Learn more, do more, spend nothing

 

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

As the days grow shorter, perhaps the time you have for working on your family tree will increase. This week I've seen a few interesting things that may help - all for free.

The first have been a couple of the big genealogy websites giving free access to their wartime records, timed to coincide with Remembrance commemorations. Ancestry are offering this until 12th November, and Findmypast from 7-13 November. This doesn't simply include military records, but also those referring to voluntary organisations like the Red Cross, or the 1939 Register which listed everyone not involved in active service just prior to the start of the Second World War.

Findmypast are also launching a project to list overlooked members of the First World War's pals battalions. According to their press release, "there is no single roll that holds every name of the Pals". You can search these or add details of your relative who served in a pals battalion.

Also on my radar has been the addition to YouTube of some recent presentations from the North of Ireland Family History Society. These were originally given as part of their October Beginners' Month and are all about Getting Started with

North of Ireland Research

Analysing Your DNA

Wikitree

so they're not solely relevant to Irish research. While we're on the subject, it's useful to take a look at what other organisations host YouTube videos to help genealogists, wherever they are in their family tree research. There are the major commercial sites, of course, partly to promote their subscription services, but also family history societies, heritage groups, and free collaborative efforts like Wikitree or FamilySearch. All of these presentations on YouTube are free to watch, with added commercial breaks. And you can no doubt think of more.

YouTube also hosts podcasts. Try Black Sheep Family History, The Family Histories Podcast, or my favourite, possibly because I love courtroom dramas, Was Justice Served?, by Findmypast.

All that should be enough to keep you occupied during the winter months - or, if you're currently enjoying spring/summer, do you really need an excuse to dig about the family tree?

The Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre: A Visit

 

Garnethill Synagogue, Glasgow

If you're in the Glasgow area, and have an interest in history (family, local, or international), in architecture or Judaism, this is THE place to visit.

Having recently undergone extensive refurbishment, the building, which houses the historic Garnethill Synagogue and the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, now also includes a Holocaust-era studies centre, all part of the newly-launched Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre. 

This, the oldest purpose-built synagogue in Scotland, was designed by John McLeod of Dumbarton and opened in 1879, although the earliest recorded Jewish community in Glasgow dates from about 1821.  Tours of the synagogue itself have long been a regular feature of the annual Doors Open Day programme, but today I was honoured to join the first public tour of the revamped and modernised Heritage Centre.

The synagogue or shul was built for an Orthodox congregation which it still serves, so the layout of the prayer hall is quite traditional.  The Holy Ark at the east end is mightily impressive, as are the stained glass windows throughout the entire building.  Our guides explained the different features, traditions, and significance of each element of the space.  It is a beautiful place with a long and important heritage in both the Jewish and the wider community.

Holy Ark, Garnethill Synagogue

Interior, Garnethill Synagogue

You can read more about the synagogue’s history and architecture on its website. 

Moving downstairs to the newer parts of the Centre, our guides showed us a fascinating timeline display of Jewish history in Scotland, starting from the 18th century, illustrated with documents and photographs up until the present day.  We then got to look at the new Archives Centre, which tantalisingly also had a small bookshop that I had come totally unprepared for – fortunately it also has a website, which will likely be inflicting some damage on my credit card shortly.

Scottish Jewish Archives Centre

Scottish Jewish Archives Centre

This is an area where members of the public are welcome to use the specialist record collections and databases to trace the history of their Jewish families, many of whom will have been immigrants and, indeed, refugees from European nations during times of persecution and conflict.  Included is a complete set of the Glasgow-published Jewish Echo newspaper, a valuable source for family historians.  The Archives room also features a display highlighting prominent events and people in the city's Jewish community.

Postcard sent by Jewish refugee

Our final stop for the tour was the newly-created Holocaust-era studies centre. This houses a small library and study/meeting room for groups of young people learning important lessons from history about prejudice, displacement, and inclusion.  Using copies of immigration records, identity cards, letters, and so on, they can see life-changing events through the eyes of refugees.  Especially in the context of the current upheaval in Afghanistan, it's all the more relevant for students to focus on and understand the causes of the Holocaust and how to prevent it from happening again.

Holocaust Timeline Display, Succah

This part of the Centre has been created in the Succah, the area of the synagogue traditionally used to celebrate the harvest festival of Sukkot.  It has been transformed into a simple but powerful exhibition area, showing in detail the timeline of the Holocaust, its effects on various groups, and the experiences of those who escaped to safety in different parts of Scotland. Other displays highlight those who made this country their home, raised families, and made significant contributions to society.

Glasgow & Ayrshire Jewish Communities Display

I really appreciated the warm welcome extended by the tour guides, the breadth and depth of their knowledge of the building and its history, and their enthusiasm in explaining their tradition to visitors.  I can wholeheartedly recommend the tours which take place weekly and may be booked online.  School groups can also book time to visit the Centre as part of topic studies on religion or history.

Scottish Jewish Archives Centre

We Will Remember Them

 

This coming weekend, Remembrance Sunday is observed in the United Kingdom.  At a time when we traditionally think of those who suffered through armed conflict, we can take the opportunity to learn more of their lives and their sacrifices – not all of life but of freedom, albeit temporarily, and of normality, not forgetting those who were left behind at home to cope as best they could.

This week, Ancestry is giving free access to some of their war collections up until Sunday 8 November.  Included in this are UK WW1 service, medal, and prisoner of war records, plus the 1939 Register for England & Wales, which listed everyone not on active military duty by household.  This is an invaluable tool for locating and finding out more about families and what they were doing at the outbreak of World War 2.

Donald J. MacLeod, 1915-1996

Family Tree magazine has an article from 2016 about how to identify military medals from both World Wars, as well as a link to the Ministry of Defence’s Medal Office which will allow you to apply for yours or a loved one’s awards, or replacements if required.

My own mother used this service and claimed my late father’s medals, which he had never received after being invalided out of the army while serving in North Africa.  They now hold pride of place in my home, framed alongside a photograph of him in uniform.

And a wonderful idea comes from genealogist Jane Barton, who has set up a virtual guided tour of Rutherglen Cemetery (on the outskirts of Glasgow) as an alternative to her usual personal remembrance tours.  Locations and photographs of gravestones are accompanied by detailed background information about their occupants, with clearly a lot of research having gone into this project. 

Leslie Barrie / Rutherglen Cemetery / CC BY-SA 2.0