It’s back! And you’re invited to get involved with Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine’s fourth annual Transcription Tuesday event on 4 February 2020 to help make unique records accessible to all.

Transcription Tuesday was launched in 2017 by Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, to encourage family and local historians to get involved in transcription projects. “The internet has transformed family history,” said editor Sarah Williams, “but the documents that are going online need to be transcribed or indexes to make the searchable, and for many projects the only way that is going to happen is with the help of volunteers.”

The following is a portion of their recent announcement …

Every year, we ask readers to join us in indexing and transcribing thousands of unique records throughout the day, helping to make them more widely accessible to researchers across the globe. Whether you can spare a few minutes or a few hours, it’s the perfect opportunity to delve into some fascinating documents and give something back to the family history community.

No matter where in the world you live, all you need is a computer, an internet connection and a passion for genealogy!

But this year, for the first time, we’re also hosting an in-person Transcription Tuesday event. Family historians will get together and decode Royal Navy records from the First World War at the heart of UK family history in The National Archives.

What can I transcribe?
This year the WDYTYA Magazine team have chosen to support four exciting crowdsourcing projects:

FamilySearch: English Nonconformist Records
Discover the lives of people who were baptised, married and buried outside the Church of England by transcribing nonconformist records from Essex, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, Northumberland and Norfolk. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS

Ancestry: West Midlands Police Records
The records held by the West Midlands Police Museum offer a fascinating insight into policing and social history all the way back to the 1830s. Transcribe detailed records of police officers who served across the West Midlands from the 1860s to the 1940s for Ancestry’s free World Archives Project.  CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS

The National Archives & the National Maritime Museum: Royal Navy First World War Lives at Sea
Help create a database of First World War Royal Navy records with this partnership between The National Archives and the National Maritime Museum. The aim is to create a “free to search” database relating to all the men who served in the Navy during the First World War. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS

Internment Research Centre: Stobs Camp prisoner records
Unlock the records of German and Austrian civilians and soldiers detained at Stobs Military Camp during the First World War. When the First World War broke out in 1914, German and Austrian civilians living in Britain were seen as ‘the enemy within’. Many were interned in detention camps, either because they were considered a threat to national security or to protect them from hostile citizens. Foreign nationals were interned at Stobs from the start of the war. Over the next four years, they were joined by captured soldiers and sailors, and eventually it became a prisoner of war camp. We are aiming, with your help, to create a complete list of all the Prisoners of War/ Civilian Internees who were at Stobs. CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS

How do I get involved?
Simply click on the links above to find out more about each of the projects and what the work will entail. If any of the projects piques your interest, follow the step-by-step instructions and sign up to it directly. If you change your mind, don’t worry – just try a different project, or have a go at all of them!

More information
Check out the Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine website, and if you have any further queries, feel free to send an email to wdytyaeditorial@immediate.co.uk and the team will be happy to answer your queries.

Keep up to date
Keep up to date with the latest news and happening by following Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine through their Facebook group, Forum or Twitter.

Spread the word
And social media users if you’re taking part, please spread the word, and don’t forget to use the official hashtag of #TranscriptionTuesday when you post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or elsewhere.

Transcription Tuesday
4 February 2020

So no matter wherever you are in the world on Tuesday, 4 February 2020, if you can spare some time to help out, this is the perfect opportunity to delve into some fascinating documents and give something back to the family history community. And ever better, you don’t even need to leave the house to take part. All you need is a computer, an internet connection and a passion for genealogy!