Welcome

Throughout lockdown we have appreciated all of the wonderful support we have had from our subscribers. Now, as I write this, more shops are starting to reopen, so I would particularly like to welcome back any of our readers who have ventured out to their newsagent, perhaps for the first time in months, to pick up their favourite family history magazine. I hope we inspire you!

The closure of archives has made things tricky, but it’s a great time to get to know what they offer online. Turn to page 16 to see what can now be freely accessed on The National Archives’ website. We are trying to concentrate on topics that can be researched online so, as findmypast.co.uk continues to add thousands of Scottish Catholic baptism records to its collection, I thought it was time to look at that record more closely ( page 54). I was also delighted to have Gill Thomas write about Welsh research on page 63 because, thanks to the National Library of Wales, there is a wealth of online content.

Finally, although not many of us are likely to have private eyes in the family, I like to think of us all as family history detectives so I hope you enjoy crime historian Nell Darby’s article on page 57. I also loved reading about the golden age of British holiday camps. The picture on page 70 made me long for a return to normality. I know it will come, and in the meantime stay safe and happy hunting!