Islanders should be able to explore their family history online by 'this time next year'.

Following a tender process in 2023, a group of Guernsey organisations have appointed Findmypast to digitise Guernsey’s key genealogical records.

The UK-based family tree company will upload millions of Greffe records, parish church registers, Occupation identity cards and conveyances over the coming months.

The Priaulx Library, Island Archives, the Church of England, La Societe Guernesiaise and the Greffe form a Steering Group, that will oversee the project.

Two full-time staff from Findmypast and four locals will work on the project - with all the scanning taking place on-island.

The Priaulx Library Chief Executive Steve Foote says it is important to make information accessible:

“The Steering Group members are all passionate about making the Bailiwick’s unique and extensive history as accessible as possible to interested parties around the globe.

This project obviously has potentially enormous importance for people with Guernsey connections seeking more insight and information about relatives but it also has a wider, equally strong relevance, in helping to highlight our island on an international level.”

Island Archivist, Vikki Hart, says digitalisation is a good move:

“Guernsey has previously fallen behind other jurisdictions in digitising its records, and this opportunity is an excellent chance for us to catch up.

It will make our records more accessible, especially to researchers not able to visit the different archives in person.

These are popular records for viewing and are therefore handled frequently, so digitisation will help us to preserve the original records and make decisions around conservation.

We are all very excited to be working with Findmypast on this project.”

Mary McKee is the UK Archives Manager at Findmypast.

She says they are excited to get started:

“We’re delighted to be working with our new partners to digitise this important collection and enable families across the globe to discover their Guernsey roots.

These records tell the stories of thousands of people – from intimate family moments to the major events that shaped lives and communities – and we’re excited to bring these to light. We’re looking for some local support to help with the digitisation process, so please do get in touch if you have a passion for the island’s history and broadening public access.”

Data protection considerations will limit this to records created a certain number of years ago.

The original records will continue to be preserved at the various archives.