Free Access to "FindMyPast" website until 4th July 2016. (General)
by Jefff 
, West London, Middlesex, Monday, June 27, 2016, 23:15 (3080 days ago)
This week the FindMyPast subscription website are offering free access to a large part of their site. I'm not a paying subscriber, but can confirm I've just quickly and easily accessed some WW1 British Army Service Records, having registered as a user a few years ago, which is why I occasionally receive their interesting newsletters by email such as this one. I have never been asked-for, or provided, any form of bank details.
The newsletter states
"On the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, we want to give you the chance to remember the military heroes in your family. This week, all of our world military records plus all our UK and Irish censuses are free to search, so you can track your ancestor's journey both before, and during the war."
Britain lost 146,431 men to the 141 day Battle of the Somme, with 57,470 casualties on the first day alone. This week, you can explore all of our world military records, as well as over 65 million UK and Irish censuses, for free.
Our military collection includes:
65 million world military records, including 8 million exclusive to Findmypast
32 million World War 1 records, including 2 million exclusive to Findmypast
12.5 million British World War 1 records, the most comprehensive collection online.
Access to free military and UK and Irish census records lasts from 9am (BST) Monday 27th June until 11:59pm (BST) on Monday 4th July. To access records during this period, you will need to be registered and signed in to the site.
Not all records are included in the free access."
I'm not sure if this access also includes their pre WW1 Records, but if it does I know from experience (via my public library) that these Records give more extensive coverage than Ancestry's, for example.
Follow this link, seems to work better if opened in a new window
http://www.findmypast.co.uk/battle-of-the-somme?utm_source=fmp&utm_medium=email&...
Free Access to "FindMyPast" website until 4th July 2016.
by fredb , Saturday, July 02, 2016, 09:54 (3076 days ago) @ Jefff
Cheers
Impressions of "FindMyPast" website wrt WW1 Army Records
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Wednesday, July 06, 2016, 16:57 (3071 days ago) @ Jefff
I'm not sure if this access also includes their pre WW1 Records, but if it does I know from experience (via my public library) that these Records give more extensive coverage than Ancestry's, for example.
This was my first real experience of using the FindMyPast website to look for WW1 records, so I thought I'd add a few more impressions about the site, and I'd be very interested in anyone else's feedback, please.
As per a recent thread, I'm not a fan of the new "improved" Ancestry website and come the winter I suspect I'll change to another subscription site, possibly FindMyPast. The main reason I haven't changed yet is I'm able to use Ancestry for a lot less cost than the rest, plus my researches are on hold for a while. I know from using FMP at my public library a few years back that they hold more British Army records than Ancestry, especially pre WW1, so this is a distinct advantage to me over Ancestry for example, just a shame our library can no longer afford their FMP subs !.
This weekend I used the free FindMyPast access to revisit some WW1 soldiers in my tree that I've already researched on Ancestry. I was very pleased to find that FMP can offer some major improvements over Ancestry, namely their images of the same British Army Service & Pension record documents are clearly visually different and sometimes far-clearer to read than the "same" documents on Ancestry. Until now I'd always assumed the various subscription sites all shared so displayed the exact same images, but now I presume that FMP have re-photographed the original documents, in some cases with a significant improvement. I welcome anyone else's view on this belief ?. Do any other websites also do this ?. Thanks.
However, despite my knowing correct names, regiments and service numbers of my soldiers, from the Ancestry record sets, I still found some of them hard if not impossible to find on FindMyPast !?. I had assumed both websites would carry largely identical record sets. My problems maybe because I found the FMP "Military Records" search engine unusually difficult to get results, perhaps another case of "less gives more" ?. For example, I ended-up not bothering to input regiment name dispite my knowing it, I was wondering whether the lack of expected results was because it didn't interprete my "Gloucs" as "Glosters", or "Gloucestershire", etc. I also found that altho FMP might offer info pertaining to one Regiment a soldier had served in, but it didn't mention the other Regiment I knew they'd also served in, despite his Medal Cards including both Regiments hence Service Numbers ?. Or maybe that was just me, perhaps I need more practice on the site ?. It's also a shame that FMP doesn't also include images of the Medal Cards, unlike Ancestry, for example.
I hope my recent experiences are of interest to other users, and hope some may add their own thoughts regarding the "Find My Past" site.
Many thanks, Jeff.
Free Access to "FindMyPast" UK Records until Sunday 15th.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, January 12, 2017, 21:24 (2881 days ago) @ Jefff
I've just received an email indicating the FindMyPast subscription website is offering free access to their "Birth, Marriage, Death and Census Records" from now until the end of the weekend, Sunday 15th January. I think these are just UK records, the email isn't clear. I'm not a paying subscriber, but can confirm I've just quickly and very easily accessed and downloaded the image of a 1911 Census form, which I'd failed to find using the Ancestry website due to their website's transcription error. The ease with which the FMP site found this record was most impressive, altho I do note their 1911 Census images are much smaller files than those from Ancestry, so the image quality is slightly lower albeit still completely legible. It will be interesting for me to see what other advantages or disadvantages there are between the 2 websites, especially as my Ancestry subscription is due for renewal in a few weeks.
I received the FindMyPast email because I registered as a user a few years ago, which is why I occasionally receive their interesting newsletters, some highlighting free access offers such as this one. I have never been asked-for, or provided, any form of bank details, just my name and email address, and I recommend other researchers to sign-up for their newsletters, as I do those from the "Who Do You Think You Are ?" website as well.
Follow this link, seems to work better if opened in a new window .
http://tracking.findmypast.co.uk/track?t=v&enid=ZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0xJmF1aWQ9Jm1pZD0xMDE...
Free Access to "ANCESTRY" UK Records 18-20th February.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Wednesday, February 15, 2017, 23:18 (2847 days ago) @ Jefff
Just received an email advising the Ancestry website is offering free access to all it's UK and Irish records for 3 days this weekend. Access will include all these collections.
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/group/uk_irish_records?o_xid=76191&o_lid=76191&...
Free access to these records will start on Friday 18th February and will be free until Sunday 20th February, 2017 at 23:59 BST. I assume that in the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more.
Free Easter Access to "ANCESTRY" UK & Commonwealth Records.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, April 13, 2017, 19:54 (2790 days ago) @ Jefff
Just received an email newsletter from Ancestry advising their website is offering it's "Biggest Ever" free access for 4 days this Easter weekend;
"You’ll be able to search millions of UK, Ireland and Commonwealth records – all completely free. Start in Britain then head off to Australia, Canada, or wherever, and spend four full days finding long-lost family all over the Commonwealth. The free access includes these highlights:
UK Census collection, search for ancestors across the generations using census records from 1841-1911.
Commonwealth records, get access to everything from Australian Electoral Rolls to Canadian Census records."
Use this link to start;
http://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/free-access?o_xid=77932&o_lid=77932&o_sch=Email+Ca...
Access will include all their data collections listed here;
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/group/commonwealth_records?o_xid=77924&o_lid=77...
Free access to these records will start on Good Friday 14 April and be free until the end of Easter Monday 17 April, 2017 at 23:59 BST. I assume that in the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more.
Wishing you all Happy Hunting over a very Happy Easter weekend !
Free Access to ALL FindMyPast BMD & Census Records til May.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, April 27, 2017, 18:34 (2776 days ago) @ Jefff
Just received an email newsletter from Find My Past advising their website is offering free access for 5 days this Bank holiday weekend;
Free access to Birth, Marriage, Death and Census records has already started and ends at midnight on Monday 1 May, 2017.
Use this link to start;
http://www.findmypast.co.uk/start-your-journey/?utm_source=fmp&utm_medium=email&...
All the records sets included in this free access period are listed here, so include Census' from USA, Canada & Australia;
https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/free-bmd-census-records-2370395973.html
In the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more. Doing so will mean you also receive occasional and useful newsletter emails advising of events such as this, but no spam.
Wishing you all a very pleasant Mayday Holiday weekend.
Free Access to British Records on FindMyPast This Weekend.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Saturday, June 24, 2017, 01:07 (2719 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi all, apologies for late notice, I've just seen a "WhoDoYouThinkYouAre" newsletter advising the "Find My Past" website is now offering free access to 1.1 billion British and Irish records this weekend, until midnite of Monday 26 June.
The free access includes censuses, parish registers and military service records. However, it does not extend to other collections such as the 1939 Register and the website's newspaper archives.
Use this link to start: http://www.findmypast.co.uk/british-and-irish-family-history/
This WDYTYA webpage may be useful too:
http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/blog/5-reasons-why-you-should-visit-findmypa...
In the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more. Doing so will mean you also receive occasional and useful newsletter emails advising of events such as this, or informational research guides, but no spam.
Hoping this helps, Jeff.
Free Access to Military Records on Ancestry This Weekend.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Monday, July 17, 2017, 21:44 (2695 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi all, I've just received an email newsletter from Ancestry advising they're offering free access "to millions of UK military records this coming weekend from 21-24 July. Over four days, you can search every UK military record going back more than 300 years to uncover fascinating new details about your family history."
Access to the records in the featured collections will be free from 00:01 early Friday 21st July until midnite of Monday 24 July, 2017.
Use this link to start: http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/category.aspx?cat=39&o_xid=80141&o_lid=8014...
This Ancestry wideo may be useful too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndhOUt6TeZ0&feature=youtu.be&o_xid=80141&o_...
In the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more and no requests for payment, unless you stray away from the free datasets when using Ancestry website. Registering will also mean you'll receive occasional and useful newsletter emails advising of events such as this, or informational research guides, and so on, but no spam.
Hoping this helps, Jeff.
Free Access to FindMyPast BMD, Census & Suffragette Records
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, February 01, 2018, 17:28 (2496 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi all,
I've just received an email newsletter from the "Who Do You Think You Are ?" website advising that the "Find My Past" website are offering the following free access starting today.
"Thousands of British and Irish census, birth, marriage and death records are available for free on Findmypast for the next week (1-8 February) to mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage.
In addition, more than 3,000 Metropolitan Police and Home Office records revealing the authorities’ surveillance of the suffragette movement are available on the website in a new collection.
The census and BMD records will be free until 8 February, while the suffragette collection will be free until 8 March – International Women’s Day.
To view them, users will have to register for a Findmypast account but will not be charged."
These links refer, probably best opened into a new tab or window.
http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/bmd-and-census-records-free-findmypast-...
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/suffragettes/?utm_source=fmp&utm_medium=email&utm_...
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In the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more and no requests for payment, unless you stray away from the free datasets when using the FMP website. Registering will also mean you'll receive occasional and useful newsletter emails advising of events such as this, or informational research guides, and so on, but no spam. The same applies to the WDYTYA site, I recommend joining both sites.
Hoping this helps, Jeff.
Free access to Ancestry records
by hawdon , Alcossebre Spain, Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 18:08 (2477 days ago) @ Jefff
Free access to Ancestry UK and Irish records this Friday 23rd until Sunday 25th.
Free access to Ancestry records
by hawdon , Alcossebre Spain, Wednesday, March 28, 2018, 21:20 (2441 days ago) @ hawdon
From 30 March to 2 April, you’ll be able to search millions of UK, Ireland and Commonwealth records – all completely free.
Free access now to 1939 Register on Ancestry.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Wednesday, May 09, 2018, 13:53 (2399 days ago) @ hawdon
Hi all, I've just received an email newsletter from Ancestry advising they're currently offering
"Free access to the 1939 Registry – 32 million new records to explore. The 1939 Register is one of our single biggest collections, so we’re celebrating with free access all weekend. The 1939 Register collated the names, addresses and key details of everyone in the UK. With the 1931 census destroyed and the 1941 census never taken, it’s a vital and significant source of information on the UK population from the mid 20th Century."
Free Access to the 1939 Registry started today, 9th May, and continues until midnite of Sunday 13th May 2018.
Use this link to start: https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61596&o_xid=87490&o_lid=87490...
Note that our parents and their generation may not be visible, if it's thought they may still be alive. Least I hope that's why my efforts failed when I tried to find them a few years ago. (Edit: Yep, found them now, yay!!)
Ancestry notes,
"Images have been redacted to protect the privacy of those still alive and we will be annually adding records for those with birth dates older than 100 years or if a record of the death has been reported to The National Archives. Images will also be updated to reflect the opening of the record. All indexes have been created from redacted images as provided by The National Archives and as such, some indexes may not include all information as originally recorded, where it is obscured from view."
==================
This comes as a pleasant surprise to me as I thought the 1939 Register was only available via FindMyPast, and was about to take-out a short FMP subscription purely for the Register.
In the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more and no requests for payment, unless you stray away from the free datasets when using Ancestry website. Registering will also mean you'll receive occasional and useful newsletter emails advising of events such as this, or informational research guides, and so on, but no spam (altho' most of their emails nowadays are promoting their DNA service).
Hoping this helps, Jeff.
Free access now to 1939 Register on Ancestry.
by probinson , S. Oxon, Wednesday, May 09, 2018, 16:36 (2399 days ago) @ Jefff
Thanks for that Jeff. I didn't realise it was on Ancestry either. You've just saved me a few bob. Shame Ancestry doesn't allow searching by address like FMP does though - unless I'm missing something.
Free access now to 1939 Register on Ancestry.
by Mike Pinchin , Bedford, England, Wednesday, May 09, 2018, 20:51 (2399 days ago) @ Jefff
Out of curiosity I searched the 1939 Register to see where my mother was living at the time. (It turned out she was living in exactly the same house she occupied for the rest of her life.) She was originally entered as JONES, her married name at the time. However, in an amendment which seems to be dated 30/06/1947 the name JONES was crossed out and her new married name (PINCHIN) substituted. This new marriage took place in Q2 1947. It puzzled me why someone should do this eight years after the Register was taken and for what purpose? There are other examples of similar amendments so someone was evidently taking an interest and following up subsequent developments. Does anyone know why this should be thought necessary?
Free access now to 1939 Register on Ancestry.
by probinson , S. Oxon, Wednesday, May 09, 2018, 21:55 (2399 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin
No idea why but my Mother was similarly updated with her married name and she married in 1949 - ten years later.
Free access now to 1939 Register on Ancestry.
by Mike Pinchin , Bedford, England, Wednesday, May 09, 2018, 22:25 (2399 days ago) @ probinson
This site provides a reason. Apparently the Register was a working document closely linked to the issue of identity cards. If someone’s name changed they would need a new card.
Free access now to 1939 Register on Ancestry.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, May 10, 2018, 01:48 (2399 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin
Thanks guys for making me feel a lot less daft than I thought I was this morning !
Also for your kind words & very helpful link, I see the Register continued to be amended for marriages long into the 1950s Cold War !
I also wondered why my Aunty Joyce (aka "Loyce" in traditional Ancestry speak lol) was apparently married while still at school aged 4 years - now I realise the "6848M" also on her line (and in same colour ink!) corresponds to her marriage date 6/8/1948.
I'll enjoy searching this over next few days !
PS For years when using road atlases I've invariably found myself annoyingly located on an edge or join between pages. And now I know why; even in 1931, mum's family are sprawled across 2 pages. AND to further spoil the look of this document, my Uncle is just an ugly black "closed" band, despite him passing away almost 10 years ago.
Great info, but this skinflint with a liking for neatness is glad he never paid for it ;-)
Free access now to 1939 Register on Ancestry.
by probinson , S. Oxon, Thursday, May 10, 2018, 10:49 (2399 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin
That's an interesting page Mike. Explained a lot.
Free access now to 1939 Register on Ancestry.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Monday, May 14, 2018, 20:09 (2394 days ago) @ probinson
Yes thanks Mike, very helpful. Hopefully you all enjoyed this access, I found it very interesting and helpful, especially AFTER I'd worked out the rather odd location results I was getting for some of my wife's tree was because the children had been evacuated far away from their homes in London's docklands !
However I do have one frustration related to how the National Archives decide which records are closed, or not. I was initially confused as to why my father's record was closed, and also one of my mum's brothers, despite them both having passed away at least 10 years ago, not as recently as some of their siblings who WERE visible.
I then realised it's (presumably) because the wives of my father and my uncle are still alive, and the records are closed for privacy reasons. Which seems odd as maybe they woudl like to see what their beloved partners were upto before they were married, I know my mum would ?. Just wondered if anyone else had experienced this sort of "anomaly" ?.
Free access to 1939 Register etc on Ancestry this weekend.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, July 05, 2018, 18:11 (2342 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi all,
I've just received an email newsletter from Ancestry advising they're offering
"Four days Free access to ALL UK and Irish Records including the 1939 Registry"
Free Access starts tomorrow, Friday until midnite of Monday 9 July 2018.
Full list of available record sets is here, best open link in new window/tab, it takes a while to open;
https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/group/uk_collections?o_xid=90204&o_lid=90204&a...
For just the 1939 Register try;
https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=61596&o_xid=87490&o_lid=87490...
In the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more and no requests for payment, unless you stray away from the free datasets when using Ancestry website. Registering will also mean you'll receive occasional and useful newsletter emails advising of events such as this, or informational research guides, and so on, but no spam (altho' most of their emails nowadays are promoting their DNA service).
For anyone as daft as me who forgot to record a few 1939 Register records that I found last time, initially disregarded as thought irrelevant... this is very welcome news.
Hoping this helps, Jeff.
Free access to 1939 Register etc on Ancestry this weekend.
by obscurasky , Friday, July 06, 2018, 09:35 (2342 days ago) @ Jefff
Hello Jeff,
I can't seem to access this offer. I'm already a registered as a member, but if I search for a name it always comes up with payment options. Was there another link to register specifically for the free access?
Free access to 1939 Register etc on Ancestry this weekend.
by probinson , S. Oxon, Friday, July 06, 2018, 10:47 (2342 days ago) @ obscurasky
Maybe try logging out and accessing it as a guest. I just tried that and it worked for me.
Free access to 1939 Register etc on Ancestry this weekend.
by obscurasky , Friday, July 06, 2018, 12:04 (2341 days ago) @ probinson
Thanks for this. I've had to create a new account, using a different email address, but it works now :) Have had free trials before, so maybe you don't always get them?
Free access to 1939 Register etc on Ancestry this weekend.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Friday, July 06, 2018, 19:30 (2341 days ago) @ obscurasky
Hi gents, sorry for slow reply.
They do usually give direct links on their emails which I copy to these posts, but I didn't get one this time, sorry.
Like you I've never had to re-register or anything to access their free access, and have aways used the same email address etc etc since I first started FH and joined Ancestry in 2010, altho my Ancestry membership has only been occasional during those years and not for ther last 18months or more.
Maybe you were trying to use it before they set up the offer (they didn't give a start-time on the email) ?.
Anyway, do hope all is well now, I've not tried to access it myself yet but will do soon.
atb J
Free access LINK to 1939 Register etc, Ancestry this weekend
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Friday, July 06, 2018, 20:24 (2341 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi again,
I've just belatedly found an Ancestry email which I only received abt 2pm today which included the link below. It's just worked perfectly for me without any issues whatsoever, hope it does for everyone else.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/free-access?o_xid=90201&o_lid=90201&o_sch=Email+C...
EXTRA day for free 1939 Register Ancestry, now ends Tuesday
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Monday, July 09, 2018, 17:26 (2338 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi,
I'm pleased to be told the ongoing free access to Ancestry UK and Irish records, including 1939 Register, has been extended an extra day. It will now end at midnite tomorrow night, end of Tuesday 10th July.
Great news for me as haven't yet had chance to use it, hopefully good for others too ! Maybe this was due to delays accessing it last week.
Free access to 1939 Register etc on Ancestry this weekend.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Friday, August 24, 2018, 21:51 (2292 days ago) @ Jefff
Sorry bit late posting, as per previous posts on this thread Ancestry are offering free access to UK records this weekend from now until midnight Monday.
Use this link https://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/free-access?o_xid=91446&o_lid=91446&o_sch=Email+C...
Free access to UK 1939 Register etc, Ancestry this weekend.
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Friday, February 15, 2019, 15:25 (2117 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi all,
just heard that Ancestry are again offering free access to all their UK & Irish Records this weekend, from now until midnite on Monday night. Records include all census records including the 1939 Register, plsu all military records.
As before, new users will need to sign-up their email address but shouldn't be asked for card details etc.
Open this link in a new window or tab to search.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/freeaccess?o_xid=96819&o_lid=96819&o_sch=Email+Ca...
Full list of available record sets is here;
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/categories/uk_irish_records/
Free Access to FindMyPast UK records until Sunday midnight
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Friday, September 07, 2018, 00:41 (2279 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi all,
I've just received an email newsletter from the "Who Do You Think You Are ?" website advising that the "Find My Past" website are offering the following free access starting today.
"Findmypast is one of the leading family history websites, with 2.7 billion records to help trace your ancestors around the world.
Now, Findmypast is offering free access to its records from 09.00 BST on Friday 7 September to 23.59pm BST on Monday 10 September 2018, although you will need to register for an account.
The free access includes parish records, criminal records, the 1939 Register and much more, but does not cover the British Newspaper Archive.
To view them, users will have to register for a Findmypast account but will not be charged."
These links refer, probably best opened into a new tab or window;
http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/blog/5-reasons-why-you-should-visit-findmypa...
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/family-story/
I'm not 100% certain but I believe their land survey records are not available on Ancestry, for example. The FMP military records are certainly better if researching pre WW1 British Army.
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In the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more and no requests for payment, unless you stray away from the free datasets when using the FMP website. Registering will also mean you'll receive occasional and useful newsletter emails advising of events such as this, or informational research guides, and so on, but no spam. The same applies to the WDYTYA site, I recommend joining both sites.
Hoping this helps, Jeff.
Free Access to Ancestry All Military Records This Week
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Monday, August 06, 2018, 23:44 (2310 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi all,
sorry for posting a bit late, but today I received an email newsletter from Ancestry advising they're offering free access "to more than 30 million military records. Find out where your family fought, the experiences they had and the places they had them. Free access to service records, medal cards, casualty lists and much more."
Access to the records in the featured collections will be free from NOW until midnite of Thursday 9th August, 2018.
Use this link to start, best opened in a new tab or window
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/free-access?o_iid=91106&o_lid=91106&o_sch=Web+Pro...
As well as WW1 the list of available collections include both earlier and later ones, including WW2 POW lists for example. The full list is here
https://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/group/uk_military_records?o_iid=91103&o_lid=91...
In the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more and no requests for payment, unless you stray away from the free datasets when using Ancestry website. Registering will also mean you'll receive occasional and useful newsletter emails advising of events such as this, or informational research guides, and so on, but no spam.
Hoping this helps, Jeff.
Free Access Ancestry & FindMyPast, Remembrance Weekend 2019
by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, November 07, 2019, 16:58 (1852 days ago) @ Jefff
Hi all,
to recognise Remembrance Weekend both Ancestry and FindMyPast websites are offering free access to their Military records and apparently more besides, including it seems the 1939 Register.
Today I received an email newsletter from the "Who Do You Think You Are ?" website confirming the FindMyPast free access;
"From 12pm on Friday 8th November until 12pm on Remembrance Day on Monday 11th November, all records on Findmypast, excluding newspapers, electoral rolls and the Periodical Source Index, will be completely free to search and explore. This includes more than 85 million military records covering the British, American, Canadian, Australian, Irish and New Zealander armed forces."
I can confirm the 1939 Register is included within this free access, and it's search engine works very well, I think FMP is better than Ancestry for the Register. However as of Friday afternoon the FMP site is slow and keeps hiccupping but does eventually work - presumably due to heavy demand, hopefully things will improve later in the weekend.
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/page/free-access
Browsing the web shows details are more sketchy for the Ancestry free access, except to say the advertised access "for wartime records" is also available until Monday. I can confirm this access has already started, and does also include the 1939 Register.
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/free-access?o_iid=102975&o_lid=102975&o_sch=Web+P...
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In the usual manner any new users will need to register their name and email address beforehand, but nothing more and no requests for payment, unless you stray away from the free datasets when using the websites. Registering will also mean you'll receive occasional and useful newsletter emails advising of events such as this, or informational research guides and so on, but no spam.
Hoping this helps, Jeff.