Newsletter – 27th October 2025
Whole genome sequencing: follow-up
DNA may explain why women live longer than men
Review: The Children of Craig-y-nos
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This week FreeBMD got a new look and a new web address – you’ll find it here. The old site is still available if you get nostalgic or decide that you prefer it to the new site – there are no plans to retire it.
There’s an impressive list of the changes and improvements here – several are designed to improve the experience for users with smartphones or tablets, though personally I’m a great believer in using a computer for something as important as family history.
I can remember that in the early days it took me quite a while to find out how to get the most out of FreeBMD, and until this week’s transformation the site had barely changed. The new site certainly looks more modern.
On the other hand it has some limitations that old hands like me are going to find frustrating – there are typically fewer results on the screen, and if (like me) you frequently want to view the other entries on the same register page you can no longer simply click the page number on the search results page, you have to first select the entry of interest, and only then does the page number become clickable.
Here’s the new Search form:
It’s not just old hands who might run into trouble: newcomers might be confused by the way forenames are entered. Because there’s a box to tick should you want an exact search, many will surely do what I did and enter middle names as well as forenames. However, that won’t work for those years when middle names were shown only as initials in the quarterly index, and it’s compounded by the fact that this limitation isn’t mentioned on the Help page for the new site.
The old site had dropdown lists of counties and registration districts which I came to like, although they seemed a bit unwieldy at first.
Even though I have subscriptions to Findmypast and Ancestry, both of which have transcribed and indexed the GRO indexes, there are times when I turn to FreeBMD because there are some things it does better. However, based on what I’ve seen so far, I think I’ll continue to use the old site for the time being.
Whole genome sequencing: follow-up
In the last issue I revealed MyHeritage’s intriguing plans to migrate from chip-based DNA testing to whole genome sequencing. At the time very little information was available, but hours after my newsletter a MyHeritage blog post gave much more detail:
- DNA kits submitted between now and the end of 2025 could be processed using either technology – to guarantee that your whole genome is sequenced do not send your kit in until New Year.
- MyHeritage will be using low-pass sequencing with 2x coverage, which means that – on average – each location is read twice. This compares with 30x coverage when tests are undertaken for medical purposes.
- They will use a statistical process to fill in the inevitable gaps (and presumably they’ll also use a similar method to choose when 2 reads of the same location give different results).
- Users who take the next test are unlikely to see any significant improvement in results until MyHeritage have built a sufficiently large database of whole genome sequenced tests.
Full marks to MyHeritage for taking this step – somebody had to be first. As I mentioned in the last issue, I had my whole genome sequence 7 years ago at a cost of 169 Euros – but with a much higher coverage than MyHeritage are proposing – and ever since I’ve been wondering how to make use of the data. Not that I’ll be able to upload it to MyHeritage – I’m sure they’ll want everyone to take their own test, to ensure comparability.
How long is it likely to be before the new test produces significantly better outcomes for users? To an extent it will depend on how other companies respond: if MyHeritage are the only company to offer whole genome sequencing for genealogical purposes it’s likely that many people testing for the first time will choose a MyHeritage test as a way of future-proofing their results.
However, we have to bear in mind that most keen genealogists have already tested and, in many cases, bought tests for cousins (some of whom may since have passed away, so cannot be re-tested). Over 27 million people have tested with Ancestry, which gives them an enormous advantage over their competitors, particularly when you take into account how effectively Ancestry integrate DNA and family trees.
Indeed, it’s likely that one of the reasons that Ancestry haven’t introduced whole genome sequencing themselves is the vastly increased amount of data that it would generate.
I will take the new test – not because I think it will generate any useful genealogical information in the foreseeable future, but so that I can provide readers of this newsletter with the best possible information. That’s the reason I’ve already taken every other test from every major provider of genealogical DNA tests – why stop now?
DNA may explain why women live longer than men
72% of mammal species included in a recent study are like humans in that the females of the species tend to live longer than males, but for 68% of bird species it’s the males who live longer.
This seems to support the theory that it’s our sex chromosomes which explain the difference – in mammals, including humans, males have different sex chromosomes, one X and one Y, whereas females have two X chromosomes. It’s the opposite for birds – males have two Z chromosomes, whereas females have one Z and one W.
Human males pass the whole of their Y-DNA to their sons, and the whole of their X-DNA to their daughters; females pass half of their X-DNA to each of their children. With only one X chromosome males are more likely to suffer from inherited diseases.
The fact that Y-DNA is passed from father to son virtually unchanged makes Y-DNA a potentially useful tool for tracking male line ancestry – though my perception is that most family historians who have attempted to utilise it have been disappointed by the results (it certainly hasn’t worked in the 4 cases I’ve been closely involved with).
Note: it’s not just about DNA – in fact, the study focuses largely on other aspects such as whether species are monogamous or polygamous, and whether the male or female is more invested in bringing up offspring.
My brother pointed out this interesting map – it purports to show how much Y-DNA English men share – on average – with men from other countries.
You might question whether it’s feasible that there is more similarity between the Y-DNA of English and Belgian men that between English men and those from Wales and Scotland – though as someone who has a Belgian ancestor, but none identified (so far) from either Wales or Scotland I’m perhaps a little biased!
I couldn’t find out where the data for that map came from, but in the process I found this map which shows the distribution of Y-DNA haplogroups across Europe – again, I don’t where the data came from.
There was an incredible response to the articles on tuberculosis in the last issue, and I’m grateful to everyone who shared their own experiences.
Tuberculosis is still with us – in fact, the number of cases is increasing, both in the UK and globally. The BCG vaccination is 70-80% effective against the most severe forms of TB, such as TB meningitis in children, but it much less effective at preventing respiratory TB in adults.
Though I have always tended to think of TB as a respiratory disease, and pulmonary TB (which affects the lungs) is the most common form, it is far from the only way that this disease can manifest itself – this page gives a description of other forms.
Correction: in the last issue I suggested that the death of Dorothy Frances May Harper in 1942 from Infective Endocarditis and Mitral Stenosis could well have been caused by her tuberculosis, but it has been pointed out by a member who knows far more about these things than I do, that scarlet fever is an even more likely cause.
In 1957 Glasgow had the highest death rate from TB in the whole of Europe, and to counter this the NHS mounted a campaign to X-Ray the population – in the space of just 5 weeks more than 700,000 people were screened, almost three-quarters of the population (see this BBC article for more details).
How did they persuade so many people to come forward? Everyone got a metal badge, but they also got to take part in a prize draw which offered prizes of TVs, holidays, and cars – as well as many lesser prizes such as chocolates and cigarettes. It might seem strange that a campaign against a respiratory disease would offer cigarettes as prizes, but in the 1950s the link between smoking and lung disease was still being established – in the first half of the 20th century smoking was recommended as a cure for asthma!
In Block Notley Blues (reviewed below) there are several mentions of patients smoking while they were in the sanatorium – indeed, the author of the book smoked a pipe, which can be seen in one of the photographs. Was smoking generally allowed in hospital in those days? I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has memories from that time, whether as a patient, a visitor, or a member of staff.
Review: The Children of Craig-y-nos
In 2006 Ann Shaw, a
former patient at the Craig-y-nos sanatorium in Wales, launched a blog where
former patients, staff, and relatives could post their memories. These memories
were later published in a book which you can buy in printed form, but is also
available here as a
free PDF download.
Note: you may come across other links to the PDF download – most of them are out-of-date. The link I have provided is at the Wellcome Collection site.
The Children of Craig-y-nos contains the stories of over 90 people who were children, young adults, or staff – or who had relatives there. The earliest recollections are from the 1920s and they go up to 1959 when Craig-y-nos closed. The experiences vary enormously: for some it was one of the happier periods of their lives, for others it was a deeply distressing experience, and when recounting their memories half a century later they ended up in tears.
Some of what happened then would be illegal today; in some cases it was illegal at the time. Many tried to escape, but only one of the contributors succeeded.
People who had suffered from TB found it difficult to get employment, and this is understandable in an age before antibiotics, when there was no cure. Women who had been discharged from Craig-y-nos were expected to seek permission before marrying and having children; those who were unable to have children of their own because of the damage wrought by TB weren’t allowed to adopt.
The book was produced in collaboration with Dr Carole Reeves of University College London, and this PDF article on the UCL site has some interesting observations on the challenges of the project.
If you are in the UK and want to purchase a physical copy of the book, please use the link below:
I learned a little
about life in a TB sanatorium by talking to my late father, who contracted TB
in the early 1930s, but his memories were understandably dimmed by the mist of
time. By contrast, Chris Dell, author of Black Notley Blues: Diary of a
teenage TB patient, kept a diary throughout the 280 days he spent as a 19
year-old patient at Black Notley Hospital between 1958-59, and it is this diary
which forms the main part of the book.
The foreword to the book by Dr Carole Reeves makes it clear how unique it is as a record of daily life in a TB sanatorium – and, because it is based on a diary which was completed every single day, it presents a more rounded picture of life in a sanatorium. By the late 1950s the outlook for TB was more promising than in earlier decades, thanks to antibiotics, and when he wasn’t confined to bed the author might well have been found playing chess with another patient, or chatting up one of the nurses.
Chris Dell worked for Halifax Building Society (as it then was), and they agreed to pay his full wages for the first 6 months, and half wages thereafter – which was remarkably generous for the time. They also put him in touch with the manager of the Halifax branch nearest to Black Notley, who became a regular visitor. All this may have contributed to the up-beat tone of the diary – the author had something to look forward to.
But reading the book I felt sorry for Mavis, a seriously-ill 16 year-old girl who developed an affection for the author, and was clearly disappointed when he spent time with the nurses. At the end of the book Chris Dell writes about those he was in contact with after his discharge, and speculates that Mavis may have passed away, given the severity of her condition. But I think I’ve found out what happened to her – and, if I’m right, she married, and was still alive as recently as 2023. Well done, Mavis!
I bought my copy of the book from Amazon in June 2024 for £7.99 – and I’m ashamed to say that it sat unread until this month. But once I started I couldn’t put it down!
Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Amazon.com.au Amazon.ca
There was an article on the BBC News site this week about someone who lost all of their photos when their phone crashed. That could have happened to me when my phone gave up the ghost in January, but fortunately I’d chosen to have them backed up to Amazon Photos, so I didn’t lose a single one.
The headline of the BBC article was rather misleading – it appeared to suggest that printing a photo is the best way of preserving it. If only that were true!
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Peter Calver
Founder, LostCousins
© Copyright 2025 Peter Calver
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