Just a badge on his cap: that was all we had to go on. But reaching out to our family in New Zealand revealed the improbable truth.
Stockings run in our family
This article tells the tale of William Brown, our great-great-grandfather who escaped the poverty that Nottinghamshire framework knitters experienced during the Industrial Revolution.
The diaphanous portrait of Nell
What became of Nell? A heartfelt search for the truth that left only a twisted yarn.
Ring Out, Wild Bells
This article describes how Daniel Jewson truly found himself within earshot of Bow Bells. Image: Dougsim, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Shipwrecked in the Furious Fifties
This article describes the fate of the Min-y-Don - a clipper destined for Lyttleton, New Zealand in 1882. Among the crew was our Great Great uncle Thomas Finch. Min-y-Don, translates from Welsh to mean 'At the edge of the waves'. Image Source: Wikipedia
Relatively Healthy – Three reasons why ancestry research is good for my health
This article highlights three reasons why family tree research may be good for your wellbeing.
The ‘first’ Princess Alice disaster
It’s often called the “forgotten” tragedy of the 19th century - the loss of nearly 700 lives aboard the Princess Alice steamer on the River Thames, following its collision with a coal ship. But this article describes another truly forgotten collision involving the SS Princess Alice seven years earlier. On this occasion it was our great-grandmother and her family on board a skiff returning on a day out to Kew that were the unsuspecting victims. Image: Boulter's Lock, Sunday Afternoon, 1895 by E J Gregory
The anonymous lighterman
The life of the 19th-century lighterman was both enthralling and dangerous. This posting looks at a 'letter to the editor' on the subject of lightermen. (Featured image: British School, 19th Century Upper reaches of the River Thames with a lighter to foreground and barges and masted vessels, 1913)
Private Cecil Jewson Finch remembered
This article commemorates Cecil Jewson Finch, killed in the final Advance to Victory in 1918.
Colourise my past
This article looks at colourisation and how that fits with the 'authentic' historian. It suggests that a simple knowledge of colour theory can help in avoiding historical inaccuracies.
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