British Newspaper Archive, 1939 Register, Fold3 & other records...

[Savage702]

All,

I am jumping back into Family research after an 8-10 year absence.  Things have changed! 

So so so many sites and references and options. 

Most family on my side is in/from England & Scotland, with a brief stint in Canada & the US. 
My wife's side of the family are all from the US, French Canada & Mexico. 

I've discovered the British Newspaper Archive has some info of interest to me, but wondering there is another site that offers full access to that, along with other info I might be looking for... (1939 Register, or anything else).

I see a number of sites that offer access to Newspapers, but none seem to state specifically the British Newspaper Archive.  Is this exclusive?

I am on Ancestry (US if that matters) and have tied up a lot of loose ends.  I have an old GenesReunited account that has been helpful. 

And finally, Fold3... is this useful for British Service too?  I have Grandparents that served the duration of WWI (and some service prior) and WWII. 

If I've missed a post here that breaks this down, I apologize in advance.  I seem to have better luck searching for family than I do Genealogy site comparisons.   

[rosie99]

Hi

Welcome to rootschat 

FindMyPast has the British newspaper archive in with some of its subscriptions also 1939 register (they have recently changed their packages)
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/Subscribe

I am not sure about fold3 though some records also appear on FindMyPast.  Ancestry moved a lot of their military records onto Fold3  .

WW2 service records and anyone serving after 1920 are only available from the MOD
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=651361.0

ADDED
Some county library services offer online newspapers - log in with your library card

[Savage702]

Hi

Welcome to rootschat 

Hi there!  Thank you. 

FindMyPast has the British newspaper archive in with some of its subscriptions also 1939 register (they have recently changed their packages)
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/Subscribe

Excellent!  Thank you.  I had seen the site, but was trying to determine what all was included.  I still can't tell on signup if paying for monthly Premium includes the 1939 Register or not... since on the annual sign up, it states "includes 1939 Register".  Seems strange wording... maybe just marketing? 

I am not sure about fold3 though some records also appear on FindMyPast.  Ancestry moved a lot of their military records onto Fold3  .

Of course they did/would.    

WW2 service records and anyone serving after 1920 are only available from the MOD
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=651361.0

Ah, good to know.  I have researched via WW2 sites some historical info on ships and service areas, and have some record books/pay books, but would love to find more info.  Thank you for that link too.  I had found tons of great info online for my grandfather about his service before he passed away.  He was fascinated to learn that on a certain ship he was on that sank, that it was sunk by JU-87 Stuka dive bombers... he said it happened so fast, he'd always thought they were torpedoed by a UBoat.

ADDED
Some county library services offer online newspapers - log in with your library card

Well, I'm in the US, but I know some libraries here also offer the same... as well as finding a Family Center at an LDS Church.  It's just getting to them between work and family. 

Thank you so much for your help!

[rosie99]

I thought that the 1939 was on Plus & Pro   

Sorry I can't confirm as I have one of their old packages which I hope to continue with.

[Girl Guide]

Click on the below link and it will take you to the information about Find My Past new subscriptions

https://tinyurl.com/y97vrpoc

[rosie99]

Thanks GG that was the link I was looking for 

[Savage702]

I thought that the 1939 was on Plus & Pro   

Sorry I can't confirm as I have one of their old packages which I hope to continue with.

Ok, I had to have a little chat with their support.

As of right now, to get access to 1939, you have to select their Premium Plan and pay for the annual subscription (12 months at once), not the monthly.

You can pay based on credits, but he said it would take about 60 credits to lookup a household, and their credits are not cheap. 

As for the British Newspaper Archive... that is their sister site.  All of the records are available through them, searchable in their site, but they are a couple months behind on what is available on the main site. 

Thank you for your help though, that site is what I'm looking for but for now, the 1939 will have to wait. 

They said they are reviewing their plans and changes might be coming soon, so to keep my eyes open.

[Savage702]

Click on the below link and it will take you to the information about Find My Past new subscriptions

https://tinyurl.com/y97vrpoc

Thank you!  I'm wondering if there are different plans for the UK? 

From the US, I'm only seeing Starter & Premium plans, with the Premium Annual payment offering 1939 access.   Weird.  Their support agent said that was the only option to get access to 1939.

[rosie99]

Thank you for letting us know what they said

As for the British Newspaper Archive... that is their sister site.  All of the records are available through them, searchable in their site,

That is interesting about the newspapers being slightly behind the BNA site.


You can search the 1939 even if you don't have a sub.  It gives basic results like John Smith bn 1900 -also in household Ann Smith bn 1902 plus 2 others and the district they are resident.
Unfortunately we can't do look ups from the 1939 for you because of FindMyPast's terms & conditions.

If you have any other FH queries /brickwalls  do post them on here.