Well, the fields are defined <http://www.freebmd.org.uk/Format.shtml> as *Surname*,*GivenNames*,MothersName,District,*Volume*,*Page* so the Surname field _is_ the first field and only the first field. However, it is obviously open to mis-interpretation so I will amend it to make it clear that it is the first field that is being referred to. I have also amended the mailing list for changes so that changes to the TKB are copied to the Syndicates list, as requested by Jeff. So the above change will be a test of that. I will also amend the comment in parentheses. I think it was trying to refer to the use of "?" so that is what I will make it say. Barrie On 19:59, Richard Oliver wrote: > One of my transcribers has queried how to handle a handwritten 'extra' entry that has a long dash in place of the Mother's Maiden Surname; the scan reference is 1938B3-H-0424. > > I have advised him to use a ? mark as being the proper UCF symbol for a Field with no content. He has hit back with an item from the Transcriber's Knowledge Base, copied hereunder: > > _______________________ > 6 (aj) I have an entry in which the Mother's name is just a long dash. How do I transcribe it? > Transcribe it as a dash (see details of UCF characters). The same applies to other fields but not to the dash in the Surname field of typeset pages which means "repeat the above Surname"; for these you repeat the Surname. > > _______________________ > > I have told him that the TKB is wrong in this particular case, and needs correcting. The only field where a dash means "repeat the above Surname" is the first field of any record, that is, the Surname of the person whose BMD record it is. I believe there is no such UCF character as a "dash", only an underscore meaning "single unreadable character". Incidentally, since this was a Late Registration filed in Sep 1942, I have checked scan 1942B3-H-0086 for the typed entry for this record, and the dash is duly typewritten in the MMS column. > > Richard Oliver > Madrid, Spain > richol@arrakis.es > > > --Certified Virus Free by 4SecureMail.com ICSA-Certified Scanner--