New Year 1917 from Harry Lauder
Here is an account of Christmas 1916 and New Year 1917 by the star of the music hall stage Harry Lauder from his book “A Minstrel in France.” I think…
Saved from sailing on the Titanic
Emigrations to new counties were seen as a way for families who were very large and there was not enough work in villages. Just before the First World War in…
The Sinking of the Lusitania
This story was published in “The Story of the Great War – Volume V. “One of the most catastrophic events of the Great War was the sinking of the Cunard…
The Railway Arrived In Brighton
The railway arrived in Brighton, East Sussex in 1841, four years after Queen Victoria came to the throne, and it changed the town for ever. On a day in October…
Barbed Wire in the German Trenches
In his book The Old Front Line, John Masefield describes the German trench defences in the Somme battlefield and their use of barbed wire. Dug-outs and barbed wire in La…
Queen Victoria's Carriage Horse
In the 1890’s Queen Victoria paid a visit to Bristol. Driving up Park Street, one of her carriage horses cast a shoe, which cab cause irreparable damage to the horse’s…
Salvation Army Riots
There were ‘Salvation Army riots’ in Worthing, East Sussex in the 1880’s and in Eastbourne in the early 1890s as the evangelical movement clashed with publicans and members of the…
Six Trains a Day
An entry in William Margery’s school book (circa 1930) shows that there were six trains a day from Taunton to Yeovil and eight in the opposite direction, the journey taking…
Getting home after a few jars of ale
Recalling conversations just after the First World War of how to get home after a few jars of ale:- In 1919 I remember my elders discussing how a farmer got…
ANZAC Day – Shrapnel Gully an Account
For ANZAC Day – An personal account of 26th April 1915 in Shrapnel Gully :- Corporal Robson D.C.M., 4th Battalion, AIF, saw ‘a young fellow get shot in Shrapnel Gully…