Read on for all you need to know about our Start Your Family Tree Week competition and how to enter…

How to enter

To enter findmypast.co.uk’s festive family history challenge prize draw, answer a question posted on the findmypast.co.uk blog every day between 26 December and 1 January, and then send all seven answers together in one email with the subject line ‘Festive challenge’ before midnight on 10 January 2011 (UK time) to competition@findmypast.co.uk, including your name, postal address and daytime telephone number.

First prize

• A day tracing your family tree with famous genealogist, Else Churchill at the Society of Genealogists in London - using the resources of the SoG and looking at aspects of their research. The prize includes return travel by train to London from within the UK and two nights’ accommodation in London for the winner and a guest
• 1 free membership of the Society of Genealogists in their centenary year
• A From You to Me personalised journal from www.fromyoutome.com
• Nick Barratt’s Guide To Your Ancestors Lives from Pen & Sword books
• 1 pair of tickets to Who Do You Think You Are LIVE show at Olympia, February 2011
• 12 month subscription to Family Tree Magazine
• 12 month subscription to BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 12 month subscription to Your Family Tree magazine
• Celebrating 25 Years of Family Tree Magazine bookazine
• A photo scanner from Pandigital
• 1 photo album and set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk to help with conserving documents and old photos
• 1 copy of Glorious Britain - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 1 copy of I Remember When - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• A framed print (medium in either B&W or Sepia) from www.francisfrith.co.uk - photo is the winner’s choice from the products online
• 7-generation family tree chart from BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 3 month subscription voucher to findmypast.co.uk

Second prize

• 1 free membership of the Society of Genealogists in their centenary year
• 1 pair of tickets to Who Do You Think You Are LIVE show at Olympia, February 2011
• A From You to Me personalised journal from www.fromyoutome.com
• Nick Barratt’s Guide To Your Ancestors Lives from Pen & Sword books
• 12 month subscription to Family Tree Magazine
• 12 month subscription to BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 12 month subscription to Your Family Tree magazine
• Celebrating 25 Years of Family Tree Magazine bookazine
• A photo scanner from Pandigital
• 1 photo album and set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk to help with conserving documents and old photos
• 1 copy of Glorious Britain - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 1 copy of I Remember When - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• A framed print (medium in either B&W or Sepia) from www.francisfrith.co.uk - photo is the winner’s choice from the products online
• 7-generation family tree chart from BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 3 month subscription voucher to findmypast.co.uk

Third prize

• 1 pair of tickets to Who Do You Think You Are LIVE show at Olympia, February 2011
• 12 month subscription to Family Tree Magazine
• 12 month subscription to BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 12 month subscription to Your Family Tree magazine
• Celebrating 25 Years of Family Tree Magazine bookazine
• A photo scanner from Pandigital
• 1 photo album and set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk to help with conserving documents and old photos
• 1 copy of Glorious Britain - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 1 copy of I Remember When - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• A framed print (medium in either B&W or Sepia) from www.francisfrith.co.uk - photo is the winner’s choice from the products online
• 7-generation family tree chart from BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 3 month subscription voucher to findmypast.co.uk

Other runner-up prizes
Ten other runner-ups will each be allocated a bundle of prizes from the following list by findmypast.co.uk:

• 1 ticket to a day course at the Society of Genealogists, London: ‘Family History for Beginners and Refreshers’ with Geoff Swinfield on Saturday 5 March 2011.
• Society of Genealogists‘ publications
  • 1 x My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer by Ian Waller
  • 1 x My Ancestors were Londoners by Cliff Webb
  • 1 x My Ancestor was an Apprentice by Stuart Raymond
  • 1 x My Ancestor was in Service by Pamela Horn
  • 1 x My Ancestor was in the British Army by Chris and Michael Watts
• A free start your family history beginners session at the Society of Genealogists with community officer Ashley Young who can help anyone start using computers and get the most from free online resources at the SoG, such as findmypast.co.uk and other online family history sites usually available on pay per view or subscription
• 4 x 12-month subscriptions to Family Tree Magazine
• 11 x Celebrating 25 Years of Family Tree Magazine bookazine
• 4 x 12-month subscription to Your Family Tree magazine
• 4 x 12-month subscription to BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 7-generation family tree chart from BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 1 photo album and set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk to help with conserving documents and old photos
• 20 x set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk
• A photo scanner from Pandigital
• Family history books from Pen & Sword
  • 2 x Tracing Your Army Ancestors
  • 2 x Tracing Jewish Ancestors
  • 2 x Tracing Pauper Ancestors
• 6 x copies of Glorious Britain from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 6 x copies of I Remember When from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 2 x framed print (medium in either B&W or Sepia). Photo is the winner’s choice - the winner will be provided with a promotional code to get 100% off their chosen product online at www.francisfrith.co.uk
• How to Trace Your Ancestors Using a Computer for the Older Generation by Jim Gatenby

Competition terms & conditions

All entrants must be over the age of 18.

The first entry opened with correct answers to all seven questions will win first prize, the second entry opened with correct answers to all seven questions will win second prize, the third entry opened with correct answers to all seven questions will win third prize. The other runner-up prizes will be allocated in no particular order to the next 10 correct entries opened.

Prizes are not transferable and no alternatives will be offered. No purchase is necessary.

First prize includes return travel by train from within the UK for the winner and one guest and two nights’ accommodation in London based on two people sharing a double or twin room. Only the winner’s family history will be researched.

Winners of a framed print from Francis Frith will be provided with a promotional code to get 100% off their chosen print (medium in either black and white or sepia) online at www.francisfrith.co.uk

Winners of the From You to Me journals will be provided with a code to get 100% off of the cost of the personalised journal. The winners must pay for postage but From You to Me will fully refund this.

All winners will be notified by email. Names of all the winners will be published on this blog on 21 January 2011.

The Christmas period is one of the most popular times of the year for people to research their family history. With the family gathered around for the festivities, it’s the perfect time to quiz the older generations on what they remember about the family, and get the youngsters inspired too.

That’s why findmypast.co.uk is launching Start Your Family Tree Week this Christmas. From 26 December to 1 January make sure you visit findmypast.co.uk for a week of fantastic special offers and guides to help you start your family tree. Make the most of your time off to get down to some serious research.

Every day during Start Your Family Tree Week there will be some very special offers available on findmypast.co.uk, including:

• A getting started guide
• Easy to download family tree charts
• A guide to interviewing your relatives
• Help with getting your relatives online
• Competitions and prize draws
• Discounts and free trials
• Tips and advice
• Free downloadable family history tools and software

A festive family history challenge you won’t want to miss

We’re also setting you a festive challenge during Start Your Family Tree Week. Each day on findmypast.co.uk’s blog, we’ll post a competition question for you to answer. Make sure you visit the blog every day - you’ll need to answer all the questions correctly to be in with a chance of winning our prizes.

We have a huge Christmas hamper full of amazing prizes to give away, including:

Your family history researched by a professional genealogist, tickets to Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE show in February 2011, subscriptions to BBC WDYTYA magazine and Your Family Tree magazine, scanners, family history books and subscriptions to findmypast.co.uk

Keep an eye on our blog for details of how to enter the challenge coming soon.

Other websites taking part in Start Your Family Tree Week are: GenesReunited.co.uk, Eneclann, my-history.co.uk, www.yourfamilytreemag.co.uk and whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com

Supporting Start Your Family Tree Week are: the Society of Genealogists, the Federation of Family History Societies, Pen and Sword Books, BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, Your Family Tree magazine and Family Tree Magazine.

Thanks to all of you who entered our World Cup competition. As the tournament is over, it’s time to let you know the correct answers to the questions and reveal our winner!

Question 1: What was the recorded occupation of William Matt, aged 36, living in Easthampstead, Berkshire in the 1911 census?

Answer: Snob! Lots of you correctly added that a snob was a bootmaker and repairer at the upper end of the trade.

Question 2: How many first names was Ann Pepper, born in West Derby in the Jan/Feb/Mar quarter of 1883, given?

Answer: A whopping 25 first names! Ann was given a first name for every letter of the alphabet except P: Ann, Bertha, Cecilia, Diana, Emily, Fanny, Gertrude, Hypatia, Inez, Jane, Kate, Louisa, Maud, Nora, Ophelia, Quince, Rebecca, Starkey, Teresa, Ulysis, Venus, Winifred, Xenophen, Yetty and Zeus. The mind boggles!

Question 3: Can you tell us what disability Chelsea Pensioner Bartholomew Murphy, born in Wexford in 1841, who served in the 36th Reg Of Foot, is reported to have?

Answer: Malformation of feet and overlapping toes. Poor chap!

Question 4: Which ship was Joseph Dugemin a passenger on?

Answer: The Titanic.

Our lucky winner is Rosemary Rowley from Macclesfield, Cheshire who wins a digital camera, vouchers for a year’s Full subscription to findmypast.co.uk, ‘Tracing Your Shipbuilding Ancestors’ a book by Anthony Burton, a family history starter pack, a 1911census.co.uk mouse mat and the all-important findmypast.co.uk pencil!

Congratulations Rosemary and thanks to all of you who entered. We hope we provided you with some amusement during the World Cup.

England are out of the World Cup (booo) which means that our World Cup widows offer has come to an end. We hope you all enjoyed it and found some useful information during your free access.

We set you four competition questions to answer during the offer for a chance to win a digital camera, vouchers for a 12 month Full subscription and other family history prizes. For a chance to win, email your answers to all four questions to casestudies@findmypast.co.uk with ‘World Cup competition’ in the subject line.

Here’s a reminder of the four questions you’ll need to answer:

1. What was the recorded occupation of William Matt, aged 36, living in Easthampstead, Berkshire in the 1911 census?
2. How many first names was Ann Pepper, born in West Derby in the Jan/Feb/Mar quarter of 1883, given?
3. What disability is Chelsea Pensioner Bartholomew Murphy, born in Wexford in 1841, who served in the 36th Reg Of Foot, reported to have?
4. Which ship was Joseph Dugemin a passenger on?

The closing date of the competition is 12 July and there can only be one winner. We’ll pick the winner at random from the entries that contain all of the correct answers - the judge’s decision is final.

We’ll publish the winner on our blog on 13 July along with the answers to all the questions. Good luck!

This afternoon England play Germany which means you can enjoy 90 minutes of free access to findmypast.co.uk between 9am Sunday and 9am Monday (UK time).

Here’s the fourth World Cup widows competition question we’d like you to answer:

Which ship was Joseph Dugemin a passenger on?

Our passenger lists hold the answer.

The prize: a digital camera, vouchers for a year’s Full subscription plus more family history prizes.

When England get knocked out of the tournament we’ll let you know how to enter the competition. Remember that you need to answer all the competition questions correctly to be in with a chance of winning - there’s one question for each England match. You have until 12 July to send us your answers and there can only be one winner. We’ll pick the winner at random from the entries that contain all of the correct answers - the judge’s decision is final.

We’ll publish the winner on our blog on 13 July along with the answers to all the questions. Good luck!

Make sure you’ve registered on findmypast by midnight Saturday 26 June (UK time) for our next World Cup offer (if you’ve already registered there’s no need to do so again).

As soon as you sign in to the site between 9am Sunday (UK time) and 9am Monday your 90 free minutes will start - so be ready to begin your research then! All you need to know is here: http://www.findmypast.co.uk/world-cup.jsp

Look out for our fourth competition question coming your way on Sunday morning (UK time)!

England play Slovenia this afternoon which means it’s time for another World Cup widows competition question!

Can you tell us what disability Chelsea Pensioner Bartholomew Murphy, born in Wexford in 1841, who served in the 36th Reg Of Foot, is reported to have? Search our Chelsea Pensioners records for the answer - Murphy’s medical report holds the key.

The prize: a digital camera, vouchers for a year’s Full subscription plus more family history prizes.

We hope that England make it through to the next stage of the tournament so we can extend our competition, but if they’re kicked out today this will be the last question we pose and the competition will close.

If this happens (fingers crossed it doesn’t!) we’ll let you know how to enter the competition. Remember that you need to answer all the competition questions correctly to be in with a chance of winning. You have until 12 July to send us your answers and there can only be one winner. We’ll pick the winner at random from the entries that contain all of the correct answers - the judge’s decision is final.

We’ll publish the winner on our blog on 13 July along with the answers to all the questions. Good luck!

Make sure you’ve registered on findmypast by midnight Tuesday 22 June (UK time) for our next World Cup offer (if you’ve already registered there’s no need to do so again).

Remember that as soon as you sign in to the site between 9am Wednesday (UK time) and 9am Thursday your 90 free minutes will start - so be ready to begin your research then! All you need to know is here: http://www.findmypast.co.uk/world-cup.jsp

Look out for our third competition question coming your way on Wednesday morning (UK time)!

Thanks to all of you who visited the site on Friday/Saturday. We’re so glad that most of you managed to get lots out of your free 90 minutes. After the huge amount of visitors to the site during the first England match we made further provisions for the second match so that the site would run faster and give you a better service. We handled significantly more traffic this time around and we’re pleased that even more of you had a positive experience.

It is inevitable that there’s a limit to the amount of people who can access the site at one time and the evening is definitely the busiest time for the site. We would recommend that you take your 90 minutes at other times of day where possible - this should allow you to whizz around the site at full speed!

On free access days you’ll need to make sure that no-one else has already logged in on your computer - we have restricted the free 90 minutes to one session per computer. Your 90 minutes will start as soon as you log in so be ready to start your research straight away!

The amount of people who made useful and unexpected discoveries during their free access is inspiring - get ready for Wednesday’s offer to make sure you don’t miss out.

It’s that time of year again!

Are you stuck for gift ideas for Father’s Day this Sunday? Problem solved with findmypast.co.uk’s completely free Father’s Day family tree template!

Start a new hobby for your dad  by downloading the free family tree template today.