgs.org/conference/registration/

We hope to see many of you there. Don’t forget to stop by and see us in the exhibit hall to share with us what you have learned!

To see where Lisa will be teaching next, see our seminar page here.

More Gems for EEvernote for Genealogy Quick Reference Guidevernote

Get started using Evernote even before Lisa’s class on Oct. 28, 2016. Our quick reference guides make it easy!

Evernote for Windows for Genealogists Guide

Evernote for Mac for Genealogists Guide

 

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