Millions of wills dating back to 1858 go online

Millions of wills including those of Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill, Alan Turing, and Beatrix Potter are now available online.

The British government is making its full archive of wills, which dates back to 1858 and contains 41m wills, available to the public in a searchable database.

People will be able to use it to find out about their own family history, as well as looking up the wills of famous and influential people.

There have been 2 million searches of the site since soldiers’ wills were made available last year, and it is now possible to request a will online and receive an electronic copy within 10 working days.

Among the wills to be made available is that of mathematician Turing, recently played by Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, who died of cyanide poisoning in 1954. He left a short will with instructions to share his possessions between his colleagues and his mother.

AA Milne, who wrote Winnie The Pooh, gave shares of his future royalties and copyright to his favourite London club and Westminster School when he died in 1956.

A Christmas Carol writer Dickens left a will written in cursive script when he died in 1870, and Peter Rabbitt creator Potter left a lengthy and generous will reflecting her love for conservation and nature.