In today’s busy society, finding the time to start a family tree might seem daunting. However, to get myself on the right path, I signed up for a free account on Findmypast – the online genealogy service that does most of the work for you when accessing official documents (such as birth and marriage certificates) and helping you build a family tree online.

All you need is a few key dates. For example, DOBs, maiden names. Locations of key events are also helpful when tracking down information through the search engine.

After setting aside an evening a week, I started to find the process quite addictive. The element of discovery is really interesting and, in regard to my grandmother especially, super-insightful because everything I’d ever learned from her was via word of mouth (accompanied by a brew and a bit of cake) or by way of the faded photographs kept in a battered old Quality Street tin.

For example, I knew my Nan was evacuated from London during WWII – she often spoke about being picked up from Castle Cary station in Somerset with her little name tag attached to her coat – and via Findmypast, I could see that her real mother was actually born in Tower Hamlets (my Nan was later adopted by the woman who took her in as an evacuee), and had a slew of brothers and sisters that she lost touch with during the war.

Every week, I discovered something new about her, and while she would have lived a somewhat quiet or ‘traditional’ life in the grand scheme of things, recording her history felt important. Recording her history felt like I wasn’t forgetting her.

“I started a family tree to honour my grandmother’s memory – here’s why it’s so important…”