[downloaded from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, The Daily Online Genealogy Newsletter, Dick Eastman, editor, dated Various] 21 August 2015 -- Scottish Ancestral Research Company Releases New Records for Major Family History Show Annan, Scotland – To celebrate the “Lanarkshire Family History Society Local and Family History Show” (the largest family history show in Scotland) www scottishindexes.com is releasing thousands of historical Scottish paternity records. The total number of paternity records now indexed is 11,723! These records give a unique insight into the lives of our ancestors and allows people with illegitimate ancestors to trace their male line more easily; often helping you overcome a ‘brick wall’ in your family tree! As these are a new source to many researchers Scottish Indexes provides a free ‘Learning Zone section to guide you: http://www.scottishindexes.com/learningcourt.aspx 1 August 2015 -- Millionaire Property Developer Used Children’s Gravestones to Build a Patio Here is another “misuse of tombstones” story. You would think people would have more common sense than to desecrate graves. Kim Davies took tombstones from a derelict chapel and cemented them to the walls of Llanwenarth House in Abergavenny, South Wales, where Cecil Frances Alexander penned the famous hymn. Planners were horrified when they saw the ‘decorative stone plaques’ had been used as part of a gaudy £1m makeover to the Grade II-listed home, turning it into a ‘palace for an Iron Curtain dictator’. One of the 150-year-old gravestones was even engraved with the names of three brothers and a sister who all died while under the age of four. The wealthy businessman also used some of the graves as flagstones for a patio which he built at the £2.2m country mansion. It means children are now lying in unmarked graves at the disused Soar-y-Graig Non Conformist chapel in the village of Llechryd. Details may be found in the Daily Mail at http://goo.gl/2eWVgd. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 14 August 2015 -- Forces War Records Releases New Online Database of British Prisoners Of War Held in Japan or Japanese-Occupied Territory On the eve of the 70th VJ day anniversary, Forces War Records released a new online collection of 56,000 records listing the Imperial Prisoners of War held in Japan (Original Source: Transcribed from the National Archive reference WO392/23-26 British Prisoners Of War Held In Japan Or Japanese-Occupied Territory). The following announcement was written by Forces War Records : In 1945, 37,583 British and Commonwealth soldiers were released from Japanese captivity and Forces War Records has their details. During the course of the Second World War, over 140,000 Allied soldiers were captured by the Armed Forces of the Empire of Japan. These men were kept in barbaric conditions, utilised as forced labour, tortured for information and used for medical experiments. Japan, while a signatory of the 1929 Geneva Convention, never ratified it and thus ignored it. Treatment of Allied prisoners was so poor that over 30,000 died in captivity. Many of the guards responsible were subsequently tried for war crimes. Immortalised in films such as “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) and “To End all Wars” (2001), there is no denying the significant impact that these events had and continue to have on survivors, veterans and their families. Indeed, Japanese War Crimes against Prisoners of War are often a hotly debated topic. This collection was compiled by the Directorate for Prisoners of War and lists the soldiers, along with the occasional civilian, who endured these conditions. Prisoners were only obliged to provide their name, rank and number so the amount of military information is limited, however the records do include the date of capture, the camp in which they were held and the date of liberation, be that through release, escape or death. On the 70th Anniversary of the Empire of Japan’s surrender we are pleased to present this collection of 56,363 records, a permanent memorial to the servicemen involved and an invaluable resource for genealogists. In addition, the record set includes such notable entries as: Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey, the senior Allied Officer held at Tha Maa Kham PoW camp and the officer upon whom Alec Guinness’ Colonel Nicholson from ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ was based. James Clavell, born Charles Edward Dumaresq Clavell, co-writer on the films ‘633 Squadron’ (1964) and ‘The Great Escape’ (1963) and author of the novel ‘King Rat’ (1962), based on his experiences in Changi camp. Ernest William Swanton, the BBC Radio Sports broadcaster and journalist who was a regular commentator on ‘Test Match Special’.    Sally Rolls Pavia [email protected] List Owner: [email protected] Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index "Our Soldiers are one of our greatest assets!"