Re: ancestry.co.uk alternatives?

Roger Mills (aka Set Square) <watt.tyler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
MB <mbnilspam@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Roger Mills (aka Set Square) <watt.tyler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


As a matter of interest, how were those indexes produced? They
somehow managed to sort people into alphabetical order for the whole
country, and type up the lists without too many obvious mistakes -
all without the use of computer databases or even word processors.
Amazing! Did they start with an individual *** of paper for each
event, and physically sort the heap into order - or what?

The easiest way would have been with some sort of cards. We used to do
this sort of thing in the office (civil service job applications) in
the late sixties. The tear-off slips were sorted in shallow drawers
in special cabinets. It took ages.

Was the sorting a manual process, or did a machine do it automatically?

There weren't machines like that in the 60s. Only people. I didn't
actually do any sorting. There were a lot of girls employed to do this
sort of thing, and to write envelopes and so forth. It's hard to
remember how much dogsbody work went on in those days.

Actually I may have got it wrong. The slips may have been in numerical
order within a letter of the alphabet, and when a person didn't know
their number I think someone had to go through a whole letter to find
them. I suppose for more permanent information it would have been fully
sorted, but this wasn't of any use after the exam was over.

Once we were computerised there were no more envelopes to write because
the name and address was on the letter and it was put in a window
envelope. And when anyone rang up, the alphabetical list was there. It
was magic. (It was a huge folded thing on green and white stripey
paper).

I remember the forms that went out to tell people where to sit
examinations were also on stripy paper, and the address wasn't properly
visible through the greasproof paper sort of windows they had in the
envelopes, so I insisted on getting clear windows. As soon as other
departments saw them everybody wanted them.

All these things are so normal now, but it took some persuasion even to
get clear windows in envelopes in those days.

I went to see the computer (in a special computer building). I had to
remove my woolly cardigan (too much fluff) and put on a gown like going
into an intensive care unit. They said that in ten years time there
might even be a computer in every building!!!

Maire Black
.