A workhouse was an institution where our ancestors went when they needed accommodation, food or employment. The equivalent to the modern-day benefits system, those in need were taken in as inmates and recorded with a workhouse number. Generally, life was tough in the workhouses. Long hours of arduous work, strict rules and poor food and sanitation made for the bleakest of living conditions. By 1776, the number of workhouses in England and Wales had reached over 1800.Go far enough back and…
Edith Cavell was a British nurse who served during World War 1. Not only did she save the lives of both Allied and German soldiers, but she also helped many British soldiers escape to safety. With the help of Norwich Cathedral and Nick Miller of edithcavell.org.uk, Edith’s courageous story is remembered alongside tales of WW1 trenches. Early life: Edith Louisa Cavell was born in 1865 in Swardeston, near Norwich. Her father Frederick was the local vicar. As a girl, she enjoyed drawing…
22 years ago I found a First World War group photograph with my great-grandfather in the centre (2nd row from bottom, 7th from left).He was commanding officer of 8th Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment, and he is pictured surrounded by his officers in their training camp on Salisbury Plain in May 1915, not long before they headed out to the trenches in France. Spurred on by my discoveries, I resolved to find out what happened to all 46 men pictured and to trace…
The RAF records on Findmypast often include both the military details of an airman's service, and also vital clues to further your family tree, such as information about next of kin.Here's a look at the records that you can use to find your airman ancestor. British Royal Air Force, Airmen's Service Records 1912-1939: Before the formation of the RAF in 1918, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service were the air arms of the British Armed Forces. If…
Misspelt first names, incorrect transcriptions, evolving surnames... the list of possible name-related issues when searching online family history records goes on and on.It's an understandable problem. Many documents we're working with were written at a time when literacy was not common, and in almost all cases, the record keeper didn't realise how careful they needed to be. Who would have thought that hundreds of years later, people would be using something called 'the internet' to judge a poor scribe's…
In November of 1911, several members of the committee for Imperial Defence were called together and tasked with investigating the use of a new 'aeroplane' in warfare. The Royal Flying Corps was created to operate these aeroplanes, and in WW1 they were flown without parachutes, against a better-trained enemy. Many of the pilots would not come back.When going through the records of your ancestors this remembrance week, you may uncover one or two who were serving in the Royal Flying…
As such, it was punishable by death. 306 men, many of whom were still teenagers, were shot at dawn by their comrades between 1914 and 1919. Soldiers absent without leave were reported with full descriptions in the Police Gazette, which you can read here.306 men, many of whom were still teenagers, were shot at dawn by their comrades between 1914 and 1919.Firing squads were made up of a six or a dozen soldiers, one of whom was presented with a rifle full of blanks,…
Paratrooper Lance Corporal Josh Leakey was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) in 2015 for bravely coming to the aid of isolated and wounded comrades in the face of the enemy in Afghanistan. Although L/Cpl Leakey is the third British soldier to receive a VC for service in Afghanistan, he is the first recipient to have survived the conflict. Until now Pte Johnson Beharry from 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment was the only non-posthumous British military recipient since 1965, for…