Nick Fitzgerald

Description

Fitzgerald Genealogy & Archives
Archive-Led Family and Military Genealogy, 1660 to the Modern Day

Where did they serve? What did they do? What was life like for them and their families? Why did they join, and what became of them when their service ended? Understanding your military ancestor and the life they led can be challenging. Muster Rolls, service records, regimental archives, war diaries, photographs, medals, and personal papers often require careful transcription, interpretation, and historical context to reveal the full story of an individual’s service.

I hold Master’s degrees in Military Studies (MA) and Local and Family History (MLitt), and am a Registered Qualified Genealogist (RQG).  I volunteer as a researcher at the Royal Artillery Archives, investigating the lives and service of soldiers from the late seventeenth century to the present day. I regard this aspect of my genealogical work as both an act of remembrance and a means of bringing to light the stories of the ‘extraordinary ordinary’, whose lives and service deserve to be recognised and understood.

I undertake genealogical and historical research for private clients, specialising in military ancestry from the seventeenth century to the modern day. My work is grounded in extensive archival research, including regular visits to The National Archives, the British Library’s India Office Records, regimental archives, local record offices, and, where necessary, the National Records of Scotland. I undertake the sourcing, transcription, and interpretation of material, drawing on detailed primary sources to reconstruct individual lives within their wider historical and social contexts.

I also undertake research relating to Hampshire families and local communities, drawing on Hampshire Archives and Local Studies, the Portsmouth History Centre, the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, and the Southampton City Archives and SeaCity Museum.