Absolutely brilliant, Sandra. Thank you. I've taken the liberty of forwarding your message to the Mariners List (mariners@rootsweb.com) in case you hadn't included them. Tony Petersfield On 27/09/2008, Sandra J Smith <sandra.s@ntlworld.com> wrote: > Hi list, > > First apologies if you receive this email several times. I am posting it to > several lists as I am sure people will find it useful. I am sure I have > never seen this publicised on any list and as the National Archives are > doing this as a pilot to see whether it will prove useful, use it or lose > it! > > For those who have visited Kew, you will have seen the hundreds of filing > cabinets in the main open search room. These are being put on line and > downloadable into PDF files for FREE. At the moment there are about 190 > films available, but as many of them are Admiralty and War Office, anyone > with Royal Navy and Coastguards connections should definitely check them > out. (I have already found some useful stuff). Some of the films are > indexes and/or finding aids to other records, however I have spotted some > which include full service records of the people concerned. > > A word of warning though - the files are extremely large and can take quite > a time to download even with a broadband connection. You can save and keep > the file for 56 days. > > How to find them: > > Go to the National Archives at: > www.nationalarchives.gov.uk > Click on Documents Online > Click on Advanced Search in the Quick Search Box > Unclick all the categories except Digital Microfilm > In Media types, unclick everything except Text > Click on Search > On the next page click on Digital Microfilm > > You will then be presented with a list of everything available. > Once you have identified the piece you want to view, click on See Details > and then proceed as if you were going to purchase an image via the checkout. > You end up with an invoice detail of £0.00 and inctructions to Download Now. > > Hope this proves useful to someone. > Sandra