Britains industrial revolution depended on canals for the cheap movement of materials and goods until the coming of the railways. Canal companies struggled to compete and went into a long decline, but much of the canal network is still with us today, and interest in the history and heritage of canals - and those who worked on them - is strong. That is why Sue Wilkess well researched and highly readable handbook on the subject is so valuable.She concentrates on the people who lived and worked on the waterways the canal boatmen, their families and their way of life - and those who depended on the canal trade for a living the lock-keepers, toll collectors, and canal company clerks. She provides a thorough, practical guide to the sources the archives, books, websites, societies available for researchers if they are studying our inland waterways, or trying to find out about an ancestor who worked on the canals or was connected with them.Her book is essential reading for anyone interested in this aspect of the industrial past.

Every family historian has child ancestors, and childhood experiences and records are an essential aspect of research into a past life. That is why Sue Wilkes's detailed and accessible handbook is such a useful guide for anyone who is trying to find out about the early years of their forbears. In Tracing Your Ancestors' Childhood she explores the history of childhood and education and brings together information about relevant records and archives into one handy reference guide. She outlines ancestors' childhood experiences at home, school, work and in institutions, especially during Victorian times. In the opening chapter she reviews basic family history sources, then she discusses records of childhood in detail. Specialist archives, published sources, recommended reading and other resources and documents are covered. She focuses primarily on England and Wales and covers the years 1750–1950. The second part of her book is a directory of archives and specialist repositories. Databases of children's societies, useful genealogy websites, and places to visit which bring the social history of childhood to life are all included.

The Boer War took place between 1899 and 1902, just 15 years before the start of the First World War. Some 180,00 Britons , mainly volunteers , traveled 6,000 miles to fight and die in boiling conditions on the veld and atop ‘kopjes’. Of the over 20,000 who died more than half suffered enteric, an illness consequent on insanitary water. This book will act as an informative research guide for those seeking to discover and uncover the stories of the men who fought and the families they left behind. It will look in particular at the kind of support the men received if they were war injured and that offered to the families of the bereaved. Some pensions were available to regular soldiers and the Patriotic Fund, a charitable organization , had been resurrected at the beginning of the conflict. However for those who did not fit these categories the Poor Law was the only support available at the time. The book will explore a variety of research materials such as: contemporary national and local newspapers; military records via websites and directly through regimental archives; census, electoral, marriage and death records; records at the National Archives including the Book of Wounds from the Boer War, the Transvaal Widows’ Fund and others.

Parish records are essential sources for family and local historians, and Stuart Raymond's handbook is an invaluable guide to them. He explores and explains the fascinating and varied historical and personal information they contain. His is the first thoroughgoing survey of these resources to be published for over three decades. In a concise, easy-to-follow text he describes where these important records can be found and demonstrates how they can be used. Records relating to the poor laws, apprentices, the church, tithes, enclosures and charities are all covered. The emphasis throughout is on understanding their original purpose and on revealing how relevant they are for researchers today. Compelling insights into individual lives and communities in the past can be gleaned from them, and they are especially useful when they are combined with other major sources, such as the census.Your Ancestors' Parish Records is an excellent introduction to this key area of family and local history research it is a book that all family and local historians should have on their shelf.

Jonathan Scott is a freelance writer specializing in family history. He is a former deputy editor of Family History Monthly and has penned the ‘Best Websites’ column for Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine since 2007. He also writes the magazine’s monthly ‘Around Britain’ feature and compiles the end-of-year look-ahead at developments online. In addition to his work in family history, he has compiled Collecting Children’s Books and Rare Book Price Guide

Birmingham, the cradle of the industrial revolution and the world's first manufacturing town, is an important focus for many family historians who will find that their trail leads through it. Rural migrants, Quakers, Jews, Irish, Italians, and more recently people from the Caribbean, South-Asia and China have all made Birmingham their home. This vibrant history is reflected in the city's rich collections of records, and Michael Sharpe's handbook is the ideal guide to them. He introduces readers to the wealth of information available, providing an essential guide for anyone researching the history of the city or the life of an individual ancestor. His work addresses novices and experienced researchers alike and offers a compendium of sources from legal and ecclesiastical archives, to the records of local government, employers, institutions, clubs, societies and schools. Accessible, informative and extensively referenced, it is the perfect companion for research in Britain's second city.

Jayne Shrimpton's complete guide to dating, analysing and understanding family photographs is essential reading and reference for anyone undertaking genealogical and local history research. Using over 150 old photographs as examples, she shows how such images can give a direct insight into the past and into the lives of the individuals who are portrayed in them. ??Almost every family and local historian works with photographs, but often the fascinating historical and personal information that can be gained from them is not fully understood. They are one of the most vivid and memorable ways into the past.??This concise but comprehensive guide describes the various types of photograph and explains how they can be dated. It analyses what the clothes and style of dress can tell us about the people in the photographs, their circumstances and background.??Sections look at photographs of special occasions – baptisms, weddings, funerals - and at photographs taken in wartime, on holiday and at work. There is advice on how to identify the individuals shown and how to find more family photographs through personal connections, archives and the internet - and how to preserve them for future generations.??Jayne Shrimpton's handbook is an authoritative, accessible guide to old photographs that no family or local historian can be without.??As featured in The Argus.

Do you have an ancestor who served at Ypres in the First World War, during the four years in which the city was in the front line? Perhaps you have thought of visiting the battlefields nearby and the monuments that commemorate them, and want to find out exactly where your ancestor served and what part he played in the four great battles that took place there?So many British soldiers served in Flanders during the long struggle to defend the Ypres Salient and to break out of it that there is a good chance that your ancestor was there at some stage of the war. This practical and informative handbook is an ideal guide to the struggle for the city and the stories of the men who took part in it. It is also a fascinating introduction to researching the Great War as a whole.Simon Fowler outlines the course of the fighting around the city and he introduces the most important historical resources that you can use to explore the history for yourself. The book identifies the key sources for family historians, including at The National Archives and the Imperial War Museum, together with the many resources online that researchers can turn to. There is also advice on the literature, archives, museums and monuments that may help you to gain an insight into your ancestor's story.

The Pen & Sword guide to the census is detailed, accessible and authoritative, and it is one of the most comprehensive on the market. It has been written with the family historian in mind, and it is packed with advice on how to explore and get the most from the census records. As well as describing the modern censuses, it provides information on the less-known censuses dating from before 1841, and it covers the records of all the constituent parts of the British Isles. It is an essential introduction and tool for anyone who is researching the life and times of an ancestor. Emma Jolly describes how and why census records came to be created, then looks in detail at how to search the main censuses from 1841 to 1911. Each chapter covers the relevant historical context, compares online and other sources, identifies problems like lost or damaged records, and shows how the specific information in the census concerned can be interpreted effectively. While the censuses of England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are all examined, the main focus is on the English and Welsh census, with differences noted for other areas. An extensive appendix and bibliography, which, for ease of access, gathers together all the key resources in one place, is also provided.

Do you have an ancestor who served in the Gallipoli campaign in the First World War? Perhaps you have thought of visiting the battlefields in Turkey and the monuments that commemorate them, and want to find out exactly where and when your ancestor served and what part he played in the landings and the fighting that followed? This practical and informative handbook is an ideal guide to the struggle for the Gallipoli peninsula and the stories of the men who took part in it. Simon Fowler outlines the course of the campaign and introduces the many historical resources that you can use to explore the history for yourself. He identifies the key sources for family historians, including The National Archives in Britain, the Australian War Memorial, and other sources in Australia and New Zealand and the many websites that researchers can turn to, and he gives advice on the literature, archives, museums and monuments that may help you to gain an insight into your ancestor's story.