Genealogy Chat

Thanks folks.
BS

only works after 1911 though when the mmn was added to the GRO ref

I think you might have to be doing an old style search.
There's an old/new switch that appears at top right just under the main Ancestry menu bar - you might even have to do a rubbish search, say for the birth of John Smith, to get the switch to show up. You might also have to specify the database you're searching in, e.g.,

England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
(the latter only gets hits with mum's MS from 1911q3-1915q4)

My preference is to always do old style searches with the exact matches box checked in a specific database, and use the link above the table of hits:
All Birth, Marriage & Death, including Parish Results
to switch to another database in this category, or the menu bar search item to switch categories, but each to their own.

Thanks Jonesey, Am I blind or what, I'll have to put id down to another senior moment!!!

Am I right in thinking you could once search for a birth on Ancestry and also put in the mother's maiden name to narrow down the search.

Or am I mistaken?