Communal Records | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online The Living Stones Samuel Becher's gravestone • The Living Stones The Living Stones is an online archival project documenting the Jewish heritage of Bournemouth and Poole through information found on gravestones in local cemeteries. Archive Description The Living Stones website has been created as part of a National Lottery Heritage grant and includes a searchable online database of genealogical information found on Jewish gravestones in local cemeteries. It contains photographs of almost 3000 headstones in Jewish cemeteries in Bournemouth and Poole with basic details of all the stones. The website also includes a selection of stories written about some of the Jewish people buried in Bournemouth and Poole cemeteries as well as other information relating to the history of the local Jewish community. The project will also be recording oral histories with older members of the community and the interviews and transcripts will be deposited with the Dorset History Centre. Online Accessibility The database is available to search online. For more information contact Howard Freeman. The Jewish Heritage of Bournemouth and Poole
Local HistoryOnly online Northern Ireland Jewish Heritage Northern Ireland Jewish Heritage is an online history project administered by Belfast Jewish Heritage. It contains information and images about local Jewish history in Northern Ireland. Archive Description The project website hosts a map of Northern Ireland that records the presence of Jews, Jewish industries, and sites related to Jewish history. These locations are presented with detailed descriptions, contextual information, and related images where available. Digital Accessibility All the project material is available online. Enquiries about the project can be made to: info@belfastjewishheritage.org or belfastjewishheritage@yahoo.com. https://belfastjewishheritage.org
Family History | Historical Documents | Jewish LifeOnly online National Register of Memorial Boards The National Register of Jewish Memorial Boards is a digital collection by the British Jews in the First World War project. It is a digital archive accessible to the public. Project Description The National Register of Jewish Memorial Boards is searchable database of UK Jewish Memorial Boards of First World War, 1914 -1925 period. These boards contain the names of members of the Jewish community who served during the First World War. Some are still on display in synagogues, cemeteries and museums; whilst others are kept in archives or lost. The collection includes photo images, introductory text and personal profiles of names listed on the board. Digital Accessibility The collection is available online, and the project can be contacted by emailing: contactus@jewsfww.uk. http://www.jewsfww.uk/memorial-boards.php National Register of Memorial Boards Family History | Historical Documents | Jewish LifeOnly online The National Register of Jewish Memorial Boards is a digital collection by the British Jews in the First World War project. It is […]
Family History | Jewish Life | Local History | ReligionOnly online Jewish Gilroes Jewish Gilroes is an archival project run by the Leicester Hebrew Congregation. It consists of an online database documenting the lives of the Jewish population of Leicester through records from the only Jewish cemetery in Leicester and the surrounding areas. Archive Description Jewish Gilroes is based on research from a Heritage Lottery funded project called Lives Behind the Stones. The aim of that project was to catalogue all the burials at Leicester’s Jewish Cemetery and place the information onto a website. The database of genealogical searchable information is now available, with photographs and basic details of all the stones online, plus a selection of stories written about the people buried there. Online Accessibility The database is accessible to members of the public on the project website. For more information you can contact them on their website. https://jewish-gilroes.org.uk/
Family History | Holocaust | Immigration | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online Gathering the Voices Screenshot from the interactive game : Suzanne • Gathering the Voices Gatheringthevoices.com is a Scottish volunteer created archive that documents the lives of men and women who fled to Scotland to escape Nazi persecution. Archive Description The Gathering the Voices project is a registered charity. The members of the Association have collected and made available online oral and video testimony from men and women who sought and found sanctuary in Scotland to escape the racism of Nazi–dominated Europe. A major strand of the project was to allow the interviewees to describe key events throughout their whole lives, so they are seen as individuals not just victims. As well as testimony the archive shows letters, photographs and other memorabilia. The archive has a strong educational focus and is known for its innovative approach in teaching about the Holocaust. The digital archive contains podcasts, YouTube videos and teaching resources. These include digital comics, the most recent of which relates the testimony of Dany & Isi Metzstein and was developed by school pupils. The online archive features two interactive computer games; one of which, Marion’s Journey won the Scottish Games Award for Creativity. The website has a global following and the games were showcased at a recent international conference. There are also ten lesson plans on the topic of Kindertransport designed in partnership with Poppy Scotland. You can see regular updates via X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky Access Information The archive is free to use and enquiries can be made to info@gatheringthevoices.com Digital content All the testimonies and resources are available electronically and free to use as long as acknowledgement is given. https://gatheringthevoices.com/
Communal Records | Databases | Family History | Historical Documents | Jewish Life | Local History | ReligionOnly online Jewish Communities and Records – United Kingdom (JCR-UK) Chart of the Past & Present Officers of Dalston (Poets’s Road) Synagogue, London, circa 1910 • JCR-UK Jewish Communities and Records – United Kingdom (JCR-UK) is an online project whose aim is to record details of all Jewish communities and congregations that have ever existed in the British Isles. Archive Description Jewish Communities and Records – United Kingdom (JCR-UK) was established in 2002 as a joint project between the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) and JewishGen. Its aim is to record details of all Jewish communities and congregations that have ever existed in the United Kingdom, as well as the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar, in order to preserve the information for posterity and to make this information freely available online. JCR-UK comprises a wide range of scanned communal documents, photographs, articles, conference papers; databases, lists and other information and data covering London and some 250 provincial or regional Jewish communities, encompassing nearly 1,200 existing and defunct Jewish congregations of every persuasion, each with its own page, together with a new efficient search engine. Some specific examples of the wide range of material available on JCR-UK are: an extensive Bibliography of books on Anglo-Jewry; the Susser Archive of the late Rabbi Dr. B. Susser; archives of Exeter Synagogue; historic communal documents of the Bristol Hebrew Congregation; the papers of the 1975 conference on Provincial Jewry in Victorian Britain (including the 1845 Chief Rabbi’s Census); Jewish Listed Heritage Sites and much more. In addition, apart from its own database – the All-UK Database, operated by JewishGen, JCR-UK is host to a growing number of community Hosted Databases, generally providing ready access to burial records, gravestone images and cemetery maps. So far the communities covered include Belfast, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster, Grimsby, Harrogate, Leeds, Liverpool, Merthyr Tydfil, Newcastle, South Shields, Swansea, Sunderland and Whitley Bay, as well as the burial records of London’s Federation of Synagogues’ cemeteries, with several further community cemeteries in the process of being added. The latest ongoing project within JCR-UK involves the enhancing, reformatting and expanding of each of the congregation pages (there is one for each congregation) to include a more detailed history, lists of ministers and officers and other data, coupled with links to a new Rabbinic Profiles section, containing profiles of the ministers listed. By mid-2025, pages for over 660 congregations (more than 55% of the total number) have been enhanced, listing over 2,000 different ministers. Online Accessibility JCR-UK is available to the public online with no access limitations. Visit the What’s New page to read about the latest developments on JCR-UK. https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk
Family History | Immigration | Local HistoryOnly online Remembering the Jews of WW2 Remembering the Jews of WW2 is a publicly-accessible online archive about Jewish personnel who served in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War. Archive Description The archive was launched in February 2020 to commemorate Jewish personnel who died serving for Britain in the Royal Air Force, Navy, Merchant Navy and Army in the Second World War. The archive is a repository of their personal stories. It includes photos, documents, letters and other memorabilia. Discover family origins, schooling, careers and other information provided by living relatives. In many cases no information can be found, and the archive is looking for help to record their details. There are over 3000 names on the website with more stories being added almost daily. The archive is searching for the relatives of those who died to provide information so that they will be remembered. The database for the archive was initially created using Henry Morris’s book We Will Remember Them, a record of the Jews who died in the Armed Forces 1939-1945. Additionally, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has provided details of those with a Star of David on their headstones. Genealogy has played a major part in researching and recording details of the personnel with over 800 family trees created. The RAF personnel served across the world in many commands including Fighter, Transport, Bomber, Coastal, Far East, Ferry and the Middle East, and included are those who served in the many roles supporting the RAF: ground crew, WAAFs, support crew and aircrew. They are buried or commemorated around the world including Canada, India, Sicily, Malta, Egypt, and the United Kingdom. Their deaths include those who died through enemy action, accidents, bombing raids, illness and in prisoner of war camps. Online Accessibility The archive can be found on Remembering the Jews of WW2, and enquiries can be sent to: info@rememberingthejewsofww2.com. Home
Family History | Immigration | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online Tales of Jewish Sudan Tales of Jewish Sudan is an online archive of oral history interviews and photographs relating to Jews who lived in Sudan, and who now live all over the world. Many live in Israel and the United States of America, but a small community still live in Britain. Archive Description The Tales of Jewish Sudan archive consists of over 65 interviews and over 300 photographs. It covers daily life in the cities Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman, and the towns of Wad Medani and Port Sudan. The Jewish community of Sudan was formally established in 1901, although Jews were living in the country before this. At its peak the community numbered 250-300 families. The last members of the Jewish community left Sudan in the early 1970s. Tales of Jewish Sudan is a part of the private research conducted by Daisy Abboudi on this small but vibrant Jewish community. Online Accessibility The archive is available online, and enqiries about the contents can be made on their website. https://www.talesofjewishsudan.com
Cultural | Family History | Jewish Life | ReligionOnly online St Albans Masorti Synagogue (SAMS) heritage projects Photograph of Arriving and Belonging participant, David Zwaig's, grandparents before they emigrated to England ca1900 • St Albans Masorti, Arriving and Belonging St Albans Masorti Synagogue (SAMS) has collected stories from community members to create the following archives: SAMS Roots is a digital oral history collection of interviews with twelve members of the St Albans Jewish community. Mapping SAMS Roots is a digital mapping project which contains over 120 family documents and photographs plotted on to a virtual map. The Arriving and Belonging online exhibition contains stories chosen to illustrate universal themes and show how Jewish families arrived in St Albans and made it their home. Archive Description SAMS Roots is a digital oral history collection held by St Albans Masorti Synagogue (SAMS) and Hertfordshire University. SAMS Roots was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and contains twelve in-depth interviews with SAMS members conducted by the biographer Caroline Pearce. SAMS members speak about where they came from, and what brought them to SAMS. The full transcripts and interviews are housed online in the University of Hertfordshire’s Heritage Hub. Mapping SAMS Roots contains over 120 family documents, photographs and stories from SAMS members which have been mapped on to a virtual collection using Historypin. These present a rich picture of SAMS members’ roots. SAMS members continue to contribute family stories which are displayed together with a virtual map. The online exhibition Arriving and Belonging: Stories from the St Albans Jewish Community reveals personal stories of migration and heritage, examining universal themes of sanctuary, courage, compassion and starting a new life in Britain through testimonies, objects and family photographs. Digital Accessibility The archives are available digitally:SAMS RootsMapping SAMS RootsArriving and Belonging: Stories from the St Albans Jewish Community For our Mapping Toolkit to help collect stories from your own community, contact SAMS at info@e-sams.org. Our Story — St. Albans Masorti 7 Jan 2022 Arriving and Belonging Stories from the St Albans Jewish Community
Commercial | Cultural | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online Bishopsgate Institute Library and Archive Petticoat Lane Market, Dennis Anthony, London Collection Photographs D31/92 (c.1963) • Bishopgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute Library and Archive is a free, independent library and archive open to the public. Its collection contains material about London, social movements and protest, feminist and women’s history, as well as the Sandy’s Row Synagogue collection. Archive Description The Archive holds a large number of collections relating to London History and social protest movements. Some of these contain material relevant to Jewish history. Of note are the Sandys Row Archive, the William Fishman archive, and the large London photographic archive. While the Archive holds few distinctly Jewish collections it still holds a significant amount of Jewish content, especially relating to anti-Fascism, anti-Racism, and the labour movement. Access Information The Archive is open to the general public with no specific requirements. It is open 10am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday. Digital Accessibility The Archive’s catalogue is available online, and there are a number of collection guides available to help researchers find useful material. Street Address Bishopsgate Institute230 BishopsgateLondonEC2M 4QH https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/archives
Historical Documents | Jewish LifeOnly online Jewish Chronicle Archive The Jewish Chronicle Archive is a digitised archive of the original print versions of the Jewish Chronicle newspaper going back over 175 years, to 1841. Archive Description Founded in 1841, the Jewish Chronicle is the world’s oldest and most influential Jewish newspaper. Its archive provides a valuable insight into the life and outlook of Anglo-Jewry covering world events, national politics, diverse Jewish religious outlooks, social change, as well as commentary and opinion from leading political and cultural figures throughout the newspaper’s history. In the archive you can read contemporary reporting on events such as: the mass immigration from Eastern Europe in the 1890’s, the controversy over the Aliens Act in the 1900’s, the First World War, the rise of Fascism in Europe, the Shoah and Second World War, and the Foundation of the State of Israel in 1948. Online Accessibility Access is free to all Jewish Chronicle subscribers, and non-subscribers can gain 24-hours access on a ‘pay as you go’ basis for a fee of £2.50. https://www.thejc.com/archive
Family History | Jewish Life | Local HistoryOnly online Memory Map of the Jewish East End The Memory Map of the Jewish East End is a digital mapping project hosted by University College London and accessible to the public online. Archive Description The Memory Map is a new digital resource designed to capture and preserve the history of Jewish East London and to bring the stories and memories of this vanishing landscape to new audiences. The project is a collaboration between the artist and writer Rachel Lichtenstein and three Bartlett research units: the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, the Space Syntax Laboratory, and the Survey of London. Lichtenstein, through books including Rodinsky’s Room (1999), On Brick Lane (2008), and Diamond Street (2013), has been chronicling the history of the London Jewish community for much of her career. Bartlett researchers, across projects including Survey of London Whitechapel and Space and Exclusion, are at the forefront of using digital tools to document and analyse the history of space, place and culture. This project represents a synthesis of the Bartlett’s digitally-driven methodologies and Lichtenstein’s psycho-geographic approach, and seeks to create a lasting document of both the history and memory traces of the Jewish East End. Digital Accessibility The project is available to be viewed online with no access requirements. https://jewisheastendmemorymap.org