Findmypast

27/09/2025

Did your ancestors work the railways, as shunters or guards, signalmen or porters? 🚂

200 years ago, the first sparks of the modern railway lit up Britain with the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

As we mark this anniversary, we remember the pioneers, like your own ancestors, for steering Britain into the future, full steam ahead ✨

26/09/2025

A blind woman trapped. A house about to collapse. One man who refused to leave her behind ❤️

In August 1940, volunteer air raid warden Patrick King heard the crash of a bomb while sheltering nearby. He ran to the scene, where two houses stood on the brink of collapse.

The first was empty. But in the second, buried under rubble, he found Hannah Wilson, alive but trapped.

Patrick borrowed a fireman's axe and worked through the debris, piece by piece. All the while, he reassured Hannah, his calm voice steady against the noise of groaning beams and falling plaster.

With the house ready to give way, Patrick freed her and carried her to safety.

For his courage, he became one of the first people to be awarded the George Medal. A remarkable act of bravery. A life saved. Thank you, Patrick ❤️

We found this inspiring story in the Newcastle Chronicle ⬇️
https://bit.ly/3VxGH3m

25/09/2025

Sibling rivalries. Political intrigue. A family tree and a stout beer that have endured for centuries. But how much of the drama is true? 🍺

We delve into the history behind the Guinness family

24/09/2025

Just for fun...

Tell us one true story from your family tree, and one story that's entirely made up 😅

Then we can all guess which one is the truth, and which one is the lie 🤭

23/09/2025

Liz couldn't believe it when her 'dastardly' ancestor's story started to unwind before her eyes 😮

'Through the newspapers on Findmypast, I found an incredible range of newspaper articles about my 2x great-grandfather from Sussex, Dick Douch Clark: settlement orders, refusing to pay maintenance, desertion, refusing to pay his wife's debts, and so much more. It was an incredible array of detail. I now call him Dastardly Dick Douch Clark!

It answered some of the long-standing questions I had after finding a settlement order for his wife first, and perhaps explains why he ended up separated from his wife. The next time I saw him was in the Workhouse in Kent.

I excitedly told my husband about my findings, then shared them with my family, before presenting them to my local family history group.'

Have you got a family history discovery to share? Submit it to us here, and yours might be featured next ⬇️
https://wkf.ms/3UOGat4

22/09/2025

📺 Step back into telly’s golden age - TV Times archives are now online

To help TV Times celebrate its 70th anniversary, you can now explore issues of the iconic television listings magazine from 1955 to 1980 on Findmypast.

TV Times first hit newsstands on 22 September 1955, just as ITV launched its new television station. By 1960, it was selling over four million copies a week.

Discover the stars and stories of telly's golden era and tell us your favourite childhood memories.

Read our latest blog to delve into the archive. ⬇️

The most comprehensive digital archive of TV Times from 1955 to 1980 is now fully searchable on Findmypast

20/09/2025

Were any of your ancestors transported as punishment for their crime? 🤔

Transportation began in England in the 1600s, first to North America and later, after the American Revolution, to Australia - it was a way of solving the overcrowding of Britain's prisons and hulks. Between 1788 and 1868, tens of thousands of convicts were sent across the seas for often minor crimes, enduring harsh journeys and brutal labour.

In 1840, Gabriel Newton, a 37-year-old weaver from Hurdsfield, was convicted of stealing a spade. He claimed he'd been 'intoxicated' at the time. Married to Jane Swindells with two children, Gabriel could read and write, yet his sentence was 14 years' transportation.

He left Plymouth aboard the David Clarke on 7 June 1841. After months at sea with 308 other convicts, arriving in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) on 4 October, he faced a harsh new life. His convict records tell a vivid story: periods of solitary confinement for insolence and drunkenness, fines for disturbing the peace, and even a description of him: black hair, hazel eyes.

What became of Gabriel, do you think?

Delve into our records to find transportation stories in your family ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4nyKsl1

19/09/2025

“Hi**er can do what he likes from now on. My wife and baby have got the right war spirit.” 💪

Fighting words from Mr Roderick after his son was delivered by his mother-in-law in an Anderson shelter 😲

Despite, or because of, young Peter’s dramatic entrance into the world amongst the thunder of a bombing raid, he went on to win first prize in the Wembley Baby Show in 1942.

Is there a story in your family of a baby being born in unusual circumstances? Let us know in the comments below ⬇️

18/09/2025

Do you have any of these surnames in your family tree? 🤔

If so, it could mean you have links to the Normans, who migrated to England after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 😮

17/09/2025

The WW2 fighter pilot who survived 100 missions, but not the peace that followed 💔🎖️

He was just 21 when he first climbed into the cockpit of a Mosquito, one of the fastest, deadliest aircraft of its day ⬇️

Norfolk-born Gordon Frederick Ayton cut his teeth in North Africa, flying 44 operational sorties. By 1944, he was leading bombing raids against N**i headquarters, marking his 100th mission in the air. That August, he downed a Junkers 88 over France: his third enemy kill. In December, he was Mentioned in Despatches. The sky, it seemed, belonged to him.

Then VE Day arrived. The guns went silent. Against all odds, Flying Officer Ayton had made it through six years of war. He had a wife, a young son, and a future finally waiting for him.

But on a routine flight from Canada to Scotland, just a month after victory was declared, his Mosquito crashlanded in Ireland. Though his navigator survived, Gordon did not. He was just 25 years old.

For his family, the war had already taken much: his brother Wallace had been missing since 1943, never to be heard from again. Gordon’s death was a final, devastating blow 💔

Are there unsung heroes in your family tree?
Find out with 50% off ⬇️
https://bit.ly/46csRrZ

📷 IWM (CH 13729)

16/09/2025

Thinking caps on... where in the UK is this? 📍

Answers in the comments ⬇️

15/09/2025

Did this pilot save Buckingham Palace during the Battle of Britain? 😮

Today marks Battle of Britain Day, the 85th anniversary of a turning point in the Second World War when the RAF stood firm against overwhelming odds and defeated a massive German aerial assault after months of attack.

On 10 July 1940, the Luftwaffe launched a relentless campaign to destroy Britain's air defences in preparation for a full-scale invasion. On 15 September, after months of brutal fighting in the skies, the RAF decisively repelled the largest wave of attacks, forcing Hi**er to abandon his invasion plans.

But one story, one act of daring, stands out in our nation's memory from this day.

Flight Lieutenant Ray Holmes of 504 Squadron found himself out of ammunition while intercepting a Dornier bomber. With no other option, he turned his Hurricane directly into the enemy aircraft, ramming it with such force that the bomber broke apart and crashed near London Victoria Station. Its bombs fell close to Buckingham Palace. Holmes’ own fighter was badly damaged, and he bailed out just before it too came down near the Palace grounds. He survived.

In the years since, many have remembered him as the man who, through extraordinary courage, helped save Buckingham Palace on that day.

This date marks the first major military defeat for N**i Germany and stands as a defining moment that changed the course of the war. The victory prevented a full-scale German invasion of Britain and proved to the world that Germany could be defeated.

A thank you to Eli, our work experience student, for crafting this social media post.