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 …
The RN Service History of Francis Wand FOR THOSE OF us interested in family history, there is something oddly compelling about official military service records. Unlike memoirs, they are not written to amuse or delight. Unlike family stories, they require no sentiment to soften the edges. They are, quite simply, administrative documents – written in …
Remembering the Men who Never Came Home OUTSIDE VILLAGE HALLS, beside churches, on roadside verges and in market squares, steel silhouettes of a First World War soldier stand in silent vigil. The familiar figure of 'Tommy Atkins' has become an increasingly common feature of remembrance throughout our towns and villages. He is often accompanied by …
Private William Ainger Howman, 1895–1916 AS WE HAVE learned in the previous post ― From the Farm to the Veldt ― Private Robert James Howman stepped off a train at Fakenham station in December, 1901 and returned home after almost seventeen years in the service of the Crown. His military career had carried him to …
“Every war is ultimately a civil war for we are all brothers and sisters, one to another.” Dillon Burroughs When I was a lad in my early to mid teens I would regularly obtain books from the village’s lending library. These were novels, mainly. Of the few non-fiction books I borrowed, there was one I …
While drafting a recent post, ‘The Worst Journey in the World,’ I was conducting a final edit of the piece when I remembered that I possessed an old ring binder containing my father’s mementos of his Russian Convoy Club membership. I knew the folder had included an assortment of relevant press cuttings, and suspecting that …
