TheGenealogist adds more than 650,000 criminal records

TheGenealogist has added 651,369 quarterly returns of convicts from The National Archives’ HO 8 series of documents to its Court & Criminal Records collection. With this release researchers can find the details of ancestors that broke the law and were incarcerated in convict hulks and prisons in the 19th century.

The new data includes:

• 651,369 records covering the years 1824 to 1854
• Quarterly returns from convict hulks, convict prisons and criminal lunatic asylums.

These fully searchable records are from the Home Office’s sworn lists of convicts on board the convict hulks and in the convict prisons (HO 8). They give the family history researcher fascinating facts that include the particulars of age, convictions, sentences, health and behaviour of the convict, as well as which court sentenced them and where they were serving their sentence.

Read TheGenealogist’s article about these records here .

Colour tithe maps for Bucks released

TheGenealogist has added Colour Tithe Maps from The National Archives to its National Tithe Records collection. With this release researchers can see the plots owned or occupied by ancestors that lived in this ‘home county’ at the time of the survey in the 19th century. The new data includes over 40,000 plots of land covering the years from 1837 to 1855, with some much later plans of altered apportionments. The new data adds to the site’s apportionment record books and previously published greyscale maps. The records cover all levels of society from large estate owners to occupiers of tiny plots such as a cottage or a cowshed. Read more here .

RCN uncovers lives of First World War nurses

The personal stories and first-hand experiences of wartime nurses are being brought to life by the Royal College of Nursing.

Helped by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the RCN has launched a new website, which for the first time brings together the RCN’s collection of scrapbooks, diaries and photo albums belonging to nurses who served during the First World War.

Service Scrapbooks: Nursing and Storytelling in the First World War, showcases the stories of nine nurses and one VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment). The project has digitised, transcribed and researched nearly 2000 pages of photographs, poems, diary entries and illustrations, ranging from 1909 – 1919.

It reveals the experiences of nurses who travelled as far as Greece and Italy to work in military hospitals or occupied the halls of Oxford University and tin huts in the New Forest, whilst treating wounded men who had returned from the frontline. The scrapbooks also contain paintings, sketches and poetry by the soldiers and officers that they cared for, offering a unique perspective of daily hospital life.

Over 15,000 nurses served during the First World War as part of the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service and the Territorial Force Nursing Service (TFNS). This collection brings their history into the digital age and shines a light on the unsung heroes of the nursing profession.

One of the nurses featured is Mabel Pearce (pictured), who served in the TFNS. Her scrapbooks contain poems from soldiers expressing their admiration for her and their harrowing experiences of the war. One patient penned: “Sorry am I to leave you. But happy am I to know. That I have your kindest wishes. No matter where I go.”

Commenting on the project, Dianne Yarwood, deputy chair of the History of Nursing Society, said: “Being able to handle and read a diary written by a fellow nurse more than a hundred years ago was a moving and informative experience. As we digitised and transcribed their diaries, autograph books and photograph albums, we were also able to catch a glimpse of their personal lives.

Service Scrapbooks: Nursing and Storytelling in the First World War can be viewed at rcn.org.uk/servicescrapbooks .