Discover your past with findmypast.co.uk and Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
Findmypast.co.uk is the perfect place to build your family tree, whether you're completely new to family history or you've already done some research. We've got 1.5 billion family history records just waiting to be explored.
We're offering you a fantastic deal to help you start your journey, in association with Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine.
40 free PayAsYouGo credits
We're giving you 40 PayAsYouGo credits worth £5 absolutely free so you can view and download any of the records on findmypast.co.uk. This is an ideal opportunity to get a feel for the website and discover what our records can tell you about your ancestors.
How do I activate my 40 free credits?
To activate your free credits, simply click the 'Claim free credits' button below and enter this code:
WDYTYA
The code will expire on 31 January 2013 so make sure you use it before then!
If you're an existing findmypast.co.uk user, you'll need to sign in to claim your credits. If you're new to findmypast.co.uk, you'll need to register first – this is really quick and easy to do and it's free.
If you need any help, contact our customer support team
Where's the best place to start my research?
- Once you've added yourself and your immediate family to your free family tree on findmypast.co.uk, it's time to start exploring our family history records to see what they can tell you. First, search our birth, marriage and death records to fill in the gaps in your tree. When you've found an ancestor's record, you can use it to order a copy of their birth, marriage or death certificate. Certificates provide lots of useful extra information, including parents' names, occupations and address
Take a look at our step-by-step video tutorial on how to search our birth records - If anyone in your family tree was born before 1911, search our English, Welsh and Scottish census records to take your tree further back. Search the 1911 census on findmypast.co.uk. Were your ancestors living with their parents? If so, add their names to your family tree and a rough date of birth based on their age at the time of the census
- Next, try searching the census that was taken 10 years earlier. There are eight censuses you can search on findmypast.co.uk, which take you all the way back to 1841
- To go back even further than the 1841 census, search our parish baptism, marriage and burial records. Our parish records cover many parishes across England and Wales and can take you back to 1538
- You might be wondering what your ancestors' lives were like. Try searching for your family in our education & work, institutions & organisations, travel & migration and armed forces & conflict records to add detail and colour to your ancestors' lives
Help is at hand
Here are a few things you can try if you get stuck:
- Search for different spellings – names often change slightly over the years so Peter Smith could easily become Peter Smythe!
- You might be entering too much information when you search. Less is more when searching – start with just a first and last name, then redefine your search and add more details if there are too many results
- Ask for help! Post your problem on our Facebook page and one of our more experienced family historians might be able to lend a hand
- Visit our help & advice pages for more tips on starting your family tree
Terms and conditions
You must register at findmypast.co.uk in order to take up the offer and in so doing you agree to the terms and conditions of use for the findmypast.co.uk website.
In taking up this offer, you consent to a cookie being placed on your machine. The free credit offer is restricted to one offer per individual, where it is assumed that each individual has their own individual device and their own individual email address.
The codes are for one time use only per individual. Where more than one individual shares a computer and/or an email address, only one individual will be able to take up the free credit offer.
The offer code must be validated at findmypast.co.uk before or on 31 January 2013.
40 free credits will be added to your account, which will expire after 90 days or when they have been used up, whichever is the sooner.
Searching records on the site is free but credits are required to view, save or print any of the records on the website. The cost of viewing each different type of record varies and can be seen by hovering your mouse over the 'view' button beside each search result.
If you need any help, contact our customer support team