There are obscure documents which, if discovered through a name search in archival catalogues, can reveal remarkable details of a person’s character and life, and perhaps assist in breaking through a brick wall in the parish and probate records. This was my experience when seeking to ascertain the parentage of one of my 8x great grandfathers, Richard Pinnell of Upper Lambourn (Uplambourn in many early records).

In October 1894 four nuns from The Congregation of Sisters, which had been founded by Mother Marie Madeleine Postel in Normandy, made a difficult journey to Berkshire. After landing at Southampton they took the train to Farnborough. The hard-working Sisters, facing some local discrimination, created their school in an old outfitters shop in about ten days; it was dedicated to St Joseph.

Early in 2014, I set about the task of identifying all the men on the Roll of Honour in St John the Baptist’s Church, Caversham, my church. I aimed to complete this by 11th November 2018 - but I have failed. There are 56 names on this Roll of Honour

An article about the connection between two families from West Berkshire who came from very different backgrounds, but both resided in the Newbury area at the end of the nineteenth century, and their links with Patagonia.