Discover Your Ancestors

Issue 093

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A warm welcome to the January issue of Discover Your Ancestors Periodical, your monthly digital family and social history magazine.

Well, I can’t exactly say the new year has begun on a cheery note, but at least our cover picture this time is upbeat – one from a series of ‘Don’t Worry – Smile’ cards from the Tuck postcard dynasty that Nick Thorne explores in this issue. It seems a good motto to strive for at the moment!

Also inside, we look at early reporting of criminal statistics, the history of dieting – we’re clearly not the first era to focus on self-improvement – and some interesting records from the Second World War period. Plenty of distractions, I hope, to keep you informed and entertained, wherever you are – and I hope you’re keeping safe.

Andrew Chapman, Editor.

Articles

A brief history of dieting

Among many of our New Year’s resolutions will be attempting to become trimmer and fitter after the usual extravagances of Christmas, especially in these strange times when many physical and social activities have been curtailed and more time spent indoors. Dieting, health and, for some, preoccupation with body image may have reached extremes in our modern world, yet such concerns are far from new. History reveals myriad attempts at weight management, from use of alcohol, pills, cigarettes and soap to healthy eating programmes.

If the invader comes...

By mid-1940, German forces had invaded France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and were planning Operation Sea Lion – the invasion of Britain. First, they had to win the Battle of Britain. As we all know, they lost. But what would have happened if they had won?

The greats of greetings cards

As the Christmas cards come down for another year this month and some New Year wishes arrive in the post, I pause to remember that my own grandfather had at one time been a travelling salesman for Raphael Tuck & Sons, the greetings card and postcard manufacturer. I never met my granddad as he passed away the year before I was born, but my dad told me stories about his father packing his samples into the boot of a Morris Oxford 6 Special Coupe. I eventually got a picture of the car, from my cousin, and this showed the boxy vehicle with a large boot into which my grandfather could carry his cases of cards – though the framing of the snap leaves a bit to be desired where the photographer has cut off the nose of the vehicle.

How justice failed Beatrice and Emily

It’s always disheartening when a murder goes unsolved, and a perpetrator does not face justice. Even in our modern age, with forensics and DNA, cases do not always get the kind of resolution we’d like. The recent BBC Wales series Dark Land, which I was the resident crime historian on, looked at four unsolved Welsh cases from the 20th century, and viewers have sent suggestions for other cases we could look at in response, showing that there are many cases that have left those involved with them with a sense of unfinished business. They have not seen a resolution – nobody has been locked up and made to pay for their crimes.

Crime by numbers

As coronavirus took over Britain, the public became increasingly interested in statistics regarding detected cases, deaths and data comparison with other countries. Our ancestors also took a great interest in statistics. However, looking at the evidence, can we trust the criminal data completed by the Victorians?

250,000 educational records added

TheGenealogist has released more college and university registers into its expanding Educational Records collection, adding a quarter of a million additional individuals. This release includes records from England, Scotland, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand and even a college from Portugal.

Mudlarking and organising

Mudlarking – scavenging for items of value in the shores of a river – has been documented along the Thames and elsewhere for more than two centuries, and continues to this day as a pastime. This volume brings together for the ﬁrst time a wide variety of 19th century sources about the mudlarks of history and the hardships they faced. A perfect companion to Lara Maiklem’s popular recent book Mudlarking.

History in the details: Materials - Leather (part 4)

As in many industries, technological advances brought mechanisation and mass production to the leather trade during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some sectors progressed, providing employment for hundreds of thousands of our ancestors, while other practices and products grew outmoded, inspiring new ways of processing and using leather.

Place in Focus: London

London has always been a city of renewal – plagues and fires have decimated its population and scarred its buildings, but every time it has recovered and rebuilt itself bigger and better than before. Little wonder, then, that so many of our ancestors were drawn there, whether from dwindling rural settlements around the country or from countries across the globe.

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Discover Your Ancestors Periodical is published by Discover Your Ancestors Publishing, UK. All rights in the material belong to Discover Your Ancestors Publishing and may not be reproduced, whether in whole or in part, without their prior written consent. The publisher makes every effort to ensure the magazine's contents are correct. All articles are copyright© of Discover Your Ancestors Publishing and unauthorised reproduction is forbidden. Please refer to full Terms and Conditions at www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk. The editors and publishers of this publication give no warranties, guarantees or assurances and make no representations regarding any goods or services advertised.