I completely agree Pam. Data Protection Act's aren't really about keeping an eye on historic papers, whether they be absolutely accurate or simply a best steer - there may be nuggets there for someone no matter how accurate they are. Surely the likelihood is that they are actually accurate - maybe they were based on a parent's memory - not always perfect but a good place to start one's research from. I do appreciate though, that space for storage can be an important factor. Could the papers be scanned and stored electronically, if after further consideration DGFHS felt they would be happy to be recipients? edward Limpsfield, Surrey Using Norton SystemWorks