Category Archives: MAPS AND MAPPING

Mapping the London Blitz

Mapping the London Blitz

Mapping the London Blitz
The Heart of London during The Blitz

This is not a new site but as in all things to do with family history, a new insight into a family connection revealed an address which placed the family being researched right in the heart of the East End of London. Such information brings forth a waterfall of new contextual information.

A project called Bomb Site, sponsored by the National Archive, the University of Portsmouth and JISC, the Joint Information Systems Committee, has developed an interactive map, showing the location of every bomb dropped on London during the Blitz, including images and detailed information on each incident.

You can make your search by address. The address we were looking for was Nettlewood Rd Streatham. The map showed the aggregate census data for the period of the Blitz, from 7th Oct 1940 to 6th June 1941. To see accurately where the bombs dropped was a sobering moment. When you click the icon, more details are revealed. Any stories or photos connected with the locality of the address can then be viewed.

Mapping the London Blitz
The bomb data is shown on a map. Click on the icon to reveal the details.

Whatever your connection with WWII

 

Whether your WWII connection is with London or not, this is an excellent resource that is constantly being added to and gives a very real and immediate sense of the proximity of the bombs that were dropped and where people lived.

The London Blitz
Bomb Damage in London

 

Maps,antique, modern and customised are a key device for examining and analysing the evidence, facts conundrums and brick walls you may encounter as you seek to research and explore the subject of your history project. Here you can find out how you can become your own historic cartographer creating your own powerful online maps in a workshop environment for like-minded people. You can be certain of a fun interactive and intriguing opportunity, find out more… more

The linear nature of family trees can sometimes constrain us in the way we view the data that we have collected. A system of collecting, curating and geo-mapping data can reveal clusters and patterns not seen before and reveal new connections. more

Ancient Roman Peutinger’s Map of the World in BBC Story of Britain

Roman Masterpiece Map the only one from this ancient period to survive,(transcribed as a medieval copy, referenced and featured as a copy in BBC History of Britain here you can access the full maps on line and get access to exploring the map in detail. It’s a great resource got ot be worth spening a little valuable leisure time on… more

Morgans Map of London Post the Great Fire 1682

William Morgan’s Map of London 1682 and 1676 were key social history documents, they reveal much more than where and how London was organised in the post Great Fire era and at the dawn of the Enlightenment why is this document important for anyone wanting to understand the later history of London and it’s population. A series of intriguing connections with marvellous maps that illustrate why the mapped and geospatial perspective is compelling and vital in researching your history project. more

Titanic Mapping history with Sonar…100 years approaching

Exciting conclusion of the Sonar based Titanic Mapping Project during to be broadcast in April, some intriguing resources and a great clip of the lovely lady and last survivor of the Titanic. Mapping your history with more than 100,000+ photos this is a great application of mapping and large scale data visualisation, find out more and don’t miss the forthcoming broadcast… more

Digital Archaeological Atlas of the Holy Land

Roots of our history stems from the ancient Holy lands, the three great world faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, this project maps the history of the Crusades. Mapping history, with great graphical tools this resource has got to be worth a browse. The linkages to later history are very helpful in understanding the context in which life in western Europe develops…

The University of California, interdiscipinary study of art, architecture and archaeology alongside the Geo-Archaeological Informations Applications Lab at Arizona University, have developed an international project to do just that.

They have created a digital atlas that brings together expertise from many disciplines, there are 10,000′s of archaeological sites mapped, photographs and maps, which you can search at will.

The stated intention is that the atlas will ‘harvest, analyse and disseminate settlement pattern and new archaeological data for each key period of cultural change in the region‘. more

New Ancestry Website

New Ancestry Website

Is the New and major Ancestry upgrade more like colourful building blocks we all treasured as kids, or more like a battleship grey but none less popular Aeroplane kit, less creative and more prescriptive? Take a look a this excellent new interface and find out how together we might take a fresh look at our toolkit and resources for family history spurred on by this latest competitive leap by Ancestry.

The English Accent and Family History

The English Accent and Family History

What English accent did your ancestors speak with back in Elizabethan England? You might be surprised to learn that an American reciting Shakespeare is nearer to the mark than you or I.

Scotland’s Valuation Rolls

Scotland’s Valuation Rolls

The 1925 Valuation Rolls for Scotland have just been launched by Scotland’s People and are free to search.

People of Northern England Database

People of Northern England Database

The People of Northern England (PONE) database is not new but not much heard about either. This database is of the people in the Northern counties of Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland from the C13th. It is drawn from two types of material, one financial and one legal. The financial material is drawn from the pipe…

History Pin WWI Hub

Use the History Pin WWI Hub to share your WWI project and let others connect with what you are doing. Your project may be large or small but by sharing it, many more people will be able to make links and connections with you.

Mapping the London Blitz

Mapping the London Blitz

Mapping the London Blitz is a great project which has used the collated and mapped all the census material of all the bombs dropped during the Blitz 1940 – 1941. It is a fascinating resource for family historians with a connection to WWII.

Red Cross POW Records

Red Cross POW Records

The Red Cross POW records are now digitized and available online to search. For many family historians these records complete the story of their ancestors who served in WWI.

New DNA Studies

New DNA Studies

A new study of European DNA has revealed a third population group that make up the DNA of modern Europeans.

WW1 Postcards

WW1 Postcards

WW1 Postcards a rich resource and a visual opportunity, find out how to discover and use the 20K plus postcards on Europeana for the period 1914-1918 and muse over how you might dig-out what ephemera you might have in your loft or research boxes that might help you and others connect and make that next step n researching your project wehther for your family history social, local or special interest project. In the first year of the 100th centenary of WW1 will there ever be such an opportunity to explore and discover what happened and better understand those momentous events?

Operation War Diary

Operation War Diary

Operation War Diary is a crowd sourced project to classify the WWI diaries of the British Army on the Western Front. A project involving the Imperial War Museum and the National Archive.