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Carol never knew her Dutch father. She was born in Wales and her father left the family when she was only a few weeks old. Only recently reunited with him, she knows nothing about her Vorderman ancestors.
When her father left, the family moved into a small flat, inherited from her great-grandfather Daniel Davies. Daniel had been a successful butcher in Prestatyn, North Wales. There was always a mystery surrounding Daniel. Why did he appear in a picture with Queen Victoria?
In Holland, Carol explores the history of a famous Vorderman ancestor. Her great-grandfather Adolphe, an eminent scientist, helped discover a cure for the tropical disease beriberi. Carol’s mum always claimed he was denied the Nobel prize because he married an Indonesian woman.
Carol’s father claimed to have been in the Dutch Resistance during World War Two. In the Dutch town of Venlo, Carol discovers the truth about her father’s past.
You can begin with our online research guide to researching family history in England and Wales. For ancestors in Wales you can begin with census records.
If you are researching relatives from overseas start your investigation with your immediate family. They may point you towards relatives who still live in the country of origin.
Researching your overseas ancestry may, like Carol’s story, involve plenty of travel. This may be necessary as far more information is available locally in the country or origin.
The National Archives does not hold locally created records of the Netherlands so you will not find Dutch birth, marriage death or census records here.
For Welsh ancestry, you might wish to visit the National Library of Wales. This is the main centre for family history research in Wales, where you can inspect filmed copies of Welsh census returns, parish registers, nonconformist registers and probate records.
The National Archives holds Special Operations Executive files covering the Dutch Resistance.
If your family research takes you to the Netherlands, two useful starting points are the Nationaal Archief (The National Archives of the Netherlands) and the Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie.
Tracing Your Ancestors in The National Archives 
