Buried in the churchyard at Litton Cheney, Dorset, England is the noted English engraver, designer, typographer, and painter, (Alan) Reynolds Stone who for many years had lived at the Old Rectory at Litton Cheney.
Alan Reynolds Stone (1900-1979)
July 21, 2008 at 4:00 am (Biography, Genealogy, Location)
Tags: Dorset, Litton Cheney, Reynolds Stone
Underground at Combe Down Mines
July 20, 2008 at 4:00 am (History, Location, Video)
Tags: Bath, Combe Down
Going underground in the silver tunnels at Combe Down Mines in Bath in this video from the Western Daily Press. The mines dates from the 17th and 18th Century and were used to extract Bath stone for the city of Bath, and have since been disused.
Solving census problems
July 19, 2008 at 4:00 am (Genealogy, Podcast)
Tags: Census, National Archives
In this podcast from the National Archives, David Annal takes a practical approach to overcoming the most common problems faced by family historians when using the 19th century census returns. It may sometimes seem that your ancestors are missing from the returns – this talk aims to convince you that, if your ancestors were living in England or Wales at the time of the census, they were almost certainly recorded and you should be able to find them. The odds are firmly stacked in your favour.
Derek Anthony Seagrim V.C. (1903-1943)
July 18, 2008 at 4:00 am (Biography, Genealogy, History)
Tags: Bournemouth, Seagrim, Victoria Cross
Derek Anthony Seagrim was born at Bournemouth, Hampshire, England on September 24, 1903 the third of five sons of the Reverend Charles Seagrim and Amabel Emma Halsted Seagrim. His younger brothers was Hugh Seagrim GC, giving these two brothers the distinction of being the only siblings to receive the Victoria Cross and George Cross. Derek was educated at the Norwich School, Norwich, where Derek and his younger brother Hugh also attended later.
Shaftesbury and the High House Press
July 17, 2008 at 4:00 am (History, Location)
Tags: Dorset, Shaftesbury
The High House Press was founded at Shaftesbury, Dorset in the summer of 1924. In this article from the Dorset Life magazine, Jeremy Archer looks at a 1930s publication on Shaftesbury and how the town has changed.
Read the full article in the Dorset Life magazine
Frederick Charles Riggs V.C. M.M. (1888-1918)
July 16, 2008 at 4:00 am (Biography, Genealogy, History)
Tags: Bournemouth, Burgum, Christchurch, Fowler, Riggs, Springbourne, Victoria Cross
Frederick Charles Riggs was born on July 28, 1888 at Christchurch, then in Hampshire, England. In the 1891 census Fredeick is living in the household of James & Elizabeth Fowler at 55 Garfield Avenue, Springbourne, Bournemouth where he is described as an orphan. His entry in the Commonwealth War Graves Commissions roll of Honour describes him as the ‘Adopted Son of Elizabeth Burgum, of 39, Capstone Rd., Bournemouth.’
Birthday Review
July 15, 2008 at 4:00 am (Genealogy)
Tags: Blatch, Frome, Golledge, review, Shoscombe, Swift, Wellow, Whitaker
The Family Connections Blog is one year old today and I thought it might be a good time to review some of the years postings.
Sylvester Jourdan of Lyme Regis
July 14, 2008 at 4:00 am (History, Location)
Tags: Dorset, George Somers, Lyme Regis, Sylvester Jourdan
The town of Lyme Regis, Dorset, England is justly proud of its seafaring son, George Somers, who in 1609 was wrecked upon the island of Bermuda after his ship, the Sea Venture, was separated in a hurricane from the main fleet heading for the east coast of America. but much of the detail of the disaster which befell the Sea Venture comes from an account written by another man on board, Sylvester Jourdan.
Read the full story by Alan Mill in the Dorset Life Magazine
Cecil Reginald Noble V.C. (1891-1951)
July 13, 2008 at 4:00 am (Biography, Genealogy, History)
Tags: Bournemouth, Noble, Victoria Cross
Cecil Reginald Noble was born on June 4, 1891 at Bournemouth, Hampshire, England the son of house painter, Frederick Noble and his wife Hannah.
Life of Wrens at HMS Attack
July 12, 2008 at 4:00 am (Biography, Location)
Tags: Portland, Wrems
A Picture of Wrens stationed on Portland, recently featured in the Dorset Echo, stirred up memories for Velmia Watson (nee Ruffley) and Jean Rawson (nee Moir) who were also stationed with HMS Attack on the run-up to D-Day.
Read their stories in the Dorset Echo
