Anglo-Celtic Connections

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.

A Canadian Chaplain in the Great War – B J Murdoch’s, The Red Vineyard
On Thursday, 21 May at 1:30 PM, The Friends of the Canadian War Museum will hear a presentation by Ross N Hebb. Find out more here.

Ottawa Public Library Annual Report

In  2025, OPL saw an increase in the number of active OPL cardholders. The 11,520,174 checkouts of Library items was down from 12,026,857 in 2024 and 11,569,445 in 2023.
Sadly, there was no mention of how the library system is contributing to meeting the city’s GHG emission reduction targets.

BIFHSGO Volunteers

Saturday’s BIFHSGO meeting profiled projects being undertaken by mostly younger volunteers. Sue Lambeth, second from the left, BIFHSGO Research and Projects Director, led off the presentation. Nicole Watier, Genealogy Consultant at Library and Archives Canada, was online to explain how LAC and BIFHSGO cooperate on Home Child projects. The photo shows the enthusiastic volunteers who came to the meeting in person.

What British people really mean when they say ‘sorry’

Brian Bilston – Poet
I’ve been reading and enjoying the book “I Took the Last Bus Home“. Here’s one of the poems, set to music, not read by the author.

Thanks to the following individuals for their comments and tips:  Anonymous, Christine Jackson, Don Ross, Gail, James R. Carcary, Julia, Sylvia Smith, eresa, and Unknown.

Ireland, Defence Forces’ Military Archives Nominal Rolls 
487,575 records added for 1921-1922

These records, created for Irish Volunteers, Irish Republican Army, Cumann na mBan, and Na Fianna Éireann, are a mix of document types, many handwritten.

The collection comprises approximately 600 files for the IRA (this includes material on the Hibernian Rifles and the Irish Citizen Army), 165 for Cumann na mBan, and 41 for Fianna Éireann. They supported pension claims from veterans.

Guernsey, Identity Registration Forms (German Occupation)
8,958 records added for 1800-1925

New, online for the first time, are Guernsey German occupation ID and order documents, evacuee return forms, and the Channel Islands Monthly Review newsletter. ID documents include photographic portraits.

Newspapers
Six new titles and 52 updates to existing publications; altogether 298,344 new pages to discover?

New Titles Added

In time for the anniversary of Germany’s unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945, Ancestry has updated two titles.

UK and Allied Countries, World War II Liberated Prisoner of War Questionnaires, 1945-1949, now with 133,521 records, up from 90,993 in February 2024.
The word Canadian appears in 367 records, including 57 captured during the Dieppe Raid, followed by those of the Italian Campaign, and Normandy and the Battle of Caen

Women’s Land Army (WLA) from 1939 to 1948, now with 179,282 records, up from 120,773 in June 2023.
On a single card, find name, age, address and brief information about WLA service.

Attend in person, or online.

Get the full experience at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall.

Join online by registering here .

At 9 AM, BIFHSGO Research and Projects Director Sue Lambeth, joined by Nicole Watier, Genealogy Consultant at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), will speak about the partnership between BIFHSGO and LAC that has spanned more than 31 years. They will highlight projects undertaken by BIFHSGO volunteers that document events in the lives of British home children. Sue and Nicole will also offer a look ahead, describing new initiatives planned for 2026 and beyond.

At 10 AM: Veronica Scrimger presents A Good and Faithful Servant: the life of Henry Arrowsmith Brogdon (1812-1883)

In the 19th century, Methodism expanded greatly in the counties of Northumberland and Durham. Like many other lay preachers at this time, Veronica Scrimger’s 3x great-grandfather Henry Brogdon made a significant lifelong contribution to the spread of the word of God. He preached in over 165 cities, towns and villages in the northeast of England. His was a dual life; Henry worked a full-time job and spent his evenings and Sundays sharing the teachings of Jesus Christ. Henry witnessed the development of the railways and the expansion of coal mining in the Great Northern coalfield. His death in December 1883 left a huge void in his community of Willington, County Durham.

A landmark day, the official Census Day in Canada is Tuesday, 12 May 2026. By now, you should have received a notification through Canada Post with a secure code to complete your return online. You can file early; you may want to wait if your household status is expected to change due to a birth, death, or relocation.

The Long-Form Census

According to Statistics Canada, 75% of Canadian households receive the short-form census. The long-form was introduced in 1941, with 10% of households receiving it. The long-form proportion was then increased to 20%, and to 25% in 2016.

The 2026 long form requires details including:

Religious affiliation and educational background.
Sexual orientation
The number of rooms in your home
Specific costs for utilities and property taxes.

Genealogical Records and ATIP Requests

The online census portal does not provide you with an option to save or print your completed return. If you want a copy for your family history files, you may submit a Personal Information Request under the Privacy Act. You can do this through the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s ATIP Online Request Service or by mailing a request to the ATIP Coordinator at Statistics Canada.

Regardless of when you choose to click “submit,” please ensure your voice is included in the national record.

Former Executive Director of the Ontario Genealogical Society, Fraser Dunford, has been named Regional Rep for Central Canada for the Guild of One-Name Studies.

A professional engineer, former academic and university administrator with 40 years of genealogy experience, he is the author of Municipal Records in Ontario: History and Guide.

Do you have Irish roots? Ottawa’s Beechwood Cemetery is hosting a book launch of Fifty Irish Lives in Canada on Tuesday, 12 May at 6:30 PM.

The book explores over three centuries of Irish contribution to Canada, highlighting individuals whose lives helped shape the country’s political, cultural, and social landscape. Contributors Mark McGowan, Michael McBane, and several local authors will be present, offering insights and perspectives on the stories that define this collection, honouring Canadians who claim Irish heritage today by telling the hardships and triumphs of their ancestors in this land.

Find out more here.

It’s revealed in the information accompanying Ancestry’s new collection, Edinburgh, Scotland, Mortcloth Records for St Cuthbert Burial Grounds, 1780-1854.

A mortcloth was a ceremonial cloth that people would rent and drape over a coffin at a funeral.

Information (that may be) available in these records is: Name, Age, Death date, Burial date, Purchase date, Name of spouse, Names of parents. There an abstract and link to the original register image.

I didn’t anticipate finding any of my relatives among the 81,407 records in the collection. There are 293 Reid entries. From the image, you can learn the burial location’s quadrant and section, the diseases the person may have had, and the amount paid by the family. However, a large part of the register is financial, showing the cost of various services rendered, like grave digging. The mortcloth was often the major cost.

Mortcloth records appear particularly in Scotland. https://yourscottisharchives.com/mortcloths

You can still secure a full year of Legacy Family Tree Webinars for just $25—that’s 50% off the regular price.

This offer now ends on Sunday, 10 May.

Chris Paton draws our attention to a list of dissertations written by students of the University of Strathclyde’s genealogical studies programme. You can search for past topics on LibraryThing. https://www.librarything.com/catalog/gsholton/yourlibrary. 

There are 814 entries. Searching for England yields 96 dissertations, Scotland 81, Wales 12, Ireland 18, and DNA 13.

Canada yields 18 entries. If you’re studying Home children, there are at least a couple of interest.

Who were the pauper children sent out from the care of West Derby Board of Guardians, 1883-1895 and how did those emigrated to Canada differ from those sent to the various English locations? by Janice Tullock.

How did migration to Canada impact the mortality rates and welfare of British Home Children under Maria S. Rye’s care between 1868 and 1896? by Georgia Lush.

Library Thing provides a catalogue entry, sadly, with no link to the dissertation itself. Chris suggests in his blog post “dissertations may be shared if those who have written them give permission to do so, and dependant on how busy the university staff are to make such enquiries of past students.”

Miscellaneous items I found interesting this week.