From Wikipedia:

“RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. She carried 2,223 people.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – slightly more than half of the number travelling on the maiden voyage and one-third her total passenger and crew capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York [2]. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles (600 km) south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm (ship’s time; GMT−3). The glancing collision caused Titanic’s hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a “women and children first” protocol followed by the officers loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later.” © Wikipedia. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic

We also recommend that visitors have a look at: www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/ – a truly excellent site for everything Titanic.

We remember all those that were lost on this sad day, 100 years ago…

Do you have ancestors that were involved? Why not let us know below…

“..my father (as a boy) knew an (old) gentleman, who (as a boy) had danced with an (old) lady who (as a little girl) had danced with Charles II. There were therefore only two lives between my father (born 1815, died 1899) and Charles II..”

In answer to this letter another one arrived on 23 July 1910 from Mr Richard Hollick:

” ..thought my father’s case would be interesting…Mr Francis Hollick of Birmingham, is still alive, and has a birth certificate for this father, who was born in 1750, so that the two lives extend over seven reigns, including the two “record” ones of George III and Victoria..”

Another reply came into The Times on 25 July 1910 from Reverend Daniel Radford, who wrote:

“I do not know whether but dare say there are many family instances like my own, but on this subject it may be of some interest to mention that my great-grandfather was born in the reign of Charles II. If this saviour of antiquity is partly explained by my being more than half-through my 83rd year, the youngest child but one of my father, who had ten children, and who himself the youngest but one of 25 children by the younger of two wives…”

We found these letters absolutely fascinating! One hundred years on from these letters, we wondered if our readers had any similar stories? Have you found that your ancestors are connected to a long distant monarch? Or can you trace your family back a long way through only a few ancestors? Let us know below, we would love to hear…

Thanks to The Times Archive and “The Second Cuckoo”.

In all our blogs and throughout this website, we have tried to emphasise the importance of collecting more information on your ancestors than just dates. Dates are really useful and the join the dot game of genealogy starts with dates, but what about the person? We have already discussed a lot of the extra things you can research in this blog and throughout the website, but one thing we’d like to touch on here is PHOTOS.

All genealogists will agree that it’s a wonderful thing to have a photo attached to an ancestor, because you might be able to learn more about them; or you might see family similarities in them; or quite simply you have another connection to the past.

Why not start to collect some photos today? First, go to your grandparents, parents, or cousins and ask them if they have any photos of your family. You’ll not only discover photos of your ancestors, but hopefully their siblings and others too. Next, go to onto genealogy message board and ask possible relations if they have any photographs. Remember that most families expand and expand and it’s highly likely that some cousins would have some of the family photos, and other cousins will have other family photos – do search these relations out! We can always help you.

After you’ve found some photos, always make sure you make a scanned copy of them and save them on a disc or on a website like Flickr – always have back ups. Photos are a wonderful thing to then pass onto your children and children’s children – and they don’t need the original!

Let us know how you have done, and how far you have managed to get with your photos!

Until next time…

Over the past year, staff at the British Library Newspaper Library have digitised up to 8,000 pages each day from the regional and national press. It is hoped that 40million pages will be scanned and uploaded to the archive by the end of the ten-year project!

The collection can be viewed by clicking here.

As all the leaves start to fall off the trees, we are reminded that autumn is a time where there is a real sense of ending and the closing to the favourable season of summer, and a clear cessation to any kind of beautiful weather.

At the same time, it will be possible to see all over this land; television and newspapers; and in many shops and streets, that people are wearing poppies to support the Royal British Legion and remember the sacrifices of so many for Remembrance Sunday.

The likelihood is that most people with UK ancestry will have an ancestor or family member who fell in one of the world wars. I can name three relations who were killed in the wars; my friend can name one – it doesn’t matter how many – all those that died did it for the good of us all. Nearly every village or town will have a memorial remembering those who fell.

However, we don’t just remember the far past, we must also remember all those who have fallen in wars since – they too will never be forgotten.

During the month of November, we honour them all, and remember their sacrifices are not forgotten.

We have quoted the poem For The Fallen by Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) below. If you would like to remember anyone specifically, please add their names below in the comment section. We can remember them together.

PS, to find out more about WW1, Family Grows on Trees.com recommend the following book: 1914-1918: The History of the First World War

Matt @ FamilyGrowsonTrees.com

The First Battle of Ypres was a First World War battle fought for the strategic town of Ypres in western Belgium. The German and Western Allied attempts to secure the town from enemy occupation included a series of further battles in and around the West Flanders Belgian municipality.

The strategy for the Allied and the German armies is not at all clear. However, the British were likely to be looking to secure the English Channel ports and the army’s supply lines; whilst the Germans were probably looking to complete their advance onto Calais.

The battle of Ypres highlighted that both sides had major issues in their command and both sides managed to miss opportunities to win a significant decision early on.

The battle was also significant as it witnessed the destruction of the highly experienced and trained British regular army, and this meant that from now on a mass conscripted army took over.

In the end Ypres was a victory for the Allies, but losses were very heavy on both sides. The Germans called the battle The Massacre of the Innocents.

Were your ancestors involved? Let us know below! Or have you yet to discover your ancestors part in World War I? Contact us today for more information and to find out more.

Christmas is a time for family, so in the run up to this great event, have you thought about what gifts to get for your loved ones?

This season, Family Grows on Trees are once again offering an AMAZING reduction off some of our genealogy services, so that you can give a family tree to a member of your family this year -whether it’s your mother, father, aunt or husband!

In our experience many people are completely unaware of generations before their parents or grandparents, and a Family Tree at Christmas is an ideal present and a great discussion piece too!

We are offering a discount on some of our services throughout the whole of September and October 2011, so that you can help a family member discover much more..:

Special Offer A: We will research two generations of your Paternal Line for only £250. This will include a printed family tree, census information, certificates we’ve ordered, any extra information we discover along the way, surname meanings, history of the time your ancestors lived in, voucher for more research and a Christmas story….all in a nice folder!

Special Offer B: We will research two generations of your Maternal Line for only £300. This will include a printed family tree, census information, certificates we’ve ordered, any extra information we discover along the way, surname meanings, history of the time your ancestors lived in, voucher for more research, and a Christmas story….all in a nice folder!

Special Offer C: We will research one generation of your Paternal Line and Maternal Line for only £300.

Simply email us here, so you can give a member of your family the best present this Christmas!

Notes:

1. We start our research from either your parents or your grandparents (depending on what information you have), but do email us to discuss further if you would like to.

3. Each family tree, plus notes, would be added to a binder, so that it is smart and presentable. We will need to know who it’s for and from, so we can add that to the binder.

4. We would aim to get the research to you by mid December. If there is a problem with this, we will let you know immediately.

5. This offer cannot be used for any other service provided by Family Grows on Trees.

6. The offer is only open for fifteen individual orders. Once we have reached that number, we will close the offer. Otherwise our offer ends on 31 October 2011.

7. This offer is only valid for those with UK ancestry.

8. Payment can be made in two instalments and a deposit of 10% will need to be made with the order.

This time: the Battle of the Somme. The battle was also known as the Somme Offensive, and took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 in the Somme department of France. This year (2011), we remember these men and women 95 years on…

The battle consisted of an offensive by the British and French armies against the German Army, which, since invading France in August 1914, had occupied large areas of the country. The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War; by the time fighting had petered out in late autumn 1916 the forces involved had suffered more than 1 million casualties, making it one of the bloodiest military operations ever recorded.

The plan for the Somme offensive evolved out of Allied strategic discussions at Chantilly, Oise in December 1915. Chaired by General Joseph Joffre, the commander-in-chief of the French Army, Allied representatives agreed on a concerted offensive against the Central Powers in 1916 by the French, British, Italian and Russian armies. The Somme offensive was to be the Anglo-French contribution to this general offensive, and was intended to create a rupture in the German line which could then be exploited with a decisive blow. With the German attack on Verdun on the River Meuse in February 1916, the Allies were forced to adapt their plans. The British Army took the lead on the Somme, though the French contribution remained significant.

The opening day of the battle on 1 July 1916 saw the British Army suffer the worst one-day combat losses in its history, with nearly 60,000 casualties. It’s particularly poignant for the UK, because the composition of the British Army (at this point a volunteer force) had a number of battalions comprising men from the same places, which meant the losses had a profound social impact in Britain.

The conduct of the battle has been a source of historical controversy: senior officers such as General Sir Douglas Haig, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force and Henry Rawlinson, the commander of Fourth Army, have been criticised for incurring very severe losses while failing to achieve their territorial objectives. Other historians have portrayed the Somme as a vital preliminary to the defeat of the German Army and one which taught the British Army valuable tactical and operational lessons.

At the end of the battle, British and French forces had penetrated a total of 6 miles (9.7 km) into German occupied territory. The British Army was three miles (5 km) from Bapaume and also did not capture Le Transloy or any other French town, failing to complete many objectives. The Germans were still occupying partially entrenched positions and were not as demoralised as the British High Command had anticipated.

Some further reading:

• Somme Mud
• Somme 1916: A Battlefield Companion
• Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived

Were your ancestors in the Battle of the Somme? Let us know below! Or have you yet to discover your ancestors part in World War I? Contact us today for more information and to find out more.