UK-Wide Genealogy Websites: Where to Start
Most research is done in the records of one nation, which is why the directory has a page for each. But a set of websites sits above them: the national archive, the free transcription charities, the military and newspaper sources, and the tools for reading what you find. The 111 UK-wide entries in the Genealogy Resources Directory are those. This is the short version.
The National Archives, and what it is for
The National Archives at Kew is the government's archive, not the nation's family history collection. It does not hold parish registers or civil registration. What it holds is anything the state created about a person: army, navy and air force service records, medal rolls, the wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury before 1858, naturalisation papers, merchant navy crew lists, railway company staff records. Its Discovery catalogue also indexes the holdings of record offices across the country, and its Find an Archive directory lists every one of them.
The ten to open first
- The National Archives. The Discovery catalogue, a research guide for every record type, and downloads of the digitised records.
- Free UK Genealogy. The charity behind FreeBMD, FreeREG and FreeCEN: civil indexes, parish registers and censuses, transcribed by volunteers and free. The three sites to try before any subscription.
- GENUKI. The reference library. A page for every county and parish in the UK and Ireland, listing the churches, the registers that survive and where they are.
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 1.7 million war dead from both world wars, with the grave or the memorial.
- Lives of the First World War. The Imperial War Museums' memorial to 7.6 million who served, built from service records, medal rolls and family contributions.
- The Long, Long Trail. How the British Army was organised from 1914 to 1918 and how to research a soldier. Read it before you search the records.
- The Gazette. The official public record since 1665: commissions, gallantry awards, bankruptcies, naturalisations, changes of name, partnerships dissolved.
- National Library of Scotland Maps. The historic Ordnance Survey maps for the whole UK, so a street or a farm can be seen as it was.
- A Vision of Britain Through Time. Historical maps, census statistics and gazetteer entries for every place in Britain.
- RootsChat. The largest free UK and Ireland forum. Lookups, handwriting help, photo dating, and someone who has met the same problem before.
Then the tools
The Research tools type on the UK-wide page holds the things that turn a record into a story. The National Archives' palaeography and Latin tutorials for reading early documents. The Dictionary of Old Occupations for the trades that have vanished. British Surnames and the UCL surname mapper for where a name comes from. Measuring Worth and the Bank of England calculator for what a wage or a legacy was worth. The Crew List Index Project for merchant seamen, Railway Work, Life and Death for railway accidents, the Durham Mining Museum for colliery disasters. Deceased Online and the British Newspaper Archive are pay-per-view and subscription, and both earn it.
People and societies
The Society of Genealogists is the national society, with a library, courses and the Genealogists' Magazine. The Family History Federation's Find a Society lists every member society, and its Really Useful Podcast is a good introduction to how societies work. AGRA and the Register of Qualified Genealogists are where to find a professional when a problem needs one. Three specialist societies, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, the Romany & Traveller FHS and the Anglo-German FHS, cover families the county societies do not. The LostCousins newsletter is free and worth reading, Chris Paton's blog is the daily news, and Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine and Family Tree are the monthlies. For the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man: Jersey Heritage, the Priaulx Library in Guernsey and iMuseum on Man.
Two things that trip people up
First World War army service records are incomplete. About two thirds were destroyed by bombing in 1940. The medal index cards, the pension records and the unit war diaries fill the gap, and The Long, Long Trail explains how.
The Gazette's scans are old and names are often mis-read by the search. Try alternative spellings and initials.
Frequently asked questions
Does The National Archives hold birth, marriage and death records?
No. Civil registration for England and Wales is held by the General Register Office, Scotland's by National Records of Scotland, and parish registers by the county record offices. The National Archives holds government records: military, naval, probate before 1858, naturalisation and much else.
What are FreeBMD, FreeREG and FreeCEN?
Three volunteer projects run by the charity Free UK Genealogy. They transcribe the civil registration indexes, parish registers and census returns and make them free to search.
Where do I ask for help with a UK record?
RootsChat, the largest free forum, has county boards and volunteers who do lookups. The county family history society is the other place.
The other quick reads
All 111 UK-wide entries, with filters
Open the UK-wide view of the directory →Research done? See the 72 chart designs.