I’ve been meaning to delve a little more into my Gray family history for quite a while now. My mother’s father, William Gray, died when she was nine years old and having missed out on a lifetime of stories she could only repeat what her older siblings told her. That said, it was also noted that although a jolly Irishman, he wasn’t given to telling … Continue reading Gray Family History: a Brief Overview of the Gray/Hand Branch
Liverpool, the city that gave us the Liver Birds, The Beatles, Scouse, Ferries ‘Cross the Mersey and you, me, is 812 years old today! Liverpool is forever my home, yet I only lived there for 9 months. I lived in New Brighton (over the water) for 17 years and then in South-West London for another 31 years! However, a trip to Liverpool, a walk along … Continue reading Liverpool: 812 Years Young Today!
Seated is my grandfather, William James Gray, not to be confused with my uncle of the same name who you can read about here. Nearly every photograph we have of grandad Gray (and there aren’t many), show him seated. He was almost 6 foot 4 inches tall according to his Attestation Paper, although my mother always said he was 6 foot 5 inches. He was often … Continue reading A Forces Christmas Card: 1917
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
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
I began my family tree research in my late teens. I sat down with my father and listed all family members past and present that he could remember. Still only eighteen, I moved from Merseyside to Wimbledon and bought a copy of Tracing Your Family Tree, by Jean Cole and Michael Armstrong. I was ideally placed to visit the capital’s repositories, but then hit a … Continue reading Digital v Physical Archives: a Personal Account, Part 1 OR a Little Bit of Family History
Gray – maternal line My mother’s family, her parents and three older brothers, arrived in Liverpool in the mid-1920s. Her father was William James Gray (1885 – 1941) and her mother Anne Southwell (1899 – 1995), their marriage certificate states that my grandmother’s father was ‘unknown’. This is not strictly true: her birth certificate states that her father was John Mullins. However, I have been … Continue reading Gray Family History: a Brief Overview of the Mullins/Southwell Branch
A couple of years ago my mother gave me a book, it’s old, it smells of ‘old book’, it’s more than a little bit tatty and is held together in parts with decades-old sticky tape. It’s precious. It belonged to my grandparents. My mother gave it to me and told me it belonged to her father and it was his favourite book. My grandfather, William … Continue reading My Grandmother’s Book
A guest post from George Boyland. George is a regular contributor to The Guardian’s Readers’ Recommend music blog. During World War Two, frightened Luftwaffe pilots, seeing the flak over Manchester and Liverpool, would turn back and drop their bombs over the last city before the North Sea – Hull. That city had it bad. But, apart from the East End of London, nowhere had it … Continue reading Guest Blog: a Post-War Childhood in Liverpool
I started this blog to share fascinating stories from history. Not least of those, are my family history posts. I have researched my family’s history on and off for three decades, with more off than on, and usually with an intense burst of activity after travelling to a specific archive or record office. This blog is now two-years-old and this is its 94th article! So I … Continue reading Tracing my Boyland and Gray Ancestors
On the morning of 27 September 1950 an RAF twin-seater Meteor 7 aircraft crashed into the Irish Sea, off Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire. It was on its way from Jurby, Isle of Man to Driffield, Yorkshire. An RAF rescue attempt was launched immediately with assistance from those in the vicinity. It was briefly reported in some newspapers, where it was stated that one body was recovered … Continue reading RAF Plane Crash: Irish Sea Rescue Attempt
In my article The Many Ways to Consume History, I gave examples of ways that I consume history, most examples were of public history and from a non-academic source. One of the ways I stated I consume history is by collecting antique postcards. This Easter Monday I visited a Postcard and Collectable Paper Fair that is scheduled for my local recreation centre once or twice a … Continue reading Using Postcards for Family History
Somewhere in my family tree files there’s a sepia-toned newspaper cutting that belonged to my grandmother and my mother passed it to me. On reflection it was probably my grandfather’s and he died in 1941. It was his father’s obituary from 1919. While away from home I decided to have a search on the British Newspaper Archives website to see if I could find it. … Continue reading Patrick Gray: Using Newspapers for Genealogy
The French Government has awarded several thousand World War II veterans who took part in the liberation of France the rank of Chevalier (knight) of the Legion d’Honneur and its accompanying medal. The Legion d’Honneur is France’s highest military honour and is in recognition of the selfless heroism that was displayed during the Normandy landings and the wider campaign in liberating France. French President, Francoise … Continue reading A Recognition Long Due
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
patreon.com/medievalpodcast
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 