From Dublin slums to the battlefields in Belgium Chris Moyles is moved to tears

When Radio 1’s Chris Moyles started to delve into his family history, his journey began in Ireland where his mother was born. He was surprised to learn that his mother was actually born in England. Why not search for English and Welsh births in your family here and order certificates from the Ancestry Shop.

Tracing his father’s family to Ballina in County Mayo, Chris was disappointed that the meaning of his surname wasn't "soldier" as he'd previously thought but "bald" – as in hairless! Try searching the meaning of your surname here. Chris also learned that his great, great, great grandparents had 15 children –but only 5 survived childhood. Following the line of his great-grandfather, Chris is shown a ‘widow's penny’, given to all women whose husbands died in WW1. Start searching Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 here. And also British Army Service Records 1914-1920 here.

Finally landing in Ypres, Chris walks to the battlefields where his great-grandfather died. The description of his death in a local newspaper reduced even gruff Chris to tears. “If I’d have read this a year ago, the name Moyles would have been the only thing that really meant anything to me,” he said, “but now I understand the whole thing.” Newspaper collections give fascinating information about our ancestor's times.