Discover Your Ancestors

Issue 074

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

This month, of course, sees the 75th anniversary of D-Day, a major landmark of the Second World War – see pages 26 and 30 for information about events and new books on the subject.

And of course we’re off to York for the largest family history show in the north of England, organised by Discover Your Ancestors. Do stop by the DYA stand and say hello! You’ll be able to pick up our publications at special prices, plus the recently published Issue 8 of our bumper 196-page print edition. If you can’t make it, do visit our website instead, at discoveryourancestors.co.uk.

I hope to see you in York, and meanwhile enjoy this issue.

Andrew Chapman, Editor.

Articles

The clerk's tale

By the mid-19th century, the British economy witnessed the beginnings of the growth in numbers of office clerks. Although an exception to the rule was the position of banking clerks, who enjoyed excellent conditions and terms of employment, many clerks were exploited in a way that would be unheard of today; and they were reluctant to form trade unions to voice their unhappiness brought about by callous and unscrupulous employers who did little to improve their employees’ working conditions and pay.

The Theatre Girls' Club

One day, around the start of World War One, a woman was walking down the street in London when she saw two girls singing. They were ‘minor actresses’, she said, out of an engagement – ie they were unemployed. With no earnings, they were being threatened with eviction from their lodgings, and busking on the street was their last chance of earning enough money to keep a roof over their heads. Of course, it wasn’t just actresses who could struggle; Londoners were facing high prices and housing issues, and according to the Reverend William Evelyn Kingsbury, who was the Honorary Assistant Secretary of the Actors Church Union, ‘London residents found it difficult to keep a roof over their heads.’ But thousands of those involved in the theatrical profession were reliant on lodgings or apartments, and, as the press noted, ‘how much difficult to keep a roof over their heads, how much more difficult the case of the young woman coming from the provinces to look for work!’

From one type of bank to another

Kenneth Grahame was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 8 March 1859; tragically, as a young child of four, he lost his mother when she died of Scarlet fever. His father, James Cunningham Grahame, an advocate in the Scottish courts who had taken an appointment as a sheriff-substitute in Argyllshire, was distraught and unable to cope.

Women and crime

Last month I looked at Hallie Rubenhold’s book about the women who were killed by an individual who has become known as ‘Jack the Ripper’, and how female victims of crime – and ordinary women in general, regardless of their involvement in crime – have tended to be sidelined by history. This month I consider female criminals, or alleged criminals, and how books and articles have covered their crimes. By reading such accounts, we get a picture of their offences, but also of their lives, their backgrounds, and the issues that they faced. We can then apply these to our own ancestors, to see what might have made someone commit crime – or have a crime committed against them. The many books about women – who over history have formed a minority of criminals compared with men – also shows us how fascinated we are by these women, and how they refused to live by society’s unwritten codes of gender behaviour and morality.

What do we really know about our families?

One of the main starting points for any family historian and researcher is to begin with what you already know.

News for June 2019

TheGenealogist has expanded its occupational records with over 300,000 records of Masters and Apprentices included in a nautical set of apprenticeship records.

History in the details: Civilian Uniforms

There is an important aspect of dress history that is often overlooked, falling as it does between regular clothes and military (army, navy, air force) uniforms: the civilian uniform. Essentially a standardised type of occupational dress, civilian uniforms became increasingly significant during the 19th century, growing ever more common in the early-mid 20th century and still worn today by some workers, albeit usually in more modern, modified form.

Place in focus: Truro

The earliest records and archaeological findings of a permanent settlement in the Truro area date from Norman times. A castle was built there in the 12th century by Richard de Lucy, Chief Justice of England in the reign of Henry II, who for his services to the court was granted land in Cornwall, including the area surrounding the confluence of the two rivers. The town grew in the shadow of the castle and was awarded borough status to further economic activity. The castle has long since disappeared – it was in ruins by 1270 and the motte was levelled in 1840. Today Truro Crown Court stands on the site.

Books for June 2019

were the culmination of months of meticulous planning and organisation. A vast army had to be trained and equipped; huge amounts of material – from tin cans to tank transporters, petrol to parachutes – had to be stockpiled, distributed and readied for transport to the beaches of Normandy; bombing missions had to reduce the enemy; fighters, minesweepers and other naval missions had to clear the English Channel; and, finally, the men had to embark and the armada had to deliver its cargo to a strict timetable under enemy fire onto a hostile shore. The hundred locations chosen for this book are a small collection of those places in Britain that were involved in the preparations for D-Day, as starting points from which the reader can discover the considerable depth of involvement required to launch the great invasion.

Additional Information

Other Formats

You can buy a printed version of the annual Discover Your Ancestors bookazine directly from the publishers, please see www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk and click on ‘Order print copies’ at the bottom.

Editorial Office

Discover Your Ancestors Publishing,

PO BOX 163,

Shaftesbury,

SP7 7BA

E: [email protected]

W: www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk

Discover Your Ancestors – The Family History Show

The Family History Show, Online!

Saturday 8th February 2025
10:00 –16:00 (GMT)

Put your research questions to an expert, watch a talk, speak to a local society, archive or genealogical supplier.

Free talks available on demand for 72 hours.
Free Experts on hand to help with your queries.
Visit exhibitors, societies, archives and companies all in our virtual exhibition hall.

Special Offer! Buy tickets for £7.00 (£10.00 on the day)

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Future Events

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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.