Latest News

Proof of Titanic letter-writer's fated trip found in findmypast.co.uk's passenger records	Jess Moore, findmypast.co.uk web editor
A letter from a first class passenger aboard the Titanic to his wife fetched a reported £55,000 at auction on Saturday 17th April at Devizes, Wiltshire, and we’ve found the author in findmypast.co.uk’s passenger lists. The letter was written by an Adolphe Saalfeld, a 47-year old German manufacturer of perfumes living in London and was [...]
Tue, 27 Jul 2010	Read more

Fred Perry	Alex Daley, Findmypast Editor
National hopes of a Brit winning Wimbledon were dashed for another year with Andy Murray’s exit in the semi-finals last Friday. But Murray, at age 22, hasn’t reached his peak, so dreams that he will one day win the title still burn bright. It’s been 73 years since the last Brit won the men’s singles, [...]
Tue, 07 Jul 2009	Read more

Finding Alexander Fleming	Alex Daley, Findmypast Editor
Sir Alexander Fleming, the nobel-prize winning scientist who discovered the antibacterial effects of penicillin, travelled extensively during his lifetime and crossed the Atlantic several times, with the journeys logged on the Passenger Lists. Fleming was born in East Ayrshire, Scotland in 1881. This event, along with many other Scottish records can be found on our [...]
Mon, 16 Mar 2009	Read more

The Whitechapel Windmill	Alex Daley, Findmypast Editor
Judah Bergman, otherwise known as ‘Jack Kid Berg’, to this day is considered one of the finest boxers Great Britain has produced. Berg was born to a poor Jewish family in Whitechapel, East London, on 28 June 1909. For a young man such as Berg, in the 1920s, professional boxing was one of the few [...]
Tue, 23 Dec 2008	Read more

The 1908 London Olympics	Alex Daley, Findmypast Editor
With Beijing 2008 finished and the countdown to London 2012 underway, we look back at the first time London hosted an Olympic Games, in 1908. The White City Stadium (originally The Great Stadium) was built for the event. It housed a running track, a swimming and diving pool, plus platforms for wrestling and gymnastics. In [...]
Mon, 08 Sep 2008	Read more

Cary Grant	Alex Daley, Findmypast Editor
The Hollywood star familiar to millions as Cary Grant was born Archibald Alec Leach, in Bristol in 1904. He appears three times in our exclusive Passenger Lists, bound in each instance for New York. We first find Grant in 1920, aged 16, aboard the Olympic. In his company are eight other actors; collectively they comprised [...]
Thu, 31 Jul 2008	Read more

Raymond Chandler	Alex Daley, Findmypast Editor
Among the most influential of crime fiction writers is Raymond Chandler. In just seven novels he established his protagonist Philip Marlowe as American fiction’s quintessential private detective. He was also behind some of the finest screenwriting Hollywood has seen. Screen adaptations like Double Indemnity bear testament to his innate ability to write for cinema. Since [...]
Wed, 25 Jun 2008	Read more

Oswald Mosley	Alex Daley, Findmypast Editor
Oswald Mosley must rank among the most controversial figures in 20th century British politics. His radical views forced him out of the Labour party in 1930 and soon after he formed his own political party, the New Party, whose policies mirrored his own extremist beliefs. Heavily influenced by Mussolini’s National Fascist Party in Italy, in [...]
Wed, 07 May 2008	Read more

Ten Pound Poms	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
The phrase ‘Ten Pound Poms’ derived from the Britons who emigrated to Australia following World War Two on the Australian government’s assisted passage scheme. The purpose of this scheme was to enlarge Australia’s population whilst supplying workers for the country’s growing economy and industry. Britons were offered a way out of the rationing and deprivation [...]
Mon, 31 Mar 2008	Read more

Explorers and Deception (Island)	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Whilst looking at the last decade of the Passenger Lists we came across an expedition to an exotic sounding location: Deception Island. Located in the South Shetland Islands the Island was historically used by seal hunters and whaling companies. In more recent times it was the focus of scientific research and, in 1955/56, was the [...]
Thu, 27 Mar 2008	Read more

Passenger Lists statistics and graphs	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Now that the Passenger Lists are a complete set we’ve been looking at trends and patterns in the long-distance movement of people by ship from the UK. The overall number of passengers travelling for each 5-year period from 1890-1960 can be viewed below. Please note that the last bar is actually a six- rather than [...]
Tue, 25 Mar 2008	Read more

Passenger Lists now complete with launch of the final decade	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Search for ancestors from 1890-1960 The last decade of the Passenger Lists has now been added, allowing you to search from 1890 all the way up to 1960, for ancestors leaving the UK. There are now more than 24 million passengers, across 164,000 exclusive passenger lists. The 1950s – Elvis, Egypt and Emigration The 1950s [...]
Tue, 18 Mar 2008	Read more

Sailing suffragettes	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
March is Women’s History Month and to celebrate we have found some pioneering women in our Passenger Lists. It was 90 years ago, with the Representation of the People Act 1918, that women over the age of 30 were enfranchised. Ten years after, in 1928, this was extended allowing representation on equal terms with men. [...]
Thu, 28 Feb 2008	Read more

Steamboat Walt	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
There are many famous names and figures amongst the Passenger Lists, from every conceivable walk of life. One man, who appears twice in the new 1940s Passenger Lists, was a giant of the film industry, whose surname is synonymous with both a hugely lucrative entertainment empire and a cartoon mouse. Walter Elias Disney is listed [...]
Mon, 18 Feb 2008	Read more

Arandora Star	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
On 2 July 1940 the Arandora Star was hit by a German torpedo and sunk off the coast of Donegal, Ireland. The ship was transporting 1,500 German and Italian men to interment camps in Canada. Over 800 people died in the sinking, a figure exacerbated by inadequate lifeboat provision. The Arandora Star was built in [...]
Wed, 13 Feb 2008	Read more

Jewish refugees	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
As the Nazi Party’s anti-Semitic agenda became clearer and more brutal, thousands of Jews fled Germany and its neighbouring countries. Following Kristallnacht in November 1938, the need to emigrate in order to avoid persecution became more urgent. The 1940s Passenger Lists contain many Jewish individuals fleeing Europe for America and Australia. One example is a [...]
Mon, 11 Feb 2008	Read more

London Olympics 1948	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Image copyright IOC / Olympic Museum Collections The events of World War Two meant that the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were cancelled. London was awarded the 1948 Games but the timing couldn’t have been worse. Financially, Britain had been crippled by the conflict and rationing was still enforced, with bread rationing ending only on the [...]
Wed, 06 Feb 2008	Read more

War Brides	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Thousands of British women found love during the Second World War. American and Canadian troops stationed in Britain during the War gained a reputation as being ‘overpaid, overfed, oversexed and over here’. British women married these servicemen in huge numbers, with approximately 100,000 wedding Americans and a further 45,000 marrying Canadians. Once the war was [...]
Fri, 01 Feb 2008	Read more

New decade added to the Passenger Lists 1940 to 1949	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Findmypast.com has added another decade of records to the UK Outbound Passenger Lists currently available. Records now include 20 million names within 137,000 passenger lists spanning 1890 to 1949. Search the Passenger Lists now 1940s - Horrors, Hitler and the aftermath The first half of the 1940s was one of the darkest periods in history, with [...]
Thu, 31 Jan 2008	Read more

Titanic passenger lists free to view at findmypast.com	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
With the Christmas Day special edition of ‘Doctor Who’ set on board the RMS Titanic, findmypast.com is making the original handwritten RMS Titanic passenger lists FREE to view during the festive season so viewers can discover if their ancestors travelled on the same journey as the intrepid Doctor. The original passenger list will be available [...]
Thu, 20 Dec 2007	Read more

Evelyn Waugh	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Evelyn Waugh is primarily noted for his novels satirising the upper echelons of English Society, such as Vile Bodies, A Handful of Dust and Brideshead Revisited. He was, however, also an avid traveller and writer of travel literature. Waugh can be found twice in the current Passenger Lists on ancestorsonboard.com; once travelling to Tangier in 1933 and [...]
Mon, 19 Nov 2007	Read more

One of the last two surviving Titanic passengers dies	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Mrs Barbara Joyce Dainton (nee West) died on 16 October 2007 and was buried last week, in Truro, England. Mrs Dainton was a passenger on the Titanic‘s ill-fated maiden voyage, along with her parents Edwy Arthur West, Ada Mary West and her elder sister Constance. She was 10 months old at the time of the [...]
Mon, 12 Nov 2007	Read more

Domestics in the Passenger Lists	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
The Passenger Lists on ancestorsonboard.com allow you exclusive access to records which help to fill in the blanks in your family tree, to trace ancestors emigrating to start a new life and moving around for work. Just as importantly, the Passenger Lists can also provide a fascinating insight into the way that your ancestors lived [...]
Tue, 23 Oct 2007	Read more

Roger Casement ? Reports and Republicanism	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Sir Roger Casement was a British diplomat, lauded for his influential reports on human rights violations in Congo and Peru. So groundbreaking and revelatory was his work in exposing the ill-treatment of natives in these countries, he was knighted in 1911. The Casement Report of 1904 led to the removal of King Leopold II of Belgium [...]
Fri, 12 Oct 2007	Read more

Checking in with your American Ancestors	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
A feature of the Passenger Lists, from the 1920s on, is the inclusion of a last known address in the UK next to the passenger’s name. This is of enormous use and interest for family historians - seeing where an ancestor was living before they emigrated or, indeed, went on holiday. It is also an easy [...]
Tue, 09 Oct 2007	Read more

Prince Aly Khan ? divorce and diplomacy	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Prince Ali Solomone Khan, known popularly as Prince Aly Khan, was the son of Aga Khan III and is perhaps best known for his association with the sport of horse-racing and his playboy lifestyle. Khan’s first wife was Joan Guinness, nee Yarde-Buller, whom he married in May 1936, just days after her divorce from Loel [...]
Fri, 05 Oct 2007	Read more

Passenger lists to Argentina	Stephen Rigden
Contrary to the impression sometimes given, Britain’s relationship with Argentina is as complex and multi-faceted as that with any other country. Military conflicts in 1806/07 and, more importantly for the modern memory, in 1982, and a football match in 1986, colour the picture but, when the bigger view is taken, it is clear that mutual [...]
Fri, 28 Sep 2007	Read more

Siegfried Sassoon ? a simple soldier boy.	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
The poet and author Siegfried Sassoon was best known for his writing on the futility and horrors of war. Born in Matfield, Kent, Sassoon enlisted in the military in the run up to World War One. His style of poetry altered dramatically as a result of the events of the conflict, and his meeting with [...]
Tue, 25 Sep 2007	Read more

John McCormack ? a long way from Tipperary	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
John McCormack was one of the most highly acclaimed singers of his generation, recording and releasing hundreds of classical, traditional and popular songs. Born in Athlone, Ireland, McCormack won the gold medal for tenors at the Irish National Music Festival (Feis Ceoil) in 1903, at the age of 19. Following this he travelled to Italy [...]
Thu, 20 Sep 2007	Read more

The Contenders ? The Gorgeous Gael, The Tonypandy Terror and The Whitechapel Windmill	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
The new decade of the BT27 Passenger Lists on ancestorsonboard.com contains a great number of notable figures from the world of art, politics and literature. An increasing presence in the Passenger Lists from the 1920s and ’30s on are figures drawn from the world of sport, as travelling to compete further afield became a more [...]
Wed, 19 Sep 2007	Read more

New decade added to the Passenger lists ? 1930-1939	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Findmypast.com has added another decade of records to the UK Outbound Passenger Lists currently available. Records now include 18.4 million names within 125,000 passenger lists spanning 1890 to 1939. The 1930s – an era of depression and despots The 1930s were a decade that began with the Great Depression, in the wake of the Wall [...]
Tue, 18 Sep 2007	Read more

Kaplinski on board	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Many of you will have seen the moving story of Natasha Kaplinsky’s family, on the first episode of the new series of Who Do You Think You Are? Her paternal grandfather, Moisza Kaplinski, can be found in the BT27 Passenger Lists on ancestorsonboard.com. He travelled 3rd class from London to Cape Town, as a 23 year old [...]
Fri, 07 Sep 2007	Read more

Are you a child of the Empire?	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Empire’s Children contributor’s workshop. On Wednesday 8 August, Channel 4 is running a one-day workshop for people with stories to tell about the British Empire. The workshop is intended to complement the television series, Empire’s Children, currently airing on Monday nights at 9pm. Attendees are encouraged to bring photographs, transcripts and recordings if they have them. [...]
Mon, 06 Aug 2007	Read more

Titanic ? unknown child mystery solved at last	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Six days after the Titanic sank, the body of a baby boy was found and recovered from the North Atlantic waters by the recovery ship CS Mackay-Bennett. The child was not identified and, as such, was buried in Nova Scotia with a tombstone reading simply ‘The Unknown Child’. With the advent in recent years of DNA testing, [...]
Mon, 06 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 12	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 11	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 10	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 9	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 8	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 7	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on the [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 6	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 5	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 4	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 3	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 2	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Moreton Bay Photo 1	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
To mark National Family History Week in Australia (4-12 August 2007) ancestorsonboard.com is launching the Moreton Bay Family History Challenge. The Moreton Bay was the first of the Australian Commonwealth Government Line Ships designed to facilitate a state sponsored emigration of British subjects to Australia. View a free two-minute movie entitled “Passenger Lists: People on [...]
Wed, 01 Aug 2007	Read more

Bigamy and elopement on the Passenger Lists	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
Ancestorsonboard.com customer Catherine Major emailed us recently with a fascinating story that she uncovered whilst viewing the new decade of our Passenger Lists. According to a family story, Robert Bruce ran away with his mistress, a ‘Mrs Harding’, to start a new life, leaving behind his wife and their 1 year old son. On searching our new [...]
Mon, 16 Jul 2007	Read more

Perhaps it was too loud for her	Declan Ryan, Findmypast Editor
An interesting point to note when searching the Passenger Lists is that they were usually filled in a day or two before the actual departure date, based on ticket sales, and kept at the offices of the shipping company before being sent on to the Board of Trade. An illustration of this may be found [...]
Thu, 05 Jul 2007	Read more

Children of the Empire	Stephen Rigden
Find the Empire’s Children in your family tree Starting on Monday 2 July at 9pm a new six-part Channel 4 television programme called Empire’s Children will be examining the Imperial backgrounds of six British celebrities, including Dame Diana Rigg, David Steel, Jenny Eclair, Chris Bisson, Shobna Gulati and Adrian Lester. The programme will be looking [...]
Wed, 04 Jul 2007	Read more

Another decade added to the UK Outbound Passenger Lists 1920 ? 1929	Stephen Rigden
Ancestorsonboard.com has added another decade of records to the UK Outbound Passenger Lists currently available. Records now include an incredible 15,749,960 names within 97,614 passenger lists spanning 1890 to 1929. There’s more information available on the original images than in previous decades, such as each passenger’s last address in the UK, making it easier than [...]
Mon, 02 Jul 2007	Read more