Discover your past
Learn from the experts whether you are starting out on your family history or in need of specialist advice
The Royal Naval Division: What was it, when was it founded and where can you find service records?
Discover how to trace a serviceman in the Royal Naval Division with our guide
The best genealogy courses available now
Discover how to learn family history skills with our pick of the best online and correspondence genealogy courses
Griffith's Valuation: What is it, and where can you find the records?
Starting from 1847, the Griffith's Valuation records list the head of every household in Ireland and are a useful resource for Irish family history research
Munitionettes: Who were they and what did they do?
12-hour shifts, poisoning and deadly explosions... discover the hidden lives of the women who built Britain's arms during the First World War
The Public Record Office of Ireland fire and the Beyond 2022 project
Nicola Morris looks back at the devastating fire at the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922, and explains how long-lost documents are getting a new lease of digital life
What's new?
10 online family tree traps you must avoid or you will end up researching someone else’s family
While researching your family history online, 'hints' from other users' trees can seem like a great shortcut - but you should beware of them
Chelsea Pensioners’ service records: How to find them online
You may have seen 'Chelsea Pensioner' on a family history record - but who were the Chelsea Pensioners? And where can you find Chelsea Pensioners' service records?
137,859 historic OS maps of England and Wales go online for free
137,859 historic Ordnance Survey maps of England and Wales have been added to the National Library of Scotland maps website
7 ways to save money while researching your family history
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine editor Sarah Williams explains how you can save money on family history website memberships and more
Their Finest Hour website goes online
Their Finest Hour, a web archive of ordinary people's memories and artefacts from the Second World War, has gone online
DNA
Discover how DNA testing can unlock your family history
It took 42 years, but a DNA test revealed the truth about my elusive great grandfather
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Rosemary Wilmot reveals how she found out more about her great grandfather George Gray
The best DNA test kits for 2024 tried and tested
Debbie Kennett, author of DNA and Social Networking, explains why DNA testing is increasingly important in family history research.
Police access, health insurance, matching with distant relatives and more: Your DNA test questions answered
Will a DNA test affect your health insurance premiums? Can the police access the database? Your family history DNA test questions answered
Occupations
Discover the occupations and jobs people in your family history did
Post Office records: How to find Post Office employee records
Susannah Coster from The Postal Museum reveals how to use Post Office records in family history
Landmark occupational history of Britain reveals that the Industrial Revolution ‘started a century earlier than thought’
The University of Cambridge's Economies Past website has discovered that the Industrial Revolution started in the 17th century
What is an agricultural labourer?
Almost all of us will have agricultural labourer ancestors. Discover more about their lives and how to research them with our guide
Military
Military and army records, history, research and family history
"I found a map in the pocket of an old GI's uniform... and discovered a D-Day cover-up"
Gary Sterne talks about how he discovered a 'secret' US military historical objective at Omaha Beach on D-Day
D-Day resources: How to research an ancestor who fought in D-Day
On the 80th anniversary of D-Day, discover how you can find out more about ancestors who fought in the pivotal WW2 battle
When was D-Day, and what happened?
When was D-Day, and what happened? Gavin Mortimer takes us inside the bloody landings by Allied forces in Normandy on 6 June 1944
Overseas ancestry
Learn how to search for your ancestry overseas and discover your international family tree
How to find passenger lists for ships
Simon Wills explains where to find online passenger list collections for ancestors who travelled overseas
Irish surnames: What are their origins, and what do they mean?
What are the origins of Irish surnames, and what do they mean? Discover how Irish surnames have changed over time and the origins of some common Irish surnames
How to research Italian ancestry
Do you have Italian ancestry? Discover how you can trace Italian ancestors in their home country with online family history records
Photo dating
Find out more about dating and caring for your old family photographs
Do you have photographs of your family in their gardens? Here’s how to uncover the stories behind them
Discover how to use clothes, photo types and more to date old photographs of your family outdoors in their gardens throughout the years
These family photos are all I have left of my grandfather and uncle who both died in the world wars
Debbie Cameron from Formby in Merseyside shares her family photographs, including of her grandfather and uncle who died in the world wars
From fishing trawlers to Second World War submarines, my family have a long connection with the sea
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Hazel Garas shares some of her family photographs, including Second World War heroes
Photo dating
Find out more about dating and caring for your old family photographs
From a mysterious disappearance to meeting the Queen: These photographs reveal my family history
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Pamela Spencer shares her family photographs, including from the First and Second World Wars
Wartime weddings and trips to the beach: Discover my family history in these beautiful old photographs
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Val Thorley from Aberforth, West Wales shares her family photographs
How to date Victorian and Edwardian photographs
National Trust curator Catherine Troiano reveals some of her tips on how to date Victorian and Edwardian photographs
Church records
How to access church records, religious records, and discover religious ancestors
How to find baptism records
Genealogist Paul Blake explains why English and Welsh baptism records are important in family history research, and where you can find them online
Parish chest records: What are they, and how can you use them in family history?
So-called because they were kept in chests in the parish, parish chest records include churchwardens' accounts, settlement orders, bastardy examinations and more
What is a marriage bond?
Discover how marriage licences were used as an alternative to marriage by banns in England and Wales, and how marriage bond and allegation records can be used in family history
TV series
Discover more about the Who Do You Think You Are? TV series
When is Long Lost Family on TV?
Everything you need to know about Long Lost Family and its spinoff series
Summer Sale! Subscribe to Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine today and try 3 issues for £5!
Get the most from Britain's best selling family history magazine today!
When is Who Do You Think You Are? next on TV?
When is Who Do You Think You Are? next on TV, and who will appear on it? We answer your questions about the popular family history TV show