Useful Links
So far the bulk of my research has been done using two sources:-
i) the General Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths, introduced in Great Britain in 1837 ii) The National Censuses of 1841, through to 1891 (every 10 years).
The indexes for General Registration are widely available at Libraries on microfiche, though it is possible to access bound copies of printed indexes at the Family Record Centre. Once you acquire the reference from the index, the cheapest way to get copies of any certificate, is to apply in person here. Postal applications can be made, but cost more. See the Family Record Centre website for details.
Another way to get copies of certificates is to apply to the local record office where the records for the original event took place. A really useful site which will help determine the appropriate record office is the GENUKI site. This contains a wealth of useful information and is definitely worth a visit (or a number of visits!).
In the UK, a Census of the population is taken every 10 years, starting back in 1841. Those upto and including 1891 are available to the public. These can be browsed on microfilm at the Family Record Centre. Many local libraries also have copies of their locality.
The 1901 Census will be available on the internet in 2002, see Public Record Office for details.
The next important source of information (especially for details pre-1837) are the Parish Registers. The Church of the Latter Day Saints have filmed many of the Parish Registers and transferred the contents onto an enormous database (IGI). You can search this database on the net, click here.
The Church of the Latter Day Saints have also produced a set of CDs with the whole of the 1881 census, fully indexed. They have also produced the 1851 census on CD for Norfolk, Devon and Warwickshire.
Another useful site for anyone who has ancestors who were killed in the 1st or 2nd World War is the Commonwealth Grave Commission Website.
There are many other Genealogy sites on the web, many of them American. One useful for checking particular surnames is http://www.surnameweb.org/