D-Day veterans have spent the week in Normandy to mark the 74th anniversary of D-Day, the battle that turned the tide against Hitler during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, 156,000 Allied troops landed on the coast of northern France as part of Operation Neptune, the largest seaborne invasion in history. It is estimated there were at least 10,000 casualties among the Allies on the first day, with more than 4,000 confirmed dead.
Meghan Markle's family tree revealed
DailyMailTV reveals Meghan Markle's American family tree - which extends back to pre Civil swar South and the Revolutionary War. Her ancestors family members who served the Union in the Civil War and present as Confederate commander Robert E. Lee surrendered, ending the war. Her father's ancestors include 19th century immigrants from Essex in East England and in the then colony of Malta.
Prince Harry and Megan Markle marriage certificate
Following the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle it is unlikely that we will be able to see their marriage certificate. William and Kate’s marriage certificate was not made publicly available either. A little-known clause in the Marriage Act gives Royals the right to exempt themselves from normal legal requirements whereby all marriage certificates are available to view at a register office. The Marriage Act 1753 states that Royal marriages ‘would not be invalidated by non-compliance with the statutory formalities’. And the Marriage Act 1949 upholds the Royal prerogative by stating: ‘Nothing in this Act is intended to affect any law or custom relating to marriages of the Royal Family.’
Original Kent parish registers to be made available online for the first time
Kent County Council is working towards the digitisation and online publication of over 2,500 Anglican parish registers dating from the early 16th century up to 1918. Genealogy website Findmypast will be responsible for indexing, hosting and publishing the records, the first of which will be published later in 2018. The project builds on their existing partnership that has already led to the online publication of over 2.5 million Canterbury Archdeaconry records held by the Canterbury Cathedral Archives.
Familysearch digitised images reach more than 1 billion
Familysearch free online databases of digitized historical documents have now surpassed 2 billion images of genealogy records with millions more being added weekly from countries around the world. Records exceed 678 million in Europe, 48 million in Africa and Pacific, 711 million in North America and 135 million in Asia.. FamilySearch currently adds over 300 million new images a year online from its microfilm to digital and field operations efforts.
Find Me (Family History) Isle of Wight
Isle of wight ward, The Church of Jesus Christ of LDS. 18.00-21.00. 25 May 2018. Chestnut Close, Shide, Newport, Isle of Wight.
Battle of Britain Bunker Exhibition
30 March 2018 saw the opening of a brand new museum telling the story of the Battle of Britain Bunker from top secret construction to all the crucial Fighter Command operations throughout the Second World War and beyond. The Exhibition and Visitor Centre is located at Wren Avenue, Uxbridge. Middlesex.
https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/bunker
Jersey Family History Festival April 2018
Jersey Heritage have announced the inaugural Jersey Family History Festival to be held at the Jersey Archive on Friday-Sunday 20-22 April 2018. There will be talks and workshops throughout the weekend for those interested in family history. The talks designed to help start researching family history, show the resources at Jersey Archive and teach more about the online catalogue.
Library and Archives Canada announces the issuing of pre-confederation land patents
The Library and Archives Canada blog announced launching in April 2018 its Pre-Confederation Land Patents issued by the Registrar General. Land patents were issued by the Crown to grant or confirm title to a portion of land. They represent the first title to land, and serve as proof that the land no longer belonged to the Crown.
April 2018
RAF 100 and RAF Bircham Newton Veterans Day
A Veterans Day is being planned to mark RAF Bircham Newton's centenary as a flying station. There will be many attractions for visitors to enjoy including the RAF Heritage Centre, military vehicles and large-scale model aircraft, talks and local history groups and service associations have been invited along to exhibit their material.
https://www.raf.mod.uk/raf100/whats-on/royal-air-force-bircham-newton-veteran-s-day/www.rafbnmp.org