Current Issue

A warm welcome to the November issue of Discover Your Ancestors Periodical, your monthly digital mix of family and social history, in our unique web-friendly format ideal for screens of all sizes.

It's with great sadness that we share the news that one of our long-standing writers (as well as an expert speaker at the Family History Shows), Dr Simon Wills, has died after a few years battling with serious illness. You can read a short tribute to him in this issue.

Simon was in fact going to write about the 18th-century Navy for this issue, one of numerous subjects he was a much-respected expert in. Instead, we have an article on another maritime subject I'm sure he would have been clued up on, thanks to Nicola Lisle's interesting history of lighthouses and the men who worked in them. Also in this issue, we look into a sparkling family of firework manufacturers, the grim work of young chimney sweeping apprentices and more.

Remember, you can still obtain a copy of the 11th printed edition of Discover Your Ancestors at our website – it's packed with dozens of fascinating articles.

I hope you enjoy this issue.

Andrew Chapman, Editor.