It’s December! Season’s greetings! Christmas is coming and I thought I’d share some charming Christmas cards to begin the festivities. I’m going to attempt an historically themed #Blogmas – but we’ll see how that progresses throughout the month. Above is an English language Christmas card in the early art nouveau style – there is no reference to country of origin, however, it is included in … Continue reading Christmas Cards: Circa 1900
In Killed by Enemy Action: a Family Tragedy I wrote about my uncle Joseph Boyland, who was machine-gunned walking along Scotland Road, Liverpool, in September 1940. That was a story about a family devastated by the consequences of war, yet a generation earlier war had brought the Boyland family together. John Boyland, Joseph’s father, fought for the Liverpool King’s 5th Regiment during World War One. … Continue reading World War One: when War Reunited a Family
On Tuesday 17 September 1940, Joseph Boyland, Joey to his brothers, was machine-gunned walking down Scotland Road, Liverpool. He died the following day at the city’s Royal Infirmary. Aged fourteen, he had left school and was about to ‘go to sea’. The Merchant Navy was a common occupation for young men in Liverpool at the time. The Liverpool Evening News briefly reported on 18 September … Continue reading Killed by Enemy Action: A Family Tragedy
World War One ended at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month of 1918. The Great War, as it was known then, was believed to be ‘the war to end all wars’. Of course, it wasn’t, and just twenty-one years later the world was at war once again. This weekend the world remembers and commemoration events large and small will ensure … Continue reading Commemorating the Centenary of the End of the Great War #Armistice100
With the proliferation of #BlackHistoryMonth hashtags haunting various social media sites [I’m sure haunting is the correct term during October], you may have noticed that October is Black History Month in the UK. It is the time that we celebrate our diversity, learn about other cultures and the people who have settled in Britain in the near and distant past. While we embrace our differences, during … Continue reading Black History Month: Nursing in the NHS and Me
Friday 12 October was the 103rd anniversary of the death of Edith Cavell. Edith was executed during the First World War for helping allied soldiers escape German-occupied Belgium. She is rightly seen as a heroine who sacrificed herself for the greater good of her country. You can read my anniversary post about her here. Edith’s body was repatriated after the war and buried in Norwich … Continue reading Norwich Cathedral and the Grave of Edith Cavell
At my last visit to a postcard fair, I bought a small bundle of twenty-two postcards dating from 1910-15. Individually they weren’t expensive, just 50p each (the seller sold them for £10) and I hoped to be able to share a snippet or two from the collection. The address of one of the cards initially attracted me to them, ‘Mr Cyril Smith, Post Office, Sudbury, … Continue reading Edwardian Postcards: a Glimpse into an Earlier Life
Edith Cavell died at dawn on 12 October 1915 at Tir National firing range, Brussels. Her statue, near Trafalgar Square, London, England, bears the words she spoke the night before her death; ‘Patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone.’ There are few statues of non-royal women in the country and the fact that there is one of Edith, and … Continue reading 12 October 1915: Edith Cavell Executed for Treason
As World War One drew to a close, a new terror materialised that would more than double, and some suggest treble, the 16 million people killed during the conflict. A deadly global pandemic was facilitated by an airborne virus, the movement of troops around Europe, global commerce and migration. More died in a single year than four years of the black death, or bubonic plague … Continue reading Spanish Flu: The Deadliest Pandemic the World has Ever Seen
Letter from Annie Kenney to her Sister Nell Found A letter written in 1905 by leading Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) suffragette Annie Kenney has been discovered in a Canadian archive. Kenney is doubly interesting: not only is she one of the earliest militant suffragettes at the heart of the movement along with the Pankhursts, but she was also from an altogether different background, working-class … Continue reading In the News: Newly Discovered Suffragette Letter and Romanov Family Photographs Exhibited
Hours after posting Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: Consort of George VI, unable to let go (sadly quite normal for me), I was still flicking through the pictures I’d saved of her prior to becoming Queen when I noticed I’d missed a pretty special picture out of my post. And there you have my gratuitous reason to share more pictures of Queen Elizabeth, the queen … Continue reading Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: the Tiaras of a Duchess and Queen
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was born 4 August 1900, the ninth child of Claude George Bowes-Lyon and Nina Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Lord and Lady Glamis. The family divided its time between Glamis Castle in Scotland and homes in Hertfordshire and St James’s Square, London. When war broke out in 1914, Glamis Castle was used as a reception centre and hospital for the wounded and young Elizabeth … Continue reading Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: Consort of King George VI
In my post Suffragettes – Pictures say a Thousand Words, I touched on the subject of Edwardian propaganda. The battle (as at times it was a battle) for women to achieve the vote, is remembered this centenary year of the Representation of the People Act which permitted some women who met property rules, the right to vote. Suffragists, like Millicent Fawcett, used diplomacy and law-abiding methods to … Continue reading Using Postcards for History: Suffragettes
Originally posted on Woman and her Sphere:
A planning application has been made to Westminster Council to dismantle this statue of Mrs Pankhurst – which stands as close as possible to the Houses of Parliament. The plan is to banish this statue to the grounds of Regent’s University, a private university, in Regent’s Park. See the planning application here. The group behind the application calls… Continue reading Suffrage Stories: Save Mrs Pankhurst’s Statue
Lawrence Beesley was a second-class passenger on the ill-fated Titanic, the White Star Line Liner that sank on its maiden voyage on 15 April 1912. A Cambridge-educated teacher, he had recently resigned his post as science master at Dulwich College, London. He was travelling to America for an extended holiday and had aimed to visit his brother who was residing in Canada. Within weeks of … Continue reading Titanic Survivor Lawrence Beesley: the Day of the Disaster
This blog is a selection of interesting things I've come across during my history research. I have a wide interest in history ranging from Wars of the Roses, country houses, Stuarts, Georgians, Louis XIV, Napoleon and criminals. So expect to see a bit of everything on here, with a focus on little known stories.
Sharing recipes, DIYs and lifestyle tips
The ramblings and obsessions of a longtime Avon lady
The Home Of T-Bird From The Dork Web.
Wellness • Poetry • Life
Adventures in motherhood, fitness, youth hockey & corporate America
Genealogy, Family history, and Whatnot
Piecing together my family history . . .
Stories of immigrants, expatriates and family evolution
Family and local stories and history, favorite books
Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
Eats plants
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aka Helene Harrison, Author and Historian
Tonight I Dream. Tomorrow I Do!
Exploring historical thoughts and themes, a bit at a time.
HistorianRuby: An Historian's Miscellany 