The Story of Benjamin Hemstock, Thomas Cooley & a Cottage Industry tHERE ARE HOUSES whose histories are meticulously-preserved for posterity, recorded on commemorative plaques, or which sometimes live on, linked to the grand names of their former, esteemed occupants. Others possess more humble pasts―though are no less significant for that. At an unassuming cottage on …
The Joiner who Never Came Home Among the names on Ulceby's War memorial, thirteen represent men who lost their lives in the First World War. As is often the case with our cenotaphs, the names are displayed in alphabetical order. The first of these, which appears on the memorial's northern face is: W. ALCOCK Typically, …
Remembering the Men who Never Came Home THERE IS SOMETHING strangely familiar about a village war memorial. We pass them in churchyards, beside village greens, on street corners and along quiet roads; weathered stones upon which the names of men who died more than a century ago have become part of the landscape. On Remembrance …
"In the name of God, Amen ..." Few documents begin with words more familiar to the family historian. For centuries they marked the opening of thousands of English wills, each one representing the final thoughts of an ordinary person whose life would otherwise have slipped quietly into obscurity. Some belonged to wealthy landowners, others to …
A Farmer, his Family and the Inheritance of a Way of Life WHEN RESEARCHING OUR ancestors, it is often the most rudimentary records that speak most clearly. A baptism tells us when a child entered the world. A marriage record tells us who they married. A burial records the end of a life. A will, …
The Story of Archie Winn, a Young Man from Grimsby SOME LIVES survive in letters and photographs, diaries and memories—whilst others have been reduced, over the passing of a century, to a mere handful of official documents. There may be a census return. A military service number. A medal roll. A war gratuity payment recorded …
A Horseman of Dunsby Fen Names carved upon the war memorials of south Lincolnshire are of men whose lives were cut short before they had the opportunity to discover what the future might hold. Thomas Wand was one such man. Thomas was born in the south Lincolnshire village of Dunsby. By the time he was …
Family Connections Behind 'The Lost Fenland Generation' FAMILY HISTORIANS QUICKLY become accustomed to following people through the fragments they have left behind. A baptism places a child in a particular village and identifies the parents; a census records a household on one particular night; a marriage joins two names together; a burial marks the end …
The Harvest for War THE PHRASE 'over by Christmas' has echoed through history as a symbol of misplaced optimism. Yet, in 1914, as Europe slid inexorably toward a full-scale Continental war, there were men in positions of command who knew better. Britain's newly appointed Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener was one of them. …
The Last Harvest ON A CRISP November morning in 2021, three elderly men gathered beside a newly erected street sign in the Lincolnshire village of Hacconby. They stood proudly, smiling for the photographer as the street sign denoting Wyer Close was formally unveiled ahead of Remembrance Sunday. To many people passing by today, it is …
