Breaking down brick walls
Chris Broom, a professional genealogy tutor, gives some helpful hints on breaking down those brick walls
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13 Jan 2021
Christmas Crackers – Members’ Evening
DECEMBER ZOOM MEETING REPORT An enjoyable social evening prior to Christmas with a quiz entitled ‘Christmas’ and one entitled ‘Family History’ both presented by our Quiz Master, Bryan Pledger. Most of the questions were multiple choice so as to give the best chance for all the audience to enjoy the fun. The presentations also included funny clip art and photographs of the Christmas lights at Kew Gardens to get everybody in the mood. We learnt how the Christmas Cracker and Card came to be invented and how a Mexican gave his name to a favourite plant at Christmas. In the Family History Quiz much hilarity was had with epitaphs. Tony Wight won the Christmas Quiz and Christine Wootton the Family History Quiz. After the quizzes a discussion ensued on why the numbers had declined for the Zoom meetings of the Branch. The ideas ranged from being scared of Zoom, problems with making Zoom work on tablets and mobile phones with laptops being easier…
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11 Dec 2020
Canal People – Joint meeting with Bracknell & Wokingham
Joint meeting 20th November 2020 Speaker: Martin Buckland A canal is defined as an artificial waterway which may join up rivers whilst rivers are natural waterways. Canals have locks and need to be able to climb hills such as The Cotswold Canal for example which climbs 106.68 metres. Canals were good at moving fragile goods such as pottery. A horse carrying about 2 cwt was slow and could break the product compared to a barge with a horse pulling 20 cwts in safety. Irrigation was the origin of the canals. Between about 520 and 510 BC the Persian Emperor, Darius I built a canal linking the Nile and the Red Sea and the Grand Canal in Venice built between 3rd Century BC and 13century AD is used for irrigation and transport. The Pont du Gard the ancient and highest Roman aqueduct bridge built in the first century AD to carry water over 50 km used only basic surveying equipment. Britain’s canals were started by the…
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20 Nov 2020
The Mansion House of 1742, demolished for William Adey's town hall
The Mayors of Newbury
Newbury has had 422 mayoral elections since 1596, and the office holders have included businessmen, bankrupts and ballerinas.
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12 Nov 2020
Great Amber Concert Hall in Liepājā, designed by one of Dr Pihlens' family
Who do you think you are? A Latvian FH story
Hugh Pihlens' grandfather lived in rural Latvia until 1905 when he had to escape for his life. What happened to him, and to Latvia, afterwards?
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12 Nov 2020
It All Started With A Letter From Colditz – talk by Christine Wootton
Report on the joint meeting of Bracknell & Wokingham Branch with Abingdon Branch by Bryan Pledger A few years ago Radley History Club was given a letter sent from Colditz Castle, a prisoner of war camp during WW2, which was written by Charles Lockett to his wife Evelyn who lived in their rented home in Radley. Stanley Baker the club’s archivist asked Christine whether she would like to research who Charles Lockett was. Christine discovered that Charles was born at ‘The Woodlands’ on the Welsh Road at Childer Thornton, Wirral, in Cheshire in 1910. He joined the RAF in 1931 and married Evelyn Mason in 1933. After the marriage…
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30 Oct 2020
Photographs and memorabilia
Reading Branch meeting 29th October 2020, conducted on Zoom Speaker: Members - Peter Caton, Richard Brown, Richard Croker and Graham Vockins Peter Caton chose a 200 year old jug which had been handed down through the family from an Aunt Emily. He had researched documents which involved not one but three marriages by one ancestor. He again reestablished links to the entertainer Wattie Hildyard of whom Peter had previously spoken. Richard Brown told members of his Grandmother's WW1 Medal. Emily Brown was born in the Parish where Charles Kingsley was a Minister in 1869. Through various links with Thorneycroft engineering. the London General Omnibus company and the College Arms pub in Pamber End. Emily joined the V.A.D. as a Nurse in 1915 and clocked up 3457 hours of unpaid voluntary service. Richard Croker spoke of Lorne Campbell Reid, the Stepfather of his mother and his piece of memorabilia was a small wooden box engraved JC to Lorne Reid. Via the internet he managed…
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29 Oct 2020