Research Resources

 

Welcome to the Members' Area

As a member of the Anglo Italian Family History Society you will have access to the following resources:

 

Searchable Transcription Database

Members can use keywords to search our online database. 

Some of our transcribed records, such as the Guida degli Italiani in Gran Bretagna, and marriages and baptisms from St Peter's Italian Church, Clerkenwell, are not available elsewhere online. 

Contained within the database is information collected and transcribed from diverse sources within Britain, Italy and beyond by our accomplished volunteer researchers.

The sources they used can be viewed here: Research and Transcription Sources

 

Italian Roots, Journal and Newsletters      

The journal was created by the Society's founder members in 2002 with Kay Lorenzato as Editor. Rosemarie Leonard took over the project and it was expanded from 10 pages to 40 to accommodate family stories, historic information, book reviews and photographs. Nello Ostacchini uploaded the journals to the website, adding download and keyword search facilities.  

Although occasional newsletters are still produced, much of what the journal used to do has been taken over by the website. 

Archived journals may be read and download from the Members area. A  collection of the the Society's journals and newsletters is available to read online and can be searched, using key words, or downloaded here: 

Italian Roots, Journal Search

 

Research Interests

After logging in to your personal account in the Members' Area you can update your research interests, adding specific names, locations or occupations.

You will also be able to contact others in the Membership Database who are researching in the same areas. In order to comply with confidentiality under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) your name and contact details (email address only) will be listed only if you have agreed to share them.

 

Guida Generale degli Italiani in Gran Bretagna (Terza Edizione 1939-1942)     

The Guida is a directory of Italians who were living and working in Great Britain at the time of publication (1939). Its lists of names and addresses was compiled under the auspices of the Italian Consular authorities and published by London-based Italian printer Edoardo Ercoli. This resource has been digitised by Nello Ostacchini and is not available on any other website. Details of those names and addresses listed also appear in the Searchable Transcription Database. Many business advertisements and articles are included (in Italian), some with photographs. The Guida also contains a number of biographies of prominent Italians who were living and working in Great Britain at the time of publication and an article on the book's publisher, Edoardo Ercoli is also included. The biographies  have been translated into English and can be viewed here: Guida BIographies

 

Anglo Italian Military Service Agreement 1917: Italians of military service age embarking for Italy

At the start of World War I the United Kingdom was the sole European country without compulsory military service. With an increasingly desperate need for men for the trenches, the Britain Government enacted legislation enabling agreements to be reached with individual allied governments including, in 1917, the Kingdom of Italy, the purpose being effectively to bring aliens  * from that country within the jurisdiction of the UK Military Service Acts. The agreement required Italian men of military age in the UK either to return to Italy for military service or, if they remained, to be subject to the UK conscription laws. Repatriation was to take place within a specified period from the date of the announcement of the agreement. See Appendix A for more information about the agreement and its implementation and Appendix B for a survey of the UK places of residence of the Italians. This booklet contains the names, ages, occupations and UK addresses of those Italian men of military service age who were compulsorily returned to Italy for military service under the terms of the Anglo-Italian agreement. Documents relating to these transcriptions are held at The National Archives, Kew, in TNO Piece HO 45/10783/281476WAR. For more information: Anglo Italian Military Service Agreement

 

Webinar Player      

Members can view video recordings of the Society's Webinars. They proved to be a popular forum and highlighted just a few of our members' research interests. There are now plans to make webinars a regular, collaborative component of what is on offer to members.     

 

Podcasts

You can listen to a collection of podcasts related to the history of Italian migration to the British Isles.

 

 

^{*  Aliens:   Alien: in an era of science fiction movies such as ET (Extra Terrestrial) this term can sound out of place, even offensive. It was first used in the 14th century to describe something that felt strange or was of foreign origin. The UK government and institutions now prefer more neutral and respectful language when discussing immigration and foreign nationals. Instead of “alien” terms like “foreign national” or “non-citizen” are used in legal and government contexts. In 2021 US government agencies dealing with immigration were instructed to change their official language practices. Terms like “alien”, “illegal alien” and “assimilation” are no longer used. Instead, new vocabularies apply, including the words “noncitizen” for “alien” and “integration” for “assimilation”.}