As someone whose not been at all interested in the forthcoming football excitement I’m delighted that Find My Past has given family historians a reason to wish England  well in the World Cup.

Find My Past has made the following announcement:

“The World Cup is now upon us and we thought it would only be fair to provide some entertainment for any non-football fans out there:

Whenever England play a match, you’ll be able to access all our records for free!* “

What you need to know about this fantastic offer:

- When England play, you don’t pay: 30 minutes before each England game kicks off, all the records on findmypast.co.uk will be free to view for 3 hours

- You can view original images and transcriptions of all our records for free including birth, marriage and death records 1538-2006, census records including the 1911 census and our Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913 – to name just a few

- Normally you would need a subscription or PayAsYouGo credits to view our records – some of which normally cost 30 credits each – so to be able to see them for free is a rare opportunity

- Keep an eye on our blog for a competition question to enter during each England match. You’ll need to answer all the questions correctly for a chance to win, so make sure you don’t miss any. The prize is a goodie bag containing a digital camera, vouchers for a year’s Full subscription plus much more

All you need to do to make use of this unique offer is register on findmypast.co.uk as you’ll need to sign in to view the records. Visit our World Cup page for more information.

If you need a helping hand with your research, take a look at our video tutorials or our Getting Started page which provide clear advice on how to use our records.

We’d love to hear about any discoveries you make while our records are free to view – post anything you’d like to share with us and our readers on our Facebook page.

Please pass this on to friends, family or anyone else you think might want to make the most of our free family history records.

*All records available using our Full subscription (including the 1911 Census) will be free: Living Relatives searches and Memorial scrolls are not included.

So this is the ideal oppotunity to escape from the football fuss and get done to some serious genealogy searching. Here are the times of the first three matches.  You will need to break a habit of a lifetime to follow the football results to find out when England may be playing further matches !

I am sure that you will know how your local time relates to GMT.

England  vs.  United States     -  12 Jun       7:30pm      
England  vs.  Algeria                -  18 Jun       7:30pm      
England  vs   Slovenia              -  23 Jun       3:00pm      

Remember that the free time starts 30 minutes before the kick-off and runs for three hours.   All records available using the Full subscription (including the 1911 Census) will be free: Living Relatives searches and Memorial scrolls are not included.

I guess that you can register in advance to be ready on time.

Happy hunting -

Geoff Stone and Else Churchill

Technorati Tags: Ancestry, family history, Family History News, Find My Past, genealogy

The Competition Commission has published an issues statement as part of its inquiry into the anticipated acquisition of Friends Reunited Holdings Limited (Friends Reunited) from ITV by Brightsolid Group Limited (Brightsolid).

The Commission has been asked to decide whether the acquisition may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition (SLC) within any market or markets in the UK. Brightsolid, which runs websites Find My Past.com and 1911 Census.com, and Friends Reunited, which owns Genes Reunited.com, are two of the three largest suppliers of online genealogy services in the UK. These websites allow users to search and access historical information and documents such as census results, birth, marriage and death records, and also supply family tree software.

The issues statement follows the first stages of gathering information, views and evidence and identifies clearly for all interested parties the specific questions and areas the inquiry is examining. This will form the basis for hearings with Brightsolid and Friends Reunited.

The full issues statement is available on the Commission’s website

The issues statement should not be seen as implying that the inquiry group (the Group) has identified any competition concerns—the Group has yet to reach any conclusions on this inquiry. The purpose of making the issues statement public is to inform all interested parties and give them an opportunity to raise any further points with the CC.
If the Group considers that the merger has resulted or may be expected to result in an SLC, it will consider whether and, if so, what remedies might be appropriate, taking into account any customer benefits that might arise from the acquisition, and will issue a notice of possible remedies, should this be required, at about the time it publishes its provisional findings.
The Commission is expected to report by 16 April 2010 and would like to hear comments on the issues statement from any interested parties, in writing, by 6 January 2010.
To submit evidence, please email anne.jolly@cc.gsi.gov.uk or brightsolidfriendsre@cc.gsi.gov.uk or write to:
Anne Jolly
Inquiry Manager
Competition Commission
Victoria House
Southampton Row
LONDON
WC1B 4AD

Technorati Tags: Brightsolid, family history, Family History News, Find My Past, genealogy, Genes Reunited

The Society has  a FREE access area where anyone (you don’t need to be a member or day searcher) can get a session using some of the major genealogy websites such as Find My Past, Ancestry, Family Relatives, Origins and Documents Online from the National Archives. Our Community Officer is there to assist so whether a novice with a computer or at family history don’t be afraid to call and book a session. We don’t bite!!!

Technorati Tags: Ancestry, Documents Online, Family Relatives, Find My Past, Origins, Society of Genealogists