The many friends and acquaintances of Audrey Collins will be saddened to hear that Audrey passed away a few days ago.
Researcher, author, speaker and records specialist, she was renowned for her good humour, her warm and friendly character and her in-depth knowledge of family history.
Audrey worked as a freelance researcher for 15 years before joining the staff of The National Archives.
She was employed at The National Archives (TNA) at Kew in England for many years and was a key individual there. One of the things she delighted in was conducting personalized tours of The National Archives for visiting foreigners, myself included. It was the highlight of that particular trip to England and I am sure the same could be said of many other similar tours she conducted over the years.
Audrey was the author of three titles in the ‘Basic Facts’ series of family history guides, co-wrote The Complete Guide to Tracing Your Family History and has also contributed sections in the Family History Companion, and Census: the expert guide. She regularly gave talks at family history events and conferences in the UK, Ireland, the USA, and on cruise ships. She greatly increased the knowledge of thousands of conference attendees who heard her speak.
She was especially noted for her willingness to help anyone and everyone whose path she crossed.
Audrey’s research interests included: the history and operation of the General Register Office, Civil Registration and the UK census; Scottish and Irish records in The National Archives; newspapers and periodicals and retail history.
The genealogy community has lost a true legend amongst our community.
Rest in peace, Audrey.