Bailiwick of Guernsey

This groundbreaking project, made possible through a collaboration between local organisations and Findmypast, provides unprecedented access to the Bailiwick’s rich history for researchers and families worldwide.

Over the past year, vital records and 210,000 pages of archival documents—including Greffe records, parish church registers, Occupation identity cards, and conveyance documents—have been carefully digitised, ensuring that those with Bailiwick of Guernsey connections can now explore their heritage from anywhere in the world.

Preserved in the Greffe, the Royal Court House of Guernsey, and carefully digitised, these civil records of births, marriages and deaths invite you to discover the deeply personal stories that bind your family to Guernsey’s rich history.

• Bailiwick of Guernsey, Civil Births
• Bailiwick of Guernsey, Civil Marriages
• Bailiwick of Guernsey, Civil Deaths

The Monthly Review provided reports of letters, telegrams and announcements of births, marriages and deaths from those living on the occupied islands.

If you had ancestors living on Guernsey during the Second World War, then the Monthly Review was a lifeline, helping Channel Islanders all over the world to stay connected during a time of huge uncertainty and separation.

Identity cards were used to control movement around the island, enforce curfews, access rationed goods, and separate local residents from foreign labourers brought to Guernsey.

German Occupation Orders paint a stark picture of daily hardship, control, and quiet resilience. From curfews and confiscations to rationing and repression, they reveal the harsh realities faced by islanders.

• Guernsey, Identity Registration Forms (German Occupation), 1940-1945
• Guernsey, German Occupation Orders

Did your ancestor attend school on the island of Guernsey? These school admission records, dating back to 1882, offer you a fascinating insight into childhood in Guernsey.

You can discover not only names and dates but also the rhythms of daily life such as siblings enrolled together, families moving between parishes, and children stepping into education for the first time.

Guernsey Poor Relief records stretching from 1811 to 1904 offer a rare glimpse into the lives of those who had fallen on hard times and reveals the support they received from their community.

The Relief For Stranger Poor Register holds the names of those who arrived as outsiders including visitors, workers, and wanderers who left traces of their presence on the island.

• Guernsey, Poor Relief
• Guernsey, Relief For Stranger Poor Register
• Guernsey, Poor Relief Board Minutes

Cemetery Records are an invaluable resource to any family historian and can reveal rich details about your ancestors' final moments. For Guernsey, records have been digitised from Candie Cemetery, Foulon and Brother's Cemetery.

The Guernsey Monumental Inscription records also allow you to discover more about your ancestor's final resting place in Guernsey, with records from as early as 1732.

• Guernsey, Cemetery Registers
• Guernsey, Monumental Inscriptions