Coronation Street Party, George VI, Herbert Street, Whitehall, 1937
12.5.1937, one month before I was born. Very few men, except for those in drag; women in pinnies; numerous kids….…. Do you recognise anyone? First posted in https://bristolfamilyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2015/06/16 Thanks to Dorothy Acford.
Zahringer’s of Kingswood
This is old news, but I’m sad to see that Zahringer’s in Kingswood closed in 2022. When I lived in Kingswood from 1937-1966, Mum and Dad always took our clocks and watches there to...
Uncovering the everyday stories of the people we must not forget
This was the headline of my article in Bristol Times (the local history supplement of Bristol Post) on 4 April 2023 “What are we going to do with all this stuff?” my son said...
Bristol’s derelict Seamen’s Church
I recently wrote to the Bristol Evening Post voicing my concern for the plans regarding the Seamen’s Church in Prince Street, Bristol. The letter appeared on 2 March 2023 “The recent piece in the...
Finding Pollie Wells
In 1874 a young woman called Pollie Wells wrote to her brother Charlie at Southampton. Exactly a hundred years later I saved the letter from the flames – her niece, an old lady called...
My Booklets for Sale – Proceeds to Charity
To those, like me, who prefer to read from a hard copy, I still have a few of my booklets from the days when I photocopied and bound them for interested parties. They are...
‘No Place like Home’ – Clements & Hodgetts: a Family Story
Chapter 11 of my book, ‘Killed in a Coalpit’, about the lives of the Kingswood district colliers is entitled ‘A Young Hero – Edward Albert Powell’, who was known as Ted. At the age...
Alfred-Up-The Zoo
Whenever my Mum’s sister, (who we called Pem, never Auntie) arrived on her bi-annual visit from London, and her job at the Shepherd’s Bush Post Office, Mum, (Flo), my little brother, Colin, and me,...
A Trip to Hopewell Colliery, Forest of Dean
On 27 July 2022, my son Kevin took me for a grand day out to celebrate my 85th birthday. The venue chosen was the Hopewell Colliery at Coleford in the Forest of Dean. We...
My Pillinger Women: No. 3 Julia Pillinger
It will be no surprise if I say I am interested in those women who in days of yore, when it was doubly or trebly difficult, managed to have a life outside the domestic...
About Me
I have been researching the social history of the West Country for 45 years. During this time I have collated information on a wide range of people living and working in the West Country including miners, ethnic minorities, petty criminals, sailors, tommies, benefactors, brassmakers and many more. The thing that I find amazing is that ordinary people always lived extraordinary lives. I hope you like my blog that brings together my lifetime of research.
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