The following announcement was written by Ancestry.ca:
Journey of more than 2.6 million Canadians travelling and immigrating to the UK available on Ancestry.ca
- Details all passengers who arrived by sea in the peak period of British immigration
- Thousands of Canadians will have ancestors in the collection
- Famous Canadians with a link to the collection include Yousuf Karsh, Lennox Lewis and Andrew Bonar Law
(Toronto, ON – October 20th, 2009) The UK Incoming Passenger Lists 1878-1960, detailing the travels of Canadian men and women who arrived in the UK during the twilight years of the British Empire, are available on Canada’s leading family history website Ancestry.ca.
The collection contains records of more than 18 million immigrants and tourists who arrived on British shores throughout the 19th and 20th centuries before commercial flights became the norm. Among those listed are 2.6 million passengers who set sail from Canada’s shores.
Much of the movement during the 82-year-period the collection covers were as a result of British colonies achieving independence. Citizens of these countries, like Canada, were able to move to the UK under the British Nationality Law, and came in the millions in search of prosperity and employment.
The collection contains records for the arrival into the UK of many Canadians of note, including:
The collection is a hugely valuable tool for anyone trying to trace their family’s global movements and provides a unique insight into immigration patterns at a time of great change and decline in the life of the British Empire.
Ancestry.ca Marketing Director, Karen Peterson comments: “Many Canadians travelled and moved to the UK during this time period – some looking for better job opportunities, others to reunite with family and some even to help in the war efforts.”
“These records are a vital resource for anyone tracing their family’s movements to the UK and could shed light on the British ancestors of countless Canadians.”
The collection also reveals information on tourists and those returning to the UK during the golden age of maritime travel. Famous names that appear include Canadians Lester B. Pearson, Sir Frederick Banting, Vincent Massey and Lawren Harris as well as American political and cultural icons such as Albert Einstein, Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan.
The UK Inbound Passenger Lists complements Ancestry’s already comprehensive international collection of passenger lists, which includes the names of more than seven million immigrants who travelled to Canada between 1865 and 1935.
The collection contains records of more than 18 million immigrants and tourists who arrived on British shores throughout the 19th and 20th centuries before commercial flights became the norm. Among those listed are 2.6 million passengers who set sail from Canada’s shores.
Much of the movement during the 82-year-period the collection covers were as a result of British colonies achieving independence. Citizens of these countries, like Canada, were able to move to the UK under the British Nationality Law, and came in the millions in search of prosperity and employment.
The collection contains records for the arrival into the UK of many Canadians of note, including:
- Yousuf Karsh - Renowned photographer who took the famous portrait of Winston Church with the scowl. The photo captured Churchill and the Britain of the time perfectly — defiant and unconquerable. Karsh traveled to the UK in September 1943 aboard the merchant ship Tungsha, setting sail from Halifax and arriving at Bristol, England
- Andrew Bonar Law – Born in New Brunswick, he would become, to this day, the only foreign-born UK Prime Minister. Law made several visits between the UK and Canada, including an August 1908 trip with family from Halifax to London aboard the S.S. Ulunda
- Lennox Lewis – The parents of the 1988 Canadian Olympic boxing gold medalist and former heavyweight champion of the world moved to England from Jamaica in the 1950s. Lennox’s mother, Violet, arrived in August 1957 aboard the S.S. Irpinia
- Max Aitken – The First Baron of Beaverbrook was born in Ontario and moved to the UK where he became a newspaper tycoon and writer during the early 1900s. He lists his occupation as ‘journalist’ on a manifest from the Empress of Britain, which arrived in Southampton, England from Quebec in August 1939
The collection is a hugely valuable tool for anyone trying to trace their family’s global movements and provides a unique insight into immigration patterns at a time of great change and decline in the life of the British Empire.
Ancestry.ca Marketing Director, Karen Peterson comments: “Many Canadians travelled and moved to the UK during this time period – some looking for better job opportunities, others to reunite with family and some even to help in the war efforts.”
“These records are a vital resource for anyone tracing their family’s movements to the UK and could shed light on the British ancestors of countless Canadians.”
The collection also reveals information on tourists and those returning to the UK during the golden age of maritime travel. Famous names that appear include Canadians Lester B. Pearson, Sir Frederick Banting, Vincent Massey and Lawren Harris as well as American political and cultural icons such as Albert Einstein, Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan.
The UK Inbound Passenger Lists complements Ancestry’s already comprehensive international collection of passenger lists, which includes the names of more than seven million immigrants who travelled to Canada between 1865 and 1935.
