I first began to research my family tree as a teenager in the 1980s, inspired by my Aunty Bunty. Her mother (my grandma) was Alice Winifred Ditch. I was immediately intrigued by this unusual and very rare surname, and the fact that my grandma was the last surviving member of her family.

Since then, although I have researched all branches of my tree, it is the Ditch family research that has grown beyond all others. The root ancestor, William Ditch, whose will survives, now has thousands of known descendants!

This site is for the many Ditch researchers (now cousins!) with whom I have been in contact over the years - and those I've yet to meet. Ultimately I would like to construct a dedicated site complete with databases into which all of you can add information, eventually building into a Ditch one-name study, but for now I wanted to have a place where Ditch researchers can meet and pool resources and information - we'll see how it goes, and hope it proves useful....