British Newspaper Archives additions for March

The British Newspaper Archive now has a total of 36,633,282 pages online (36,198,942 last month).

 34 papers (32 last month) had pages added in the past month. There were 11 (17) new titles. Dates ranged from 1779 to 1986.

The 11 newspapers with more than 10,000 pages added during the month are:

TITLE	DATE RANGE
Aberdeen Press and Journal	1972-1974
Batley News	1883-1907
Batley Reporter and Guardian	1869-1897, 1899-1907
Carlow Sentinel	1832-1920
Crewe Chronicle	1874-1887, 1889-1972
Home News for India, China and the Colonies	1847-1865
Merthyr Express	1871-1897, 1899-1910, 1912-1945
North Wilts Herald	1867-1895, 1897-1941
Nuneaton Observer	1877-1896, 1898-1912
Torbay Express and South Devon Echo	1958-1967, 1969-1972
Truth	1885, 1894-1897, 1900-1902, 1906-1907, 1910

The last newspaper in the table, Truth, is interesting for its colourful history.

The Joy of Genealogy?

These days people are saying that you could usefully spend your time in self-isolation or physical distancing by organizing your genealogy files and scanning paper files into a computer compatible format. That’s so that you can pass along comprehensive well ordered information on your family history to your sons, daughters, grandchildren and their descendants on down the line.

They might not want it?  Read on while I explain why that attitude makes sense.

There's nothing wrong with working on your family history. Organized files, colour coded, neatly arranged, certainly look satisfying on the shelf or in filing cabinets. Scanning things into computer files means you can dump all the physical research notes and non-archival materials. If that keeps you out of trouble and brings you joy so much the better, but don’t expect undying appreciation from subsequent generations. Why?

Look at it this way. What would be the consequences if each of your 2,048 10th great-grandparents had each prepared the type of collection you are working on now and passed it on through the generations to you? Let’s say they’d pared it down to 2,000 sheets of paper, the product of their in-depth research into all their previous generations. A typical banker’s box, 15" width x 12" depth x 10" height holds 2,000 sheets. So you'd been dealing with 2,048 boxes. Each is a bit over 1 cubic foot; you’re now dealing with 2,180 cubic feet of boxes -- more than will be held by all but the largest self-storage unit. The storage cost might be $250 per month. A typical box weighs 30 pounds, that’s 61,440 pounds for the collection — or 27 imperial tons (that's 31 US tons).

On top of that add biographical materials from each person in subsequent generations in your direct line, another 2,046 ancestors. I won’t do the calculation, the point is already made.

Even if your descendants could afford the storage would they likely want to dig through those tons of information?

Scanned into pdfs the material might be 4TB. That's a very rough estimate, it very much depends on the content, less if all text, more for high-quality images. That’s not unreasonable in these days of institutional petabyte storage, but would the descendants want to look through it all if not searchable?

If you wouldn’t want to take on the challenge of caring for those ancestral materials should you add to the burden of subsequent generations?

Yes, enjoy the challenge of the search. Recognize it’s for your own enjoyment. Just as with crossword puzzles, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying them — just don’t bequeath the completed ones to your descendants!

You may have already scoffed at the scenario painted above as it would require your parents to have duplicated each of the boxes they inherited as a gift to their children, as many copies as they had children. As your n-times great grandparents are in all probability shared with many many many descendants there would be a lot of duplicates being stored. The answer is sharing.

If you like the security of physical copies, no danger of an electromagnetic pulse frying computer storage, produce a book and place copies in a few libraries that accept genealogical materials. The cost will mean you’re careful to be selective. Or write articles for magazines or journals. Family history societies are always looking for content that they publish without charge to members, and you’ll have the advantage of editorial review. As many copies are produced there’s a good chance some will survive many years — there’s a term for that — LOCKSS — lots of copies keep stuff safe. The contents may well be kept by the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) operated by the Allen County Public Library and available through Findmypast.

Online there are many options. You can produce your own family tree on most of the commercial genealogy sites specifying the level of privacy with which you feel comfortable. Just remember that complete privacy means the content will never be shared.

Consider the unified databases, an example is WikiTree: The Free Family Tree. LOCKSS applies so plan on adding information to more than one such site.

Enjoy the time you put in researching and documenting your family history; then think about how best you can help rather than impose a burden on the generations that follow.

MyHeritage adds Colourization Options

MyHeritage has added new colourization settings allows you to fine-tune colours. A new "Settings" gear icon is added next to the colourized photo allowing you to adjust various settings. Experiment with settings, then click and compare with the original colourized photo. 

In a few minutes playing it seemed retaining the white balanced checked worked best for me. Reducing the saturation meant the face was less pink — more realistic.
Your taste and mileage may vary.

Find Family in Royal Canadian Legion Military Service Recognition Books

Military Service Recognition Books identify and recognize veterans — "any person who is serving or has honourably served in the Canadian Armed Forces, the Commonwealth or its wartime allies, or as a Regular Member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or as a Peace Officer in a Special Duty Area or on a Special Duty Operation, or who has served in the Merchant Navy or Ferry Command during wartime."

The books are published by Fenety Marketing in a fairly uniform format for the various Provincial Commands of the 30,000 member-strong Royal Canadian Legion. There's a list of the Commands with links to their websites at www.legion.ca/contact-us/provincial-commands/.

Supported by advertising and donations, the books feature biographies and reminiscences of those who served. Most entries are from the Second and First World Wars, also the Korean war and more. They may include articles on activities of the Legion and on notable events in which Command servicemen and women were involved. Typically each of the about 100 volumes has a table of contents near the front which names the veterans mentioned.

Except as noted the volumes are available as searchable pdfs.

British Columbia/Yukon Command
www.dropbox.com/sh/sfuwolxzqyfanq4/AAB-eDD5P7Kbs7-ayCrBnw_ka?dl=0/
14 volumes starting in 2006. PDFs not searchable.

Alberta-NWT Command
abnwtlegion.com/in-the-community/military-service-recognition-books/
11 volumes starting in 2009.

Saskatchewan Command
sasklegion.ca/military-service-recognition-book/
11 volumes and a commemorative booklet published starting in 2007.

Manitoba/Northwest Ontario Command
www.mbnwo.ca/fenety.htm
10 volumes starting in 2010.

Ontario Command
www.on.legion.ca/remembrance/military-service-recognition-book/
6 volumes starting in 2014. A master index at www.on.legion.ca/docs/default-source/pdf/msr-book/msrb---names-listing.pdf?sfvrsn=299973f_4

Quebec Command
None found

New Brunswick Command
nb.legion.ca/veterans/military-service-recognition-book/
13 bilingual volumes and a commemorative booklet starting in 2003.

Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command
www.ns.legion.ca/index.php/veterans/veteran-service-recognition-book/
15 volumes starting in 2005.

Prince Edward Island Command
peilegion.com/projects/military-service-recognition-booklet/
15 volumes and a commemorative booklet starting in 2003.

Newfoundland and Labrador Command
www.legionnl.com/forms-facts-faqs/lest-we-forget-books/
7 volumes known as Lest We Forget Books starting in 2011.

Many thanks to Glenn Wright for alerting me to these books.

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

The LAC Documentary Heritage Communities Program in action.
Theory? Meet Practice! Supporting Archival Development at St. Peter's Cathedral Church, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Revelstoke Museum and Archives

During the Second World War, Canadian SandyMacpherson kept Britain calm

Canadian Army Newsreels 
One of tomorrow's blog posts will feature a little known Canadian military resource with lots of information on thousands of servicemen and women. In the meantime  you there's plenty of context in Canadian Army Newsreels, here (undated) or here from LAC (with year in the title)
There's more to stream at from the National Film Board too.

Florence Nightingale: a pioneer of handwashing and hygiene for health

Timely in the 200th year of her birth -- a great day of the year to be born.

Survival Of Archives; Archives Of Survival
A blog post by Mark Smith of the Derbyshire Record Office.

From Pasture to Pandemic Hospital
In a feature article, TheGenealogist shows how The MapExplorer™ allows us to compare and contrast the vista that Victorians would have seen here with a modern satellite view for the site of the ExCel exhibition centre, where RootsTech London was held last year, now repurposed as the temporary NHS Nightingale Hospital.

Silver lining: Could COVID-19 lead to a better future?

Thanks to this week's contributors
Ann Burns, Christine Jackson, Ed Keelin, Elise, Glenn Wright, Helen, Ken McKinlay, Marilyn, Mike More, Old Census Scribe, Sophronia, Trevor Rix, Unknown

Findmypast adds Scottish Records

Published in partnership with East Ayrshire Family History Society.

Scotland, Ayrshire, Kilmarnock Valuation Roll 1874
Trace ancestors with these 7,050 valuation roll records from 1874. Transcripts for those who owned or rented land in Kilmarnock with the most important family tree details, as well as digital copies of the original records can reveal:

Landlord's and/or tenant's names
Addresses
Description of the property
How much rent was paid

Scotland, Ayrshire, Kilmarnock Ratepayers 1838-1846
Local and central government officials collected these 4,157 property records until The Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act, 1854 established a uniform process for valuing tenancies across the country.

Scotland, Ayrshire, Kilmarnock Voters Lists 1837-1852
For these 2,110 voters a combination of the records' transcripts and digitized images of the original documents can reveal:

Names
Occupations
Addresses
Voter's chosen candidate
Those who didn't vote

At the time these records were taken, the right to vote in Scotland was not universal. Only owners or tenants of residences worth more than £10 could vote, provided all of their taxes had been paid for the previous year.

Coronavirus R&R: The Ballard of Dunny Roll

BIFHSGO Conference 2020 – Postponement Announcement

This is a message from the conference co-chairs.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertain situation over the coming months, BIFHSGO’s Board of Directors and Conference Planning Committee regret to announce the postponement of the annual family history Conference, scheduled to be held 25–27 September 2020.

Many factors have been carefully considered: the risks to our speakers, attendees and volunteers; uncertainty about international travel for our main speakers; and the costs, time and effort of our volunteers to put together a conference with no guarantee that circumstances will allow the event to be held. Although we could have carried on, hoping for improved conditions, we felt it was best for the safety and well-being of all concerned to make the decision early.

We wish to express our sincere thanks to all those involved with planning the conference, particularly the dedicated volunteers who have already put significant efforts into planning this year’s event. To our speakers, regular exhibitors and partners, thank you for your understanding and continued support. We would especially like to thank the staff of Ben Franklin Place for their appreciation of our situation and generosity in minimizing our losses.
Although this is disappointing, it is only a postponement. The conference will be scheduled for the fall of 2021 with the same themes and, hopefully, the same speakers. We will notify you (BIFHSGO members) of next year’s exact dates as soon as they can be determined (likely this October).

BIFHSGO’s Board is working on other ways to connect with members while the restrictions remain in place and we look forward to gathering together again when it is safe to do so.

In the interim, please stay safe and be well.

Duncan Monkhouse, President BIFHSGO and Conference Co-Chair (Program), and Jane Down, Conference Co-Chair (Administrative)

Update to the Shared cM Project

It's here from Blaine Bettinger — version 4.0. He writes:

There are many changes to the minimum, average, and maximum values for relationships in Version 4.0 of the Shared cM Project relative to the prior Version 3.0. As the number of submissions for a relationship grows, the distribution of cM values for that relationship is more clearly defined. This allows for improved definition and elimination of outliers for each relationship. In some cases, the very large increase in submissions moved the minimum and/or maximum values further outward for a broader distribution in this version, and in other cases it moved the minimum and/or maximum values inward for a tighter distribution in this version.

Read Blaine's post at https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2020/03/27/version-4-0-march-2020-update-to-the-shared-cm-project/ .

Jonny Perl has updated the Shared cM Project tool at DNA Painter with the new data. Read his blog post here with even more information: https://dnapainter.com/blog/introducing-the-updated-shared-cm-tool/.

Thank you Blaine, Jonny and all those who contributed data.

The National Emergency Library

The following is an announcement from the Internet Archive. Despite the name, it's not only available in the US, even if it has the effect of making the rest of us feel like an afterthought.

To address our unprecedented global and immediate need for access to reading and research materials, as of today, March 24, 2020, the Internet Archive will suspend waitlists for the 1.4 million (and growing) books in our lending library by creating a National Emergency Library to serve the nation’s displaced learners. This suspension will run through June 30, 2020, or the end of the US national emergency, whichever is later. 

During the waitlist suspension, users will be able to borrow books from the National Emergency Library without joining a waitlist, ensuring that students will have access to assigned readings and library materials that the Internet Archive has digitized for the remainder of the US academic calendar, and that people who cannot physically access their local libraries because of closure or self-quarantine can continue to read and thrive during this time of crisis, keeping themselves and others safe.  

This library brings together all the books from Phillips Academy Andover and Marygrove College, and much of Trent University’s collections, along with over a million other books donated from other libraries to readers worldwide that are locked out of their libraries.

This is a response to the scores of inquiries from educators about the capacity of our lending system and the scale needed to meet classroom demands because of the closures. Working with librarians in Boston area, led by Tom Blake of Boston Public Library, who gathered course reserves and reading lists from college and school libraries, we determined which of those books the Internet Archive had already digitized.  Through that work we quickly realized that our lending library wasn’t going to scale to meet the needs of a global community of displaced learners. To make a real difference for the nation and the world, we would have to take a bigger step.

“The library system, because of our national emergency, is coming to aid those that are forced to learn at home, ” said Brewster Kahle, Digital Librarian of the Internet Archive. “This was our dream for the original Internet coming to life: the Library at everyone’s fingertips.”

Public support for this emergency measure has come from over 100 individuals, libraries and universities across the world, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  “Ubiquitous access to open digital content has long been an important goal for MIT and MIT Libraries. Learning and research depend on it,” said Chris Bourg, Director of MIT Libraries. “In a global pandemic, robust digital lending options are key to a library’s ability to care for staff and the community, by allowing all of us to work remotely and maintain the recommended social distancing.”

We understand that we’re not going to be able to meet everyone’s needs; our collection, at 1.4 million modern books, is a fraction of the size of a large metropolitan library system or a great academic library. The books that we’ve digitized have been acquired with a focus on materials published during the 20th century, the vast majority of which do not have a commercially available ebook.  This means that while readers and students are able to access latest best sellers and popular titles through services like OverDrive and Hoopla, they don’t have access to the books that only exist in paper, sitting inaccessible on their library shelves. That’s where our collection fits in—we offer digital access to books, many of which are otherwise unavailable to the public while our schools and libraries are closed. In addition to the National Emergency Library, the Internet Archive also offers free public access to 2.5 million fully downloadable public domain books, which do not require waitlists to view.

We recognize that authors and publishers are going to be impacted by this global pandemic as well. We encourage all readers who are in a position to buy books to do so, ideally while also supporting your local bookstore. If they don’t have the book you need, then Amazon or Better World Books may have copies in print or digital formats. We hope that authors will support our effort to ensure temporary access to their work in this time of crisis. We are empowering authors to explicitly opt in and donate books to the National Emergency Library if we don’t have a copy. We are also making it easy for authors to contact us to take a book out of the library. Learn more in our FAQ.

A final note on calling this a “National Emergency” Library.  We lend to the world, including these books. We chose that language deliberately because we are pegging the suspension of the waitlists to the duration of the US national emergency.  Users all over the world have equal access to the books now available, regardless of their location.

How you can help:

1. Read books, recommend books, and teach using books from the National Emergency Library
2. Sponsor a book to be digitized and preserved
3. Endorse this effort institutionally or individually
4. Share news about the National Emergency Library with your social media followers using #NationalEmergencyLibrary
5. Donate to the Internet Archive

If you have additional questions, please check out our FAQ or contact Chris Freeland, Director of Open Libraries.

London Genealogy Databases Online

The table below is a consolidated list, ordered by the number of records in databases offered online for London by Ancestry, Deceased Online, FamilySearch, Findmypast, and MyHeritage. It's updated from a post in January 2017. Changes are in bold. Not included are more comprehensive databases, such as the censuses, that cover a larger area, some cemetery database from the National Archives where the number of records is not available and, newspapers. Titles with less than 2,500 records are excluded. TheGenealogist also has London area databases but the number of records is not given.

Title	Source	Records
London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965	Ancestry	179,071,664
London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917	Ancestry	21,605,324
London, England, City Directories, 1736-1943	Ancestry	19,793,623
England, London Electoral Registers, 1847-1913	FamilySearch	17,694,080
London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812	Ancestry	17,095,253
London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932	Ancestry	13,305,217
London, England, Land Tax Records, 1692-1932	Ancestry	12,772,584
London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764-1930	Ancestry	10,198,397
London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1840-1911	Ancestry	3,161,852
London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003	Ancestry	2,733,953
Greater London Burial Index	Findmypast	2,007,013
Web: England, London Lives Index, 1690-1832	Ancestry	1,653,830
London Lives, Culture & Society 1680-1817	Findmypast	1,653,803
Web: London, England, Proceedings of the Old Bailey and Ordinary's Accounts Index, 1674-1913	Ancestry	1,246,537
London, England, Clandestine Marriage and Baptism Registers, 1667-1754	Ancestry	894,892
London, Docklands and East End Baptisms	Findmypast	792,505
Middlesex, London, Old Bailey Court Records 1674-1913	Findmypast	788,627
London, England, City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Registers, 1841-1966	Ancestry	764,378
London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921	Ancestry	750,614
Bunhill Cemetery (The National Archives)	DeceasedOnline	711,000
London Borough Of Southwark	DeceasedOnline	600,000
Boyd's Inhabitants Of London & Family Units 1200-1946	Findmypast	583,158
London, England, Poor Law Hospital Admissions and Discharges, 1842-1918	Ancestry	512,961
London, England, Poor Law School District Registers, 1852-1918	Ancestry	510,893
London Apprenticeship Abstracts, 1442-1850	Findmypast	486,370
Greater London Marriage Index	Findmypast	486,081
London, England, Selected Poor Law Removal and Settlement Records, 1698-1930	Ancestry	484,755
London Borough Of Camden	DeceasedOnline	470,400
London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1930	Ancestry	463,958
Manor Park Cemetery	DeceasedOnline	430,000
London Borough Of Islington	DeceasedOnline	425,700
London Borough Of Lewisham	DeceasedOnline	385,000
Royal Borough Of Greenwich - London	DeceasedOnline	371,000
London, England, Poor Law and Board of Guardian Records, 1738-1926	Ancestry	319,763
London, England, Overseer Returns, 1863-1894	Ancestry	294,833
London, England, Non-conformist Registers, 1694-1931	Ancestry	284,953
Surrey & South London Wills & Probate Index, 1470-1856	Findmypast	261,370
London, England, Newgate Calendar of Prisoners, 1785-1853	Ancestry	257,953
Kensal Green Cemetery	DeceasedOnline	257,500
London, England, Stock Exchange Membership Applications, 1802-1924	Ancestry	256,986
London Borough Of Lambeth	DeceasedOnline	255,000
London, Bethlem Hospital Patient Admission Registers and Casebooks 1683-1932	Findmypast	247,517
Boyd's London Burials	Findmypast	242,635
Eltham Crematorium	DeceasedOnline	210,000
Brompton Cemetery	DeceasedOnline	205,000
Brompton, London, England, Cemetery Registers, 1840-2012	Ancestry	204,827
Trafford Council	DeceasedOnline	202,000
UK, University of London Student Records, 1836-1945	Ancestry	188,619
London, England, Selected Rate Books, 1684-1907	Ancestry	186,366
London Borough Of Newham	DeceasedOnline	180,000
London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1912-1918	Ancestry	178,308
Highgate Cemetery	DeceasedOnline	166,000
London, England, Marriage Notices from The Times, 1982-2004	Ancestry	160,030
City Of London, Haberdashers, Apprentices and Freemen 1526-1933	Findmypast	136,468
London, England, Wills and Probate, 1507-1858	Ancestry	135,186
London, Bethlem Hospital Patient Admission Registers and Casebooks 1683-1932 Browse	Findmypast	129,898
Spa Fields Cemetery (The National Archives)	DeceasedOnline	114,000
London, England, Births and Christening Notices from The Times, 1983-2003	Ancestry	107,313
London Borough Of Merton	DeceasedOnline	100,000
London Borough Of Havering	DeceasedOnline	75,000
London, England, Metropolitan Police Pension Registers, 1852-1932	Ancestry	68,589
London Probate Index	Findmypast	62,820
London Borough Of Harrow	DeceasedOnline	58,700
The Times (London, England)	Ancestry	56,218
London, England, Death Notices from The Times, 1982-1988	Ancestry	54,514
London, England, Church of England Confirmation Records, 1838-1923	Ancestry	52,837
London, England, Land Tax Valuations, 1910	Ancestry	44,374
The London Gazette, Supplements August 1914 - January 1920	Findmypast	40,558
Newark Town Council	DeceasedOnline	40,000
London Borough Of Brent	DeceasedOnline	40,000
The National Archives - Military Burials	DeceasedOnline	39,000
London, England, London Transport Staff Registers, 1863-1931	Ancestry	36,693
Surrey and City Of London Livery Company Association Oath Rolls, 1695-96	Findmypast	32,965
London, England, King's Bench and Fleet Prison Discharge Books and Prisoner Lists, 1734-1862	Ancestry	32,198
Dacorum Borough Council - Hemel Hempstead	DeceasedOnline	29,153
London, England, Marshalsea Prison Commitment and Discharge Books, 1811-1842	Ancestry	28,849
London, England, Crisp's Marriage Licence Index, 1713-1892	Ancestry	27,932
London Borough Of Sutton	DeceasedOnline	27,500
London, England, Royal Holloway and Bedford College Student Registers, 1849-1931	Ancestry	27,370
London, Westminster Marylebone Census 1821 & 1831	Findmypast	22,529
London Poor Law Records, 1581-1899	Findmypast	22,441
City Of London, Ironmongers' Company, Apprentices and Freemen 1511-1939	Findmypast	22,157
London, Dulwich College Register 1619-1926	Findmypast	18,313
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council	DeceasedOnline	14,568
Britain, Russian Orthodox Church In London Browse	Findmypast	13,218
London, England, TS Exmouth Training Ship Records, 1876-1918	Ancestry	12,107
London County Council Record Of War Service 1914-1918	Findmypast	10,145
London, Bunhill Fields Non-Conformist Burials 1713-1826 Browse	Findmypast	5,716
London, Watermen, List Of Free Watermen, 1827	Findmypast	5,449
London Volunteer Soldiers	Findmypast	5,271
City Of London, Gunmakers' Company Freedoms and Admissions, 1656-1936	Findmypast	5,187
London, Archdeaconry Court Of London Wills Index, 1700-1807	Findmypast	4,687
London, Court Of Husting Will Abstracts, 1258-1688	Findmypast	3,853
London & Middlesex Registers & Records	Findmypast	3,355
London Post Office Directories 1842, 1851 and 1861, Browse	Findmypast	3,231
London Consistory Court Depositions Index, 1700-1713	Findmypast	3,104
London, England, Selected Church of England Parish Registers, 1558-1875	Ancestry	2,967
London 1916 Kelly's Post Office Directory	MyHeritage	2,651
London, England, Gamekeepers' Licences, 1727-1839	Ancestry	2,578

BIFHSGO Home Children Project

BIFHSGO volunteers are extracting home child names from the RG76 records held at Library and Archives Canada (LAC).

If you are self-isolating and feel the urge (to make better use of the time than watching Netflix or yet another COVID-19 briefing) consider contributing by doing some valuable extraction work regarding home children. 

Everything can be done at home through records at Heritage (Canadiana.ca), no travelling is required at all.

There are 198 sets of records identified to be extracted so there is lots of variety.

Please contact John Sayers at sayersji@sympatico.ca.

A Time for Conservation

Taking advantage of being at home you may have discovered family treasures that need conservation. I did a while ago and yesterday, keeping a distance, picked up a presentation box for medals, from Kyla Ubbink's mailbox — a few hours before Ontario restrictions kicked in.

If Kyla's book and paper conservation service is something you could use be aware that while her in-person business is closed it's ‘just a courier away”. She is offering free pick-up and delivery in the Ottawa area during this time.

Find out more at www.bookandpaperconservation.com.

BIFHSGO Monthly Meeting Update

"As our monthly meetings usually attract about 150 people to The Chamber at Ben Franklin Place in Ottawa, we will not be holding in-person monthly meetings until it is safe to do so.

The April 11 meeting, and likely the May 9 meeting, will be affected."

Read the full notice at www.bifhsgo.ca/.

Ottawa Branch OGS Schedules Virtual Meetings

Researching in Your Pajamas 28 March 1PM

With the lockdown of our meeting facilities and everybody staying at home to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus, Ottawa Branch will hold our first entirely virtual meeting on Saturday 28 March at 1pm. Ken McKinley will present "Researching in Your Pajamas", an ideal topic for the situation today.

Ken, a genealogy researcher with over 15 years' experience, is a frequent speaker at Ottawa area events. Popular for his practically-oriented talks on genealogy resources and research techniques, he also blogs at Family Tree Knots. In this presentation, Ken will share with you his tips, tricks, and suggestions for doing genealogy research from the comfort of your own home. He will touch upon the tools needed, suggested sites both free and commercial, and gotchas to be avoided in your own research.

You are invited to join us in this Zoom meeting.

When: 28 March 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/uZMldeuhrj0r_Cg3V7X56EmXwYykBZFvGQ

That's an updated link.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom, please join the meeting a few minutes early in order to sort out any technical issues.

Virtual Genealogy Drop-In 31 March 2PM

In order to do our bit for social distancing and help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Ottawa Branch and the Ottawa Public Library have temporarily switched over to a Virtual Genealogy Drop In. Our first session will occur on Tuesday 31 March from 2pm to 4pm.

We will use Google Meet  and you can join the meeting with this link: https://meet.google.com/nvz-kftj-dax

That's an updated link.

You do NOT need a Google account but will be asked for a name. To listen only, you do not need a microphone or a camera. In fact, you are encouraged to turn your camera off (thanks) and also leave your microphone muted until you are called upon. Google Meet has been successfully tested with Firefox, Chrome and the newest Edge browsers in Windows 10. There are also apps for Android, iPad and iPhone.

If you are unfamiliar with the software, please join the meeting early in order to sort out any technical issues. If you need help joining, send an e-mail to ottawawebmaster@ogs.on.ca/.

Don't be surprised if there are technical issues including transmission interruptions beyond the control of the organizers.

Thanks to Mike More for the notice.

How Many War Bride Descendants?

What would be your estimate (guess)?

An article in the Vancouver Sun, 27 January 1996 claimed: "One-fifth of Canada's population is descended from that most unusual immigration (WW2 war brides)."

Soon after Canadian servicemen arrived in the UK during the Second World War they started meeting and marrying British women. The majority of the brides, 93 percent were British women, stayed in the UK until 1946. About 10% of those who married declined to come to Canada. According to Pier21 "in all, 64,459 soldiers’ dependents consisting of 43,464 war brides and 20,995 children were brought to Canada between April 1942 and March 1948. Three-fourths of the war brides and their children were brought to Canada after the end of the Second World War."

The women and children together represented about half of one percent of Canada's population at the time.

To estimate the number in the subsequent generations we turn to the statistics in Canada Fertility Rate 1950-2020.

Assuming each war bride had an average of 3 children there would be a total of about 130,000 war bride children in a cohort born around 1950. A cohort has a span of 30 years.

Assuming each of those had an average of 2 children there would be 260,000 war bride grandchildren born in a cohort around 1990.

And assuming each of those had an average of 1.5 children there would be 520,000 war bride great-grandchildren born in a cohort around 2020. Many of those are not yet born, but they're included in this estimate anyway.

Taking all those generations together there would be 43,454 +130,000 + 260,000 + 520,000 = about 953 thousand. Let's call that 1 million war brides and their descendants who have ever lived in Canada. That's 2.7% of Canada's present population, nothing like the 20% claimed in the 1996 article.

Some war brides came but could not settle or found the marriage unsatisfactory and returned across the Atlantic. Some of their children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren will have left Canada. For a rough estimate assume they all remained here.

From the estimate blogged earlier this week only about 1,500 war brides are still alive. From life tables about 72% of the children, 99% of the grandchildren and 100% of the great-grandchildren are alive in 2020. That's 2.3% of Canada's population in 2020, 60% being greatgrandchildren, 30% grandchildren of a war bride.

Considering unquantified emigration and the number of yet to be born great-grandchildren it's likely, in round figures, 2%, probably less, of Canada's population in 2020 are WW2 war brides and their descendants.

Ancestry opens further records

For those who don't subscribe to Ancestry, and if the open access to Ancestry Library edition available through many public libraries doesn't work for you, there may be something in this announcement about US resources.

============================

• FREE access to search nearly 500 million records - The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration has teamed up with its long-term digitization partner Ancestry to provide FREE access to search nearly 500 million records and images on Ancestry starting today, making it even easier for people to discover their own family history from home.  Exploring the records is completely free – just create an account by entering your email to start your search. 
• At-home educational resources for families and teachers - Lesson plans that Ancestry® has created target a number of core subjects, with educational topics ranging from the American Revolutionary War to the 1940 U.S. Federal Census. 
• Tools To Get Started - Videos are also available on Ancestry Academy™, a free program offering online courses to help families get started on their family tree building. A library of educational videos can be found at: www.ancestry.com/academy 

Blog posts with more detail:

• Note from Ancestry CEO, Margo Georgiadis
• Free At-Home Education Resources From Ancestry® and Access to Nearly 500M National Archives Records

James Perrine 
Senior Manager, Consumer PR

THE Genealogy Show 2020

THE Genealogy Show 2020: COVID-19 Announcement

After much careful consideration, it is with deep regret that we announce the postponement of THE Genealogy Show 2020 which was to be held on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June 2020 at the NEC, Birmingham, UK.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertain state of affairs we have all found ourselves in, we feel it is the right decision to ensure the safety and well-being of all those involved with or due to visit THE Genealogy Show 2020.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all those affiliated or involved with THE Genealogy Show. Our media partner, Who Do You Think You Are Magazine, our team of dedicated volunteers, every single one of our supportive exhibitors and speakers, our many social media followers and not forgetting, all of you that have purchased one or two-day passes to attend THE Show.

We will be contacting all those mentioned above with full details relating to the postponement of the event with regards to refunds and possible alternatives.

Whilst we have to announce this disappointing but unavoidable statement, we can continue to share that we have already secured the dates of Friday 25 and Saturday 26 June 2021 and our intentions are to recreate certain formats of the 2020 show but with new elements already in the pipeline for 2021.

THE Genealogy Show website and social media platforms will all be maintained throughout 2020, providing in due course, details and opportunities for THE Genealogy Show 2021. We see this as something positive to work towards and something for everyone to look forward to, in what will hopefully be, a more stable and healthier time.

In the interim, please stay safe.

THE Genealogy Show Team

COMMENT:  Congratulations to the organizers for making this announcement a full three months in advance. While I don't know all the considerations I hope that's a target for a decision the organizers of the BIFHSGO conference might respect, and announce they'll respect. The situation should be a whole lot clearer by late June.

Ancestry adds UK, Household Cavalry Records of Service, 1799-1920

A collection of 17,653 records of service for non-commissioned officers and other ranks who served in the Life Guards, the Royal Horse Guards and the Household Battalion, and whose Army service concluded in these regiments.

The following information is in the Ancestry transcription: name, gender birthplace, enlistment date, attestation date, service number and regiment. There is also a link to an original attestation document available by subscription to Fold3.

Sourced from WO 400 at The (UK) National Archives, Kew.

War Brides in Newspapers

What do you find searching for "war bride" in Canadian newspapers? I expected to find lots of coverage when they arrived in Canada, most in 1946, and mention in death notices in more recent years.

Newspapers.com has 31,467,646 pages from Canadian newspapers. Papers included which have content back more than a century to (almost) the present day are the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Regina Leader-Post, National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Vancouver Sun, Whitehorse Daily Star and Windsor Star.  There is no content for Atlantic Canada.

The results confirmed expectations. There were a lot of good news stories about war bride arrivals and mention in death notices. Notable is that the peak in the early 2000s is in agreement with back of the envelope estimates.

Some of the results were for movies. "I was a Male War Bride" was a 1949 comedy film starring Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan. The blue curve shows mentions of "war bride" that were not "male war bride". Hits for "The War Bride" a 2001 Canadian/British drama film with Anna Friel and Julie Cox were not accounted for. It undoubtedly pushed up the peak in the early 2000s.

Colourize More Photos

MyHeritage is opening up their photo colourization, MyHeritage In Color™, from 23 March to 23 April 23. That's free and unlimited access for all. Ordinarily only 10 photos can be colourized by users who do not have a MyHeritage Complete plan.

Daniel Horowitz from MyHeritage writes:

Colorizing photos is the perfect activity for anyone who is isolated at home. We invite everyone to pull out their family photo albums, colorize their photos, and start reminiscing. Over the coming month, anyone who shares their colorized photos on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #ColorBeatsCoronavirusBlues and tags @MyHeritage will enter a weekly draw. Each week we’ll select one lucky winner who will receive a free MyHeritage Complete subscription!

Daniel will be giving a 30-minute session on using the colourization this Tuesday 24 March at 1:00 pm EST. Register here and prepare your questions in advance.

In charge of the world's third largest national library

The McGill News Alumni Magazine runs a friendly profile of Librarian and Archivist Leslie Weir in its March issue.

One question was pointed:

Only about 2.5 percent of the LAC’s holdings have been digitized to date. Why is that?

The response set me back.

Year upon year our analog collections keep increasing, which is why we never seem to be able to move the digital percentage very far above about 2.5 or three percent of our collections. We're hoping that will plateau in 2030, as we start receiving what people call big data, because more and more of our [government] records will come in digital form.

I hope 2030 is a typo. LAC has been working for several years on receiving new materials in digital form. If 2030 is correct a more complete explanation is due.

Another reason, as pointed out previously, could be that LAC's Departmental Plan 2020–2021 reduces the target for images digitized below that achieved in recent years.

The "result indicator" for "Amount of LAC holdings digitized for access" shows a target of 3.5 million images. Compare that to the achievement of 4.8 million images in 2018-19  (the last year reported),10.2 million images in 2017-18 and 9.3 million images in 2016-17. The target for 2019-20 was 10 million.

The National Library of Scotland Magazine

The Spring 2020 issue of Discover: the National Library of Scotland's Magazine, no. 43 is now online in a 3-part pdf.

Content includes:

NEWS — Latest initiatives and purchases
SCROLL REVERSAL — Who Taught Her That? marks Women’s History Month
A GOOD HANGING — Bloodthirsty tabloid tales from the age of the executioner
THE GRACE RACE — Rescuing Scottish Ballet’s video archive
ON DISPLAY — Gordon Yeoman reflects on his time as Exhibition Curator
AN ECHO IN THE READER’S MIND — Marian Evans’s correspondence with her Scottish
publisher gives an insight into the complex relationships that created her alter ego, the literary great George Eliot.
SCOTLAND'S RADICAL WAR — Looking back on the 200th anniversary of the April 1820 uprising by impoverished handloom weavers.
SOUNDS HERITAGE — Saving the spoken word
ALLAN RAMSAY — Paving the way for Burns
THE DATA FOUNDRY — The Library’s open data platform for digital scholarship.

Part 1: http://www.nls.uk/media/1794344/discover-43-p1-21.pdf

Part 2: http://www.nls.uk/media/1794341/discover-43-p22-26.pdf

Part 3: http://www.nls.uk/media/1794338/discover-43-p27-36.pdf

Ancestry adds Newgate Calendar of Prisoners, 1785-1853

Taken from Series HO77 at The (UK) National Archives, Kew, the 257,953 records now on Ancestry consists of lists, for the most part printed, of prisoners tried at Assizes and Quarter Sessions.

The following information can be found in the records where available: Name, Age, Birthdate, Occupation, Date of trial, Offence, Sentence, Place of the arrest. If you find a person of interest the short description of the offence will likely be of particular interest.

Findmypast has a collection Britain, Newgate Prison Calendar Vols 1 & 2, 1780-1841 with "stories of arson, murder, piracy, embezzlement, conspiracy, and treason."

The title page displayed to the left is from another older version from the Internet Archive linked from The Public Domain Review. It's readable but poor quality with the long s used throughout.

See also The Digital Panopticon.

How Many War Bride Survivors? Back of the Envelope Estimates

While in Victoria in February I had the opportunity to meet over coffee with Barry Edmonston, a semi-retired University of Victoria professor specializing in demographics. I was seeking his advice on estimating the number of survivors and descendants of particular groups. For me, that started with claims about the percent of Canada's population that had a home child ancestor and developed into an interest in war bride survivors as it would seem to be a simpler problem.

I estimated there were about 4,000 war bride survivors in 2017 and was interested to find out how his back of the envelope estimate would compare.

No envelopes were harmed in doing his estimate. He used a spreadsheet calculation of the number of survivors every 10 years using the estimates I'd made of the age distribution of war brides when they arrived in Canada in 1946 and Canadian life tables for females from Statistics Canada.

Initially, he used life tables for 1986. I asked about the sensitivity to that choice and he recently made additional calculations using 1956 and 2006 life tables.

Summarized below are his 10-yearly estimates, my interpolation for 2020 and the year of peak deaths.

It seems likely the year with most war bride deaths was in the early 2000s. 

Barry Edmonston's opinion is that the most likely range for war bride survivors in 2016 is 2,500 to 4,500 which would imply a range of 1,000 to 1,800 in 2020.

Some uncertainties in the assumptions behind the calculation are:

1. These women had a history in Britain (over 90% of them) so were raised in an environment different from that experienced by the majority of Canadian-raised women.

2. The life tables are a snapshot at the time. Changing sanitation, medical care and nutrition conditions means that life expectancy grew through this period. See Figure 7 in Trends, patterns, and differentials in Canadian mortality over nearly a century (1921–2011). Ideally, we'd use a cohort life table for women born in the UK who came to Canada in 1946 which tracks changes as they evolve. No such animal exists. 

3. The age distribution of the war brides when they came to Canada in 1946 is my estimate — no stats have ever been published that I can find.

4. Not all the war brides remained in Canada. The proportion who left is unknown. Some went back to the UK, others migrated elsewhere — recall the last CEF veteran died in the US.  If war brides are similar to the typical Canadian-born population, about 3 percent emigrate to the U.S. at some age (https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/canadian-immigrants-united-states). 

Thanks to Barry Edmonston for providing these estimates.

Canadian WW2 Servicewomen Deaths

Almost 50,000 Canadian women enlisted during the Second World War; 20,497 in the Canadian Women's Army Corps; 16,221 in the Women’s Division of the RCAF; and 6,665 in the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service. An additional 4,439 served in the Nursing Services of the three Forces.  That's according to Canadian Women in the Second World War by Ruth R Pierson.

The servicewomen were age 16 to 45. Now, 75 years later, their ages would be 91 to 120.

Deaths of some of them were reported in Legion Magazine starting in 1928. An online database draws on the magazine listings back to the early 1980s. For each, it includes, where available, last and first names, rank, war, unit, location, death date and publication date.

As of March 2020, the database records deaths of a total of 3,537 former servicewomen. It includes 10% of those who served with the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, 5% of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service and 3.7% of the Royal Canadian Air Force (Women’s Division). While the majority served with these three units the database also includes Canadians who served with British forces
.
The largest number of deaths is recorded in 2008. There is also a hint of a bimodal distribution with another peak of deaths in the years around 1990. Could this reflect women whose children no longer needed care whereas the later deaths were younger, likely unmarried women with no responsibilities for child care? Pierson's book notes that military recruitment emphasized unmarried women and married women without children.

Sunday Sundries

Miscellaneous items I found of interest during the week.

Canada's History Magazine Marks HBC Milestone
On May 2, 2020, the Hudson's Bay Company will mark its 350th anniversary. The April/May issue of Canda's History Magazine features several stories that explore HBC’s impacts on Canada and on North America. It's available through PressReader remotely through the Ottawa Public Library and many other libraries, as well as at newsstands (if you can find one open).
If you're in Ottawa and don't have a card become a temporary cardholder to access OPL eContent during the present closure period. Contact InfoService by email InfoService@BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca or by telephone 613 580-2940 during regular business hours.

Corktown: The History of a Toronto Neighbourhood and the People Who Made It
A book by Coralina Lemos gives the history behind thirty-eight street names in this area south of Queen Street East and north of the Distillery District. Including over 90 images, some of which are made available for the first time, its 200 surnames serve as a reference source for anyone conducting genealogical research, and a quick reference source on places of worship, and architects involved in the area’s built history help add social context for those who lived in the area.

A Sense Of Proportion
The Gentle Author reflects on the personal relationship to the passage of time.

Canadian Opinion on the Corona Virus 
The Association for Canadian Studies commissioned a detailed survey of the people’s views over the week of March 9th. At that time, as revealed in the survey six in ten Canadians expressed concern about a widespread outbreak and they manifested a variety of other concerns. A spectrum or range of concern and anxiety and some differences on the basis age, gender and region is evident.  Part 1 looks at health, stockpiling, economic and government satisfaction. Part 2 reports on border closing and contact with Asians and Iranians.

Cancellations
The Ottawa Historical Association has cancelled its final talk of the 2019-20 season, which was originally scheduled for the evening of April 21. If you have an event scheduled before that date why haven't you cancelled? Doing so sends a reinforcing signal about the seriousness of the situation and need to strictly follow professional advice.

11 Sentences We Never Dreamed We'd Be Saying Three Months Ago
From The Londonist "Imagine going back in time and telling your slightly younger self that each of the following would be a reality in a matter of weeks..."

Watch Christa Cowan explain ThruLines™ in a 20 minute presentation from Rootstech



Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered?
Befuddled, Bemused
Benighted
Looking for some emotional words to describe the situation? Take a look at this colourful Wheel of emotional words.

Thanks to this week's contributors
Anonymous, Gail B, Mike More, Susan Courage, Teresa

BIG NEWS: Ancestry Library Free Online

It appears the Ottawa Public Library, and likely many others, have been able to open up access to Ancestry Library Edition, normally only available at branches, to all cardholders online.

While the Library Edition doesn't have the full capabilities of a personal subscription it does have most if not all the databases.

Take advantage while practising social distancing — stay safe at home.

Vernon's Directories Project on Hiatus

The OGS/Ontario Ancestors eWeekly Update reports:

With Library and Archives Canada closed, and cross-border travel restrictions now in place, the joint project with LAC, Ontario Ancestors & FamilySearch to create digital copies of the Vernon's Directories is on hiatus while the FamilySearch team returns home. 

The work should be able to resume in due course.  To complicate things, Salt Lake City was hit with a 5.7 magnitude earthquake this week.  Our friends there report that all FamilySearch employees are safe and working from their homes.

We will keep you posted on this story.  In the meantime, you can read about the project on our website and link to the search page from there.  Our latest indication is that 754 directories are available online.

All the best to Sally Mansell (seated) and Diann Wells, the FamilySearch team members who have been at LAC since April last year processing and quality-assuring the scans of the directories.

Coronavirus R&R: James Acaster On The Absurdity Of The British Empire

Findmypast additions: Middlesex, Cambridgshire, Jamaica

Middlesex Baptisms
Records are added from four parishes transcribed by Findmypast from holdings at The National Archives (RG7 Series) and the College of Arms. A few include an image. The parishes are:

Hampton (1554 to 1876) 11,541 records
Hayes (1557 to 1875) 9,816 records
Hornsey (1653 to 1876) 7,017 records
Stanwell (1631 to 1919) 12,140 records.

Cambridgeshire Burials
Findmypast has added to burial records for Mt Pleasant Cemetery, Wisbech. There are now 3,726 transcript burial records for Wisbeach.

Jamaica, Civil Death Registrations
Find 1,945,098 entries from the late 1870s to 1995 in this collection. Each has a linked image of the original record. It's sad to see so many infant registrations with no first name.
FMP has also added the Royal Gazette of Jamaica to the newspaper collection.

Gail Collins RIP

With the death of Gail Diane Collins on Monday 16 March 2020 Canada has lost a prominent contributor to improved understanding of British home children

After retiring from the Lincoln County School Board where she worked as a secretary for many years. Gail extracted information from a variety of documents on the children brought to Canada by movement pioneer Maria Rye. She, along with British colleague Chris Sanham, compiled an index of the Rye children, 1869-1879 which is included in Library and Archives Canada's Home Children Records database. It has information about the sources consulted and notes about the ships on which the children arrived.

Gail was always ready to help people researching their home child ancestor, in-person and online, and was involved in the making of a commemorative quilt to educate the public about the British Home Children.

Gail was also an advocate for support to ex-servicemen who did not receive their pensions
because they had been admitted to psychiatric hospitals.

How Many Canadian Second World War Veteran Survivors?

According to the Veterans Affairs Canada Departmental Plan 2020–2021, as of 31 March 2020, it is estimated that there are 631,300 Veterans in Canada. This includes 599,400 Canadian Armed Forces Veterans and 31,900 War Service Veterans (WSV).

Estimates of WSV survivors from a year previous, March 2019, are for the Second World War, 33,200 of average age 94; for the Korean War, 6,500 of average age 87. Of the total estimated WSV survivor population of 39,700, 83.6% were from the Second World War.

Those WSV population estimates are based on the 1971 Statistics Canada Census and the 1988 Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey updated annually using survival rates from Statistics Canada life tables. That's a considerable extrapolation.

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) would be expected to have better figures on the number of WSV's being served which, according to Table 1.3 as of 31 March 2019 was 15,644, an estimated 39% of the total WSVs.

The bar chart shows the recent history of WSVs served by VAC and projected to be served through 2024. An exponential fit to the data shows about 79% of those alive at the start of the year surviving until the new year.

Applying 79% survival to the 33,200 estimated by VAC for March 2019 there are 31,300 Canadian Second World War Veteran survivors as of March 2020.

Because the basis of the 2019 figure is the 1971 Statistics Canada Census and the 1988 Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey updated with general population data from Statistics Canada life tables I'd expect a substantial error in that estimate.

Welcome Spring

Thursday, March 19, 2020, at 11:50 pm (EDT) marks the Vernal (Spring) Equinox, the earliest it has occurred in 124 years. A reason for joy.

War Bride Bibliography

BIFHSGO has started a project on Canadian War Brides with an emphasis on those from the UK. Much has been written by and about them. The 32 books below are a start on compiling a list which is restricted to non-fiction. If you find errors or omissions please let me know.

War Bride Abbreviated Bibliography

Bardwell, Iris Dorothy. Different Times, Different Places: the Story of Iris Dorothy Bardwell, Nee Abraham: an English/Canadian War Bride. William T. Overy Writing Services, 2011.
Barrett, Barbara B., and Eileen Dicks. We Came from over the Sea: British War Brides in Newfoundland. British War Brides Association of Newfoundland and Labrador in Co-Operation with ESPress, 1996.
Bodrog, Jay. The War Brides of Perth County: a Brief History of the War Brides of the Second World War Who Emigrated from England and Holland, with Personal Recollections and Anecdotes. Perth County Historical Foundation, 2009.
Buick, Alan J. The Little Coat: the Bob and Sue Elliott Story. BookBaby, 2012.
Campbell, Olive Fisher. Shattered Dreams. General Store Pub. House, 2005.
Ellinor-Lyster, Eswyn. Most Excellent Citizens: Canada's War Brides of World War II: a History. Trafford Pub., 2009.
Faryon, Cynthia J. A War Bride's Story: Risking It All for Love after World War II. CNIB, 2007.
Galloway, Orpha E. Women of the War Years: Stories of Determination and Indomitable Courage. O.E. Galloway, 2000.
Grainger, Joan. The Toad in the Shoe: a War Bride's Memories. Joan Grainger, 2006.
Granfield, Linda. Brass Buttons and Silver Horseshoes: Stories from Canada's British War Brides. CNIB, 2003.
Jarratt, Melynda. Captured Hearts: New Brunswick's War Brides. Goose Lane Editions and the New Brunswick Military Heritage Project, 2008.
Jarratt, Melynda. War Brides: the Stories of the Women Who Left Everything Behind to Follow the Men They Loved. Dundurn, 2009.
Kasaboski, Tracy, and Kristen Den Hartog. The Occupied Garden: Recovering the Story of a Family in the War-Torn Netherlands. McClelland & Stewart, 2008.
Kozar, Judy. Canada's War Grooms and the Girls Who Stole Their Hearts. General Store Pub. House, 2007.
Ladouceur, Barbara, and Phyllis Spence. Blackouts to Bright Lights: Canadian War Bride Stories. Ronsdale Press, 2000.
Lambert, Barbara Ann. War Brides & Rosies: Powell River and Stillwater, B.C. Trafford Publishing, 2012.
Macaulay, Margaret, and Horace R. Macaulay. Surrey Girl: "Not Just Another War Bride". HRM Pub., 2006.
MacDonald, Eileen. Promise in the Void. Rebekah Allen, 2017.
McHardy Aimée. An Airman's Wife: a True Story of Lovers Separated by War. Grub Street, 2007.
O'Hara, Peggy. From Romance to Reality. CNIB, 2002.
Oliphant, Betty. Miss O: My Life in Dance. Turnstone Press, 1996.
Olson, Joan. Prairie Initiation: a War Bride Story. Benchmark Press, 2014.
Paterson, Doris J. Confessions of a War Bride. Trafford On Demand Pub, 2011.
Phibbs, Lilian Harper, and Murray Kenneth Phibbs. Memory Lane: a Love Story. Lilian Harper Phibbs, 2019.
Pringle, Sherry. Extraordinary Women, Extraordinary Times: Canadian Women of World War II. Borealis Press, 2015.
Rains, Olga. We Became Canadians. The Author, "Overnight" Copy Service, 1984 (Peterborough, Ont.
Ramshaw, Betty. Oh Canada. B. Ramshaw, 2014.
Shewchuck, Helen Hall. If Kisses Were Roses: a 50th Anniversary Tribute to War Brides: Canada Remembers. Helen (Hall) Shewchuck, 1996.
Smith, Taylor. Deadly Grace. Mira, 2014.
Tosh, Beverley, and Laura Brandon. War Brides: One-Way Passage. Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, 2008.
Wicks, Ben. Promise You'll Take Care of My Daughter: the Remarkable War Brides of World War II. Stoddart, 1992.

Another important source is online material from Pier21 — https://pier21.ca/category/war-brides.

COVID-18 Cancellation News

Perhaps you got this message from Dianna Fulton, Chair of OGS/Ontario Ancestors Conference 2020

We continue to monitor the rapidly evolving COVID-19 outbreak and the challenges it poses to events like the Ontario Ancestors Conference. As of today, March 18, we plan to move forward with the Conference, June 5-7, 2020. A formal re-evaluation will take place in mid-April regarding the viability of holding the conference. We will provide you with updates to keep you informed.

This means:

We recognize the uncertainty that these difficult times mean for all of us. Accordingly, in order to allow you to continue to make plans, while reserving the right to change your plans without cost, our registration refund period has been extended to May 5. That's right, you can register now, and be assured that you can cancel your plans at any time up to, and including May 5, and obtain a 100% refund of your registration fees. We hope that this extension will allow you to register for Conference and to continue with your planning, while providing you assurance that you will be entitled to a full refund if circumstances change for you, and you wish to cancel your registration for any reason. We hope you will join us in planning to attend Conference 2020.

Conference Early Bird registration will continue until April 30. After April 30 fees will increase by $35. If there is an ultimate decision to cancel the conference, all registrants will receive a full refund.

Click here to Register

We know how much Ontario Ancestors Conference means to our community. While we hope that we won’t have to cancel, we recognize that it is a possibility. We are striving to balance making an informed decision by giving our members, sponsors, and all attendees enough time to plan.

COMMENT
Dianna and the conference committee likely have as much information as I do. I'd be surprised if the conference goes ahead.

Cancellations
Due to the current health implications concerning the Covid-19 pandemic Family Tree Live is cancelled. The organizers thank their partners, sponsors, lecturers and workshop tutors, as well as everyone who purchased tickets. Details on refunds or alternative options forthcoming.

The 31st Scottish Association of Family History Societies Annual Conference scheduled in Musselburgh, East Lothian, on Saturday 18 April 2020 has been cancelled.

Guild of One-Name Studies
The Guild 41st Anniversary Conference and AGM 2020 “Sources and Resources” is scheduled for 24-26 April at Jurys Inn Oxford. The latest advice from the Guild dated 10 March retained the event. It appears it was not cancelled as doing so without the government banning such meetings would incur the Guild paying the full cost. Expect another announcement on Thursday at https://one-name.org/guild-conference-agm/.  UPDATE:  The cancellation was announced with the Guild able to arrange it without loss of their deposit by committing to the same location in 2021.

The Last Post Ceremony, the daily act of remembrance at the Menin Gate Memorial, will go ahead each evening but the public are asked not to attend due to the unprecedented spread of the coronavirus.