As part of Get Online Week, our Arthur Greenwood computer class visited Stockroom in Stockport to see how digital skills can help us discover more about ourselves, our families and our local history.

We were welcomed by Michelle and Jenny from the Heritage Library team, who helped everyone get logged onto the computers and introduced us to the Findmypast website. Before long, the room was full of people searching family records, discovering new information and sharing stories.

For some learners, the results were a real surprise.

“I can’t believe it. I’ve got something to tell my sister when I see her. My mum had another name! Wow!”

said Daphne after uncovering a family discovery she wasn’t expecting. Others quickly found themselves wanting to dig deeper.

“It’s really good, it’s really, really good. I need more time though, and I need to think of different people,”

said Lynne as she explored her family history.

Looking through old images of Stockport sparked plenty of memories and conversations about how the town has changed over the years. Mike spent time searching for photographs of the mill where he used to work and sharing memories of local industries and businesses.

“I used to print the labels for hats on silk. Lots of people couldn’t print on silk, but we could.”

One of the biggest surprises of the day was simply discovering all that Stockroom has to offer, as many hadn’t visited before.

“I can’t believe this is in Stockport! I’d have never known this was here. It’s opened my eyes, that’s for sure. Fascinating!”

What stood out most was how technology became a way of connecting people with their own stories. Digital skills are often thought of as being about emails, forms or online services, but this visit showed they can also help us uncover family history, revisit places from our past and discover fascinating resources right on our doorstep.

A huge thank you to Michelle for organising, and Jenny for answering all our questions with a fantastic wealth of knowledge. Judging by the reactions on the day, there are quite a few of the group who will be heading back to Stockroom, and we look forward to continuing our online research in our weekly computer class.

And that’s what Get Online Week is all about, showing that getting online can open up a whole world of opportunities, sometimes in places you never knew existed.