FamilyRelatives Mark Remembrance Day With Military Infographics & 1 Million Military Records for World War I

As thoughts turn to remembrance on this year’s hugely significant Armistice Day, leading genealogy and family history site, FamilyRelatives, is urging people to discover more about their military past, using their incredible archive of over 20 million military records. This week marks 100 years since the beginning of the First World War, and FamilyRelatives has more than a million records from this specific time period alone, allowing users more insight than ever before, into their own military lineage.

FamilyRelatives will be commemorating the occasion with the release of a booklet made up of 26 infographics, a totally free download for all visitors to the site. Packed full of fascinating facts about the war and the people who fought in it, the infographics are sure to satisfy the appetite of anyone who has ever wondered whether their relatives played a part in one of the most infamous battles that ever took place. 

A spokesman for the site, which has millions of records dating back centuries, says, “This week will mark an incredibly significant milestone in human history – the centenary of the beginning of the First World War. At FamilyRelatives, we always notice an upswing in people searching our site around the time of Remembrance Day, as their thoughts turn to the sacrifices their ancestors made – and we anticipate that this year will see more visitors than ever to the site.”

He adds, “Many people will realise that they have no idea whether their own relatives were involved in the Great War, or if they were, what part they played in the war effort. The centenary is the ideal opportunity for them to discover more about their ancestry and their lineage, as the world remembers the noble sacrifice made by so many.”

The infographics is available to download for free to encourage more people to think about their family history in the context of the Great War. The graphics are packed with interesting snippets of information that bring home the reality of the war for so many – for instance, the youngest British soldier to die in World War I is thought to have been just fourteen years old, while the oldest man to die as a result of war wounds was a Lieutenant at the age of sixty-eight. ‘Smith’, ‘Jones’ and ‘Brown’ were the most common surnames of men to die in the war, and 628 of the 1,357 Victoria Crosses that have been awarded throughout history came from World War I. 

Army Losses WWI

The spokesman for FamilyRelatives adds, “As time passes, many people can feel detached from the shocking events – but finding out they had a relative fighting in the war, or helping the war effort in the UK, can bring it all home for many individuals. In order to mark 100 years since the war began, we’d like to encourage more people to sign up for access to our unique archive of military records. We can’t think of a more fitting way to remember those who passed than by acknowledging their contribution in this way. As the famous poem goes – ‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them’.

For more information about Familyrelatives' extensive military records, or to search the database, visit the website:

http://www.familyrelatives.com/

or visit 

http://www.familyrelatives.com/infographic_wwi.php?

to download the free infographic or to use it for your own website.

Census returns now available online

The Census returns are now available online on Familyrelatives.com in Beta

The Census Premium Subscription includes all current databases including the Censuses. Please note we are adding the Censuses.

The 1841 and 1901 Censuses are now available online.

The 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 are being tested and will be available shortly but will be available under the Premium Subscription.

Records available online

Pricing Information

About the Census
The 1841 census is the earliest census generally used by family historians, the census is also known as the Census returns.
The Census is a series of questions asked of every household in England & Wales which allowed government to identify the necessary resources. Each of the households were then catalogued into regions – from County to District to Parish and then to Village and Street. Furthermore their Surnames and Forenames were recorded together with their Position within the household as well as their sex, occupation and place of birth.
All this information was recorded in a series of pages which again were categorised into forms which were bound into books called folios. Each folio was then subdivided into Pages.
As well as Households forms were distributed and collected by enumerators to every hospital, ship or institution including boarding schools.

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Familyrelatives.com remembers the fallen with New Military Records

Familyrelatives.com releases three new military datasets for the first time containing lists of more than 35,000 British and Dominion Officers who were killed or captured during the Great War. We are proud to have added the following to our website:

British Officers Prisoners of War 1914-1918

Officers Died in the Great War 1914-1919

The Bond of Sacrifice - A Biographical Record of British Officers Who Fell in the Great War

On Armistice Day the collection commemorates British military personnel who were taken prisoner, detailing their name, rank, regiment, camp location, date of capture and release date. Even those who escaped are included.

The Bond of Sacrifice collection presents 4,000 biographies of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, arranged alphabetically to provide an invaluable record of the contribution and achievements of those who served.

The collection lists a surprising number of Brigadier Generals including Hurdis Secundus Lalande Ravenshaw CMG who as a senior British Army officer during the First World War served at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and saw action on the North-West Frontier of India, in South Africa during the Second Boer War and in France and Greece during the First World War. In 1916 he was captured by an Austrian submarine with all his staff and held as a prisoner until the end of the war.

Another lists one of the war's most popular heroes Captain William Leefe Robinson VC of the Royal Flying Corp. who shot down the first German Zeppelin airship over London and transformed the battle in the air over Britain. Captain Robinson was later shot down by German fighter aircraft led by the “Red Baron” Lieutenant Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen and captured.

Reports that Robinson had been killed stunned the nation however a letter to his fiancée confirmed he was a prisoner. Although safe, his captors made his life unpleasant and he was poorly treated as he and his fellow prisoners had made several attempts to escape and was sentenced to a month of solitary confinement. He and others were sent to the underground fortress of Zorndorf much as hardened escapees were confined in Colditz Castle in World War II.

The records also tell us of those who lost their lives at sea when even hospital ships fell victim to enemy action. The nation lamented the loss of its largest ship the Britannic which was sunk in the Mediterranean. Mercifully of the 1,066 crew and wounded service personnel only 30 souls were lost. A huge contrast to its ill fated sister ship the Titanic when 1,523 were drowned out of the 2,228 on board.

The records were digitised and provided online for easier searching and are a useful resource when researching family military history. The collection now forms part of Familyrelatives.com’s online military archives which number over 20 million records.

British Officers Prisoners of War 1914-1918

Officers Died in the Great War 1914-1919

The Bond of Sacrifice - A Biographical Record of British Officers Who Fell in the Great War

The collection is only a part of more than 850 million historic records available online to all members and visitors by way of an annual subscription for just £25 or €30 / US$40 at www.familyrelatives.com

Familyrelatives ring new changes with the release of Telephone Directories from Africa and the Caribbean

Discovering Nuggets of Gold

Are telephone directories just about numbers or are they a window into the past? If we take a closer look they reveal so much that is interesting from a historical aspect.

Familyrelatives is delighted to add some truly unique records to our expanding collection and existing 850 million records. We have added over 200,000 records in a number of directories which are from our Rest of the World Collection providing some fascinating insights.

Among the famous names Lord Delamere one of the leaders of the white settler community and a certain Colonel Grogan – famous for walking from Cape to Cairo between 1898 and 1900, Lord Egerton of Njoro Kenya whose estates and name adorn the prestigious agricultural college.

Kenya made headlines during the Mau Mau campaign and was about to achieve independence. Two African politicians were at the forefront of the campaign for independence Tom Mboya a rising young man cruelly assassinated in a Nairobi Street and Jomo Kenyatta who went on to become Kenya’s first president. A further search among the burgeoning Indian and Ismaili community reveals Eboo Pirbhai already knighted by the Queen and H.R.H. The Aga Khan whose foundations and community stretched from India to Africa.

Equally in the European community were Sir Wilfred Havelock a key minister in the pre-independence colonial government and Michael Blundell who was considered to be leader of the white settlers.



So a telephone directory reflects the society it serves from Government House with the Queen’s representative at the head of the colonial administration to citizens of all races. With the railways playing a key role in the development of East Africa East African Railways and Harbours features prominently. East African Airways together with Telecommunications, the currency Board etc. remind us of a bold attempt to achieve a federation which with the independence of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika (now Tanzania and Zanzibar) soon succumbed to national pressure and were dissolved. These directories were a final glimpse at passing history.

These directories are particularly interesting as they record numerous individuals, families and businesses of those who had settled and followed their daily lives under the flag.

Following independence, there was no great exodus however many expatriates chose to leave in the years following. In Uganda for example Idi Amin forcibly removed the Indian community who formed the middle class and owned many businesses. Southern Rhodesia was one of three colonies which formed the Central African Federation together with Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia. With the break up of the Federation and a unilateral Declaration of Independence the directory of Southern Rhodesia in 1958 preceded the change to majority rule and shows the European population at its peak before Robert Mugabe began his policy of taking over white owned farms. In 1980 Rhodesia became the independent Republic of Zimbabwe.



East Africa

These are the lands of fame and fable – from Ernest Hemmingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” to Rider Haggard’s “King Solomon’s Mines. Are there many who have not seen at least one movie such as Out of Africa, Born Free, Mogambo, The African Queen, White Mischief or the Maneaters of Tsavo?


Society names and Big Game hunting are all in the telephone directory. White Hunters such as Kerr and Downey – the Muthaiga Club, Mount Kenya Safari Club or the famed Norfolk Hotel from where many safaris began and not least of all – Treetops Hotel faces towards Mount Kenya where Queen Elizabeth II learned of her accession following the death of King George VI.

As a collection these erstwhile colonial directories provide an eclectic mix of settlers, administration, justice, police and military together with businesses and in eastern Africa the importance of the railways (East African Railways and Harbours) which opened the three east African territories to trade, commerce and settlement.

Barbados – this directory is distinct from the others for this lovely island had gained its independence 3 years earlier but not much had changed in the way of its citizens who had deep roots in the country from way back. Besides it was an island thriving on its tourist industry as could be seen by its many hotels and guest houses.


Records now available online with Annual Subscription


Barbados Telephone Directory 1969-1970


Directory of Swiss Manufacturers and Producers 1937


Juta's Directory of Cape Town Suburbs & Simon's Town 1904


Southern Rhodesia Telephone Directory 1958


Telephone Directory Kenya, July 1962


Telephone Directory Tanganyika, March 1962


Telephone Directory Uganda, October 1962


The collection is only a part of more than 850 million historic records available online to all members and visitors by way of an annual subscription for just £25 or €30 / US$40 at www.familyrelatives.com

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