WALES WIDE WEB FINDING PEOPLE IN WALES

Numerous requests are being received through the Wales Wide Web to help trace friends, relatives and ancestors in the Principality. This page is intended to provide some basic information on how to go about this.

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USING THE INTERNET

If you know they have an internet account in their own name, and you can guess the service provider, you may be able to use the directory services of the provider. Compuserve have such an index, but you can only use it if you have a Compuserve account, or you can get someone with such an account to use it for you. This, of course depends on your knowing their full name, and is made a lot easier if you know their town of residence.

If you know they are a student, and have an idea which college they are studying at, you may be able to trace them through their college or University mail directory. Some of these are accessed through the college web pages, although many are restricted to internal use for security reasons. Some of the Welsh colleges are indexed in the Wales Wide Web, and the rest can be found through UKINDEX (http://www.ukindex.co.uk). If you cannot get into the college's directory, then send email to the webmaster or the registrar asking them to pass on a request for them to contact you.

Both of the above work just as well if you know someone that is in regular contact with them, and you can trace the contact to set up the initial link.

The most useful genealogical index that we have found is called Source List for Genealogy Research this gives a number of useful sources on the internet.

USING THE LOCAL NEWSPAPERS

Unless a person is a complete stranger to an area, has no friends or relations, and spends their life down a hole in the ground, then someone reading the local paper will spot your advert and pass on the message. This depends on your knowing how to get in touch with the local papers. You can do this by contacting the local authority in the region where they live or work - these are all listed in the local authorities section of the Wales Wide Web, with addresses and phone numbers, and fax numbers where available. Ask them for the addresses of the personal ads. offices of the local papers, and for their advice on which paper is likely to be most useful.

USING THE LOCAL LIBRARIES

Local libraries are distributed throughout Wales, and have two services in this area. Firstly, they have reference material, including copies of parish records, electoral registers and other local publications and special-interest books which make reference to historical events. They also have staff trained to support research projects, either by assisting visitors or acting for people outside the area. A small amount of research will usually be provided without charge, but for more detailed work, there is a moderate scale of charges. There are many public libraries, but the main ones are listed in the Earl project, which is linked from the Wales Wide Web index. If you need personal assistance to find ancestors or organisations which may refer to your friend or relative, this is probably the best place to start.

USING THE AREA HEALTH AUTHORITIES

If the person being sought is in hospital or a nursing home, either as a patient or a health service employee, they may be traced through the health authorities, which are indexed from the Wales Wide Web regional information page.

USING THE LOCAL SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE

If the person being sought or studied is known to come from a particular school, that school can be traced, and the staff (via the Head Teacher) asked to help. Schools can be traced via local authorities or libraries, mentioned elsewhere in this list.

USING THE SPORTS CLUBS

For people who are known to be keen participants (and especially competitors) in a particular sport, it is worthwile contacting their sports club or clubs. The Wales Wide Web has a list of governing bodies for a range of sports (see the main index), through which local clubs can be traced. For sports not listed there, it is necessary to find the national or international governing body, or trace the club directly from local community records available from public libraries.

USING THE PROFESSIONAL AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

There are many professional and trade associations and trades unions. Some of them have their own internet pages, and can be traced through the usual search engines. Some are listed in the Wales Wide Web classified section. These and the smaller, local organisations can also be traced through public libraries.

USING EMPLOYERS

Sometimes the person can be traced through their employer or a known previous employer. Companies can be traced through the local authorities and libraries if they cannot be found by the usual internet search engines.

USING THE REGIMENTAL RECORDS

Servicemen can sometimes be traced through their service records. Ancestors may be mentioned in regimental or other related information. Regimental records are maintained by archivists employed by the services, and can be traced as such. In many cases, useful information about campaigns and key participants can be found in books available through public libraries.

USING THE LOCAL TELEVISION

If your problem is newsworthy, or it concerns someone recently in the news, you could try contacting any of the three main programme providers for the region. They are: S4C, the "Welsh" Channel 4, which has a web page at http://www.s4c.co.uk; the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), which provides two licence-funded channels, and has a web page at http://www.bbc.co.uk; HTV (Harlech TeleVision) which provides the main terrestrial commercial channel to Wales and the South West of England. The web sites are intended to advertise the channels and the programmes, but you may be able to find an email link in there somewhere.

USING THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES

The local authorities may be able to help in several ways. They can be traced using the local Authorities pages of the Wales Wide Web. In any case, don't expect them to pass on addresses or any other personal information to you - at best they will pass on your message to them, and leave it to them to contact you.

Unfortunately, most of Wales has not yet officially caught up with the Internet, so for the time being you will have to write to make contact with most of the local authorities. There are now a few that have their own "official" web pages, and you may be able to get in contact by email through a link in the page. In any case, you can request a reply by email in the hope that someone there has access to internet mail, but don't depend on it.

If it is a genuine emergency (e.g. sudden bereavement, illness etc) the local authority may act directly on your behalf. They will need to be assured from the content of your message that you are genuine, and have no criminal or nuicance motive.

The local authorities have access to the Electoral Registers, which contain lists of averybody eligible to vote in local or national elections. These are big lists, so you need the address, or at least the street where they live. People working away from home for any length of time may (or may not) register their lodgings for the time being.

TRACING ANCESTORS

The genealogical societies are indexed in the Wales Wide Web, and they can be contacted for help or advice. Again, they are not advertising email yet, so you will have to write.

Official records are collected by local area (Parish) and maintained by the Registrar for births, deaths and marriages. They can be traced through the local authorities, but you will need to know which parish to go to. If you have an address where the person lived when they were born, died or got married, or you know the name and town of the church where the event was marked, this helps.

The Home Office carries a great deal of information about our ancestors. This is publicly accessible by visiting the Public Search Room at 10 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JP (Tel: 0171 396 2218).

USING THE POST OFFICE

If you have a name and an address, even if you are not sure it is the current address, write a letter to that address. Some people think of telling the occupiers where they have moved to; others make arrangements with the post office for at least a few months for mail to be forwarded.

If you have an address but not the full name, you could write to "The Occupier", with a polite request to pass on a message or an enclosed letter if they recognise the name you can give. If someone is an ex-student, their college may be prepared to forward mail to the last known home or family address.

USING PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS

There are a number of detective agencies which operate in Wales, and these may be approached for help. If you cannot find a suitable one in the classified index of the Wales Wide Web, perhaps the local authority for the area concerned may be able to refer one to you. These people will, of course, expect to be paid but if it is important to you, it will be worth it. But find out what the charges are before you engage them.

http://www.grossi.co.uk/wales/pfinder.htm
Updated: 23/09/2000