GRO - exciting news!

[Olde Crone Holden]

Just read a post over on GR.

The GRO are opening four regional centres, one at Plymouth, others not named, where the new indexes will be displayed and available for searching. GRO staff will be on hand to help with one to one tutorials and assistance.

These centres will be open until 2010, when the new digital index goes on line.

Woo hoo! I'm off to Plymouth next week...bursting to get a look at these new indexes and see how useful they are going to be to us all.

OC

[Anne in Carlisle]

All I can say is... look out you 'representatives from the GRO' - Olde Crone Holden is on her way!! :D

Anne

[Little Nell]

Doesn't seem to be mentioned on GRO website - although rather disturbingly it does say that the GRO will become part of the Identity & Passport Service April 2008.

[Uncle John]

I noticed the address on my recent certificate envelopes was GRO rather than ONS.

[Olde Crone Holden]

The poster got the info from a family history mag. Just re-read the post and the GRO staff will only be there for a week, then you are on your own. It isn't a new independant GRO centre as such, it is Plymouth Library which will have the full index.

Cannot make out whether this is in fact the new index, or merely a full set of GRO microfiche.

In which case can I be bothered to go all the way to Plymouth just to have a go at some poor GRO slave.

Sorry folks, not quite as exciting as it seemed at first. But we now know the DOVE project won't be on line till 2010, only four years late.

OC

[Little Nell]

OC

I think you've got carried away with enthusiasm! We don't know the DOVE project will be 4 years late, it might be later. Perhaps we could have a bet on what will come first, the 1911 census or the DOVE indexes?!

[Uncle John]

I still haven't had a sensible reply from the GRO to my moan (sorry, query) about a mis-indexed death (Sydiard for Lydiard).

[Olde Crone Holden]

Gawd Nell, I'm far too trusting aren't I? You could very well be right. It has already taken twice as long as expected and still isn't finished. Wonder if I'll live to see it.

UJ

That is one of the topics I intend to bring up with the GRO rep - the lack of correction facilities. I recently ordered a marriage cert on line, knowing that the GRO index was incorrect - middle name listed as surname. This explains why I had never previously been able to find a marriage for this man and neither will the next person who tries.

As it turned out, the bride was also incorrectly indexed - her surname is not spelled the same way on the cert as it is on the index. Could have resulted in a no-show cert.

OC

[JudithM]

.

Cannot make out whether this is in fact the new index, or merely a full set of GRO microfiche.

OC

I can't at present find the magazine I read about this in but the gist of it was that the four centres will have a new index, which will also be updated each year as opposed to the old GRO fiche which will still be in other libraries and records offices.

[JudithM]

Aha! Just found the FFHS Webzine where I read about this

FFHS - News - Improved access to GRO indexes

[Michael]

Anything which it is stated will happen on 1st April always makes me a bit suspicious...

Erm, what new indexes? Are they any improvement on the old ones?

[Olde Crone Holden]

Michael

GRO has gone to a lot of time, trouble and expense to digitalise vital records - this is called the DOVE project.

The new indexes will contain mother's maiden name for births and spouses names for marriages.

When the DOVE project was first announced back in 2002/3, it was intended that we should be able to download certs on line a la Scotlands People. This is not to happen now because it breaks the English law. Certs WILL be available to view and download on line - but only by Registrars.

The new INDEX will be online and should make searching slightly easier.

OC

[Ann from Sussex]

"The new indexes will contain mother's maiden name for births and spouses names for marriages."

And age at death for deaths.

Ann

[Michael]

Ah, thanks.

[Pippa Doll]

So Free BMD will have some catching up to do after they are published?

[Olde Crone Holden]

Pippa

Or Freebmd will become redundant!

(But I expect the new indexes won't be free to search - we shall see).

OC

[Little Nell]

We must remember the indexes aren't being vamped up for family history, but for identity/security reasons.

[Uncle John]

There must still be any number of long-dead infants with active passports.

[Margaret in Burton]

Pippa

Or Freebmd will become redundant!

(But I expect the new indexes won't be free to search - we shall see).

OC

OC

Can't see that Freebmd will be redundant, the indexes aren't going to be transcribed are they?

Freebmd will be a little out of date though with mmn on births, spouse name and age at death missing from the records already done.

[Richard in Perth]

Aah, but it doesn't actually say that the new index will be available in 2010 - the exact wording in the article is that it's "... unlikely to be before early 2010" - which to my mind implies that it is quite likely to be well after "early 2010" :(

Margaret - but the new index will be transcribed, and according to the article on FFHS, it will be available online for free - so it will indeed make FreeBMD redundant. Mind you, depending on how accurate the transcriptions are in the revamped index, there may well still be a use for FreeBMD. And of course the new index could still be years away in any case!