MIDLAND Ancestors Stourbridge were on hand to help people trace their family trees as Dudley Archives held an open day last weekend.

Despite the weather being unkind, the open day attracted a steady stream of guests, as did the exhibits that the Stourbridge branch had on show.

Rob Griffin, of Midland Ancestors Stourbridge, said: “We were there to offer advice and guidance to those interested in tracing their families back through time.

“At firsthand we clearly saw that researching one’s past is as popular as ever.

“Many a convivial chat resulted in information coming both ways, when snippets we picked up helped us with ongoing knowledge of our region, thus proving the ingenious character of Black Country folks.

“Someone once said that looking back over history produces sound building blocks for the society of the future, let us therefore hope that interest shown here is put to good use.”