Q & a

QMargaret Woodhall (née Smithson), born c1827 Liverpool (according to the 1851 census), was the sister of my great grandfather, James Murray Smithson, born c1835 in Edinburgh. Their father was William

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

The first series of WDYTYA? aired in 2004, and I started working on the programme two years later. My first episodes were broadcast in 2007 and featured rower Matthew Pinsent and actor John Hurt, and

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

One of the major reasons people take a DNA test is to find a ‘missing’ ancestor. It may be that they have no knowledge of their family due to adoption or were brought up by a single parent with no inf

When I was aged 10, the farmers used to come round the schools to pick volunteers to work on the farms during the summer holidays, mainly to help bring in the harvest. The country was still building u