Page 38 - Oxted Local July 2025

38 July 2025 • Oxted Local 
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If you are getting fed up with technology and wish
you could go back to simpler times, I am afraid you
are out of luck as things are bound to get more
complicated. Perhaps you may feel better if you can
combine the two. Here are a few ways to go back in
time (although you cannot go back and undo the
time you wore your school uniform to mufti day).
Family history - Websites such as myheritage,
findmypast and ancestry.com can help you to build
your family tree. You can add your family members
and have access to a number census and military
records however some of them will come at a cost.
There are also birth and death registries available.
You never know, you could find out you have
inherited a fortune from distant relative!
DNA searches - You may be curious about your
heritage and where your ancestors originated
from. There are websites where you can register,
after which they will send you a kit for providing a
sample. You send it off and they will produce a full
DNA profile. Some of these sites will try to find a
close match to your DNA indicating that you have a
distant relative that you may be unaware of. Not that
it is related (excuse the pun) but you can also get a
DNA profile of your pet which gives a breakdown of
the type of breeds your pet is derived from.
History views – Ever wanted to know what your
area looked like years ago? Sites such as Pastmap
and Archiuk that provide maps and aerial photos
of your area. The national archives even provide
locations of all the recorded bombs that were
dropped during the second world war.
Waybackmachine – Do you want to bore your
children with the tales of what the internet looked
like 20 or 30 years ago? If you go to the www.
Waybackmachine.com you can enter in the website
T I P S
TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY
address and choose a date to view. Enjoy looking at
how basic and primitive the site used to look.
Old programs – Are you getting nostalgic about the
old programs you used or the games you played?
Try looking for it on oldversion.com. Many of the
more popular programs are listed here and you can
choose versions going back many years.
Groups / Societies – You can connect with like-
minded people who share the same interest in a
particular aspect of history. From school year groups
to the history of a football team or even the history
behind a particular hobby. Some even then choose
meet in person!
Google timeline – Look back at what you did in
the past. A kind of historical record of your life.
Depending on how the security of your Google
account is set up it can show you where you have
been, what photos you have taken and even shops
you may have visited.
© Martin Middleton
I.T.Aide
(see page 32 for contact details)
Looking back