Who Do You Think You Are?

Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine not only explores the stories behind the popular BBC genealogy TV series, but also helps you uncover your own roots. Each issue is packed with practical advice to help you track down family history archives and get the most out of online resources, alongside features on what life was like in the past and the historic events that affected our ancestors.

Welcome

CONTRIBUTORS

SARAH'S TOP TIP • Names are far from being fixed, so be flexible if you can't find someone

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME

Letters

Who Do You Think You Are?

What's On

Study sheds new light on our ancestors’ occupations • Rosemary Collins reports on data releases and genealogy news

NEWS IN BRIEF

Findmypast releases 284,000 records from Coventry's history

CAN YOU HELP?

New heritage centre celebrates Polish pilots

Next head of TNA revealed

New project researching Irish women's experiences uses AI tools

FROM WAR TO ROMANCE • Alan Crosby reveals how a thorny question of European politics and a glimpse through a window changed his family's history

D-DAY 80 YEARS ON • Gavin Mortimer explains what our relations who invaded Normandy in Operation Overlord went through – and the vital records for researchers

JIM BOOTH 1921-2022 • Gavin celebrates the bravery of one of Operation Overlord's heroes

D-DAY RESOURCES • Here's how you can uncover the experiences of your D-Day ancestor

SHIFTING SURNAMES • Chloe O'Shea describes the main ways that family names can change, and how to identify variants

DNA The results of a DNA test can confirm your suspicions about a variant surname

WILDCARDS Chloe explains why wildcards are a must when exploring online records

CLIVE'S CARIBBEAN CONNECTIONS • Veteran broadcaster Clive Myrie tells Jonathan Wright how his research into his family history has shaped his new TV series

‘MY FAMILY ADVENTURED IN NORTH AMERICA’ • Samantha Taylor has uncovered the travels of relatives who left Essex to try their luck in the burgeoning cities of the USA and the Canadian wilderness.

RESOURCES • These three resources helped Samantha in her research

COAL MINERS • Who Do You Think You Are? genealogist Laura Berry digs up records for researching your coal-mining ancestors

EMILY ATACK'S MINING ANCESTOR • Laura helped to unearth the tragic story of Emily's great great grandfather Joseph Atack

MINE INSPECTOR'S REPORT,1886 • Annual reports listing fatal accidents form the basis of many indexes. This example from Emily Atack's episode is held by The National Archives (nationalarchives.gov.uk) in POWE 7/22

EXPERT PICKS • Laura recommends these online resources for researching coal miners

RESOURCES • Take your research further

METALWORKERS • Jonathan Scott picks some of the key sites for blacksmiths and related occupations

EXPERT'S CHOICE • Adèle Emm, author of Tracing Your Trade and Craftsman Ancestors (2015)

GO FURTHER • These sites can also help with metalworking kin

CROSSLÉ ABSTRACTS • These abstracts containing details of the Beatty family are taken from notebooks held by the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) and available digitally on Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk)

CROSSLÉ GENEALOGICAL ABSTRACTS • Genealogist Nicola Morris explains why this online collection is an important resource if you've hit a brick wall in your Irish research

RESOURCES • Take your research further

Can you help me uncover the identity of Helena and Isabella's parents? • Our team of experts offers tips and inspiration

Why were two sets of banns read before Sarah Lanfear's...