IF YOU have ever wondered who your ancestors were or whether you have royal blood running through your veins there is a group of people who can help you find out.

Tracing your family history has become increasingly popular in recent years and even more so following the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are, which traced the family history of celebrities including Bill Oddie, David Baddiel and Sue Johnston.

The Buckinghamshire Family History Society (BFHS), which formed in 1976, has experts in tracing people's ancestors and family history. It has transcribed the 1851 Census for Bucks, most of the parish registers in Bucks which includes baptisms, marriages and burials, many wills and monumental inscriptions.

David Foster, of the BFHS, believes tracing family history is probably the fastest growing leisure activity in the UK and is regularly asked how to to make the first steps in finding your family tree.

He says: "To get started, talk with as many living relatives as you can and write down all the information they give you.

"You can trace as many lines as you like. Just because one ancestor in each generation has the same surname as you, you shouldn't discard all the others. Almost all of us will have 16 great-great-grandparents and each of them will have contributed to who we are. Your target should be to know where the people you are tracing were in 1901. This may be your parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents."

The year 1901 is significant because it is the latest national census which is currently available. Censuses, similar to the ones we fill in today, have been conducted every ten years (except 1941) since 1801, and from 1841 onwards they contain the names of each person included in the census.

He adds: "Another good source is civil registration, births, marriages and deaths."

Certificates have been around in England since 1837, and a copy of your ancestors' records can be obtained online at www.bmd-certificates.co.uk, the website of the General Register Office.

Indexes are held at the Family Records Centre, Myddleton Street, London, most County Record Offices and many large libraries.

The BFHS currently has more than 1,600 members and is open to all family historians whether they have ancestors in Bucks or live locally.

David has been researching his family since 1991 and has given talks on various aspects of family history. When he joined Bucks FHS more than ten years ago he did not know that he had any Bucks ancestors, but has since found he has quite a few.

He says: "I found that I have a great-great-great-grandfather who was born in Bierton, just outside Aylesbury."

This particular relative was related to a George Cooling, who had a colourful life.

George was born in 1786, joined the army in 1809, was discharged in 1814 only to be re-enlisted seven months later. He was present at the Battle of Waterloo for which he gained an extra two years' pension entitlement. He finally left the army in 1832 after 24 years' service. He didn't received a pension for the 12 days he spent in prison in 1828 after being found guilty by a Garrison Court Martial.

"Unfortunately no records have been found to shed light on George's terrible crime. George married and settled in Orlestone in Kent. It was another three generations before two of his descendants returned to live in Buckinghamshire."

The BFHS hold meetings in Aylesbury on the third Saturday of each month, Bletchley on the first Wednesday and Bourne End on the second Tuesday. Most meetings involve a talk either on family history research, local history or a similar subject.

The next meeting on Tuesday at Bourne End will include a talk by David entitled Starting Your Family History.

He says: "When you start it is useful to join at least one family history society, maybe one covering the area where your ancestors came from and also a local one so that you can go to some of the meetings and link up with others who will be willing to advise you on your first or next step."

You can find out information on the internet. For those people who do not have access to the internet or computers, they can still trace their family's records. Local information is available in the library in High Wycombe and other libraries and also at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies at County Hall in Aylesbury.

l The Starting Your Family History talk is on Tuesday, July 12 at 7.30pm at Bourne End Community Centre. The evening will start with a talk on Starting Your Family History followed by an opportunity to look at the various types of records available to family historians and to talk with experienced members of the society.

A representative of High Wycombe library will be there to show the information which is available in the library.

Information about the society visit: www.bucksfhs.org.uk, email society@bucksfhs.org.uk or write at PO Box 403, Aylesbury HP21 7GU or The Federation of Family History Societies, www.ffhs.org.uk, or FFHS PO Box 2425 Coventry CV5 6YX, has member societies all around the UK and beyond.