The life of bryan

When I first started to trace the Tonges, my mum’s dad’s side of the family, I thought they might be a tad predictable. We didn’t know very much about them, but surely if there were any interesting ta

The British merchant service was renamed the Merchant Navy after World War 1 to mark the vital role its sailors played in wartime. That role continued in World War 2 as merchant ships carried troops a

Q My 4x great grandfather, James White (1790-1878), was part owner of a barge named the George. In 1848, four of his crew – Giles Sim, John Browning, William Cooke and Isaac Knowles – were returning f

Q Is it possible to have a death in a workhouse with no subsequent death certificate in 1885? I have the record from Ancestry of the death. Mary Ann Arnold born 1854, death May 1885 (maybe Mar 1885),

Dear Simon, The history of Pitman shorthand told by Angeline Wilcox in the July edition of Best of British (Write on Time) evoked so many memories. I was amazed to learn that Isaac Pitman actually cre

I am writing in connection with Sarah Williams’ article “What’s in a Name” in the July issue of the magazine. My great great grandmother, Ann Rogers Wardleworth née Bell, was widowed in 1860 at the ag