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Category Archives: War
Percy Barrett (1886-1914)
Percival Sydney Barrett was born in Gorse Hill, Swindon in or around 1886, the youngest son of George and Naomi Barrett’s seven children. When he was about 5, Perival’s mother died. His father, who worked on the railway, remained a … Continue reading
Raymond Barnett (1895-1917)
Raymond Whitmore Barnett was born in Colwall in late 1895, the son of James Henry Barnett, a roadman and labourer, and his wife Annie (née Jolly). Raymond was baptised in the local church of Saint James “the Great” on 20th … Continue reading
Brave Colwallian Soldiers
The Colwall War Memorial was erected in the aftermath of the First World War to honour the memory of the Colwallian men who fought and died during the First World War (1914-1918). The Memorial makes no distinction between those soldiers … Continue reading
Who Do You Think You Are? Nigella Lawson
SPOILER WARNING! One of my favourite Who Do You Think You Are? episodes is the one starring Nigella Lawson (series 3, episode 6), the TV personality and cook book writer who has lately come under huge scrutiny due to her … Continue reading
Posted in Famous Genealogy, Genealogy, Germany, Jewish Ancestry, Money, War, Who Do You Think You Are?, Women, Work
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Researching Colwall’s WWI heroes
Some months ago, with every single genealogical site and publication talking about the upcoming centenary of the breakout of the First World War, I came up with the idea of researching the life of the men from my grandmother’s home … Continue reading
Who Do You Think You Are? Marianne Faithfull
SPOILER WARNING! If you had to pick a likely description for Marianne Faithfull‘s background, you would hardly choose an illustrious knight in the Austro-Hungarian army, a Jewish grandmother who took part in the Viennese resistance during WWII or a sexually … Continue reading
Posted in Austria, Famous Genealogy, Genealogy, Germany, Jewish Ancestry, Marriage, War, Who Do You Think You Are?, Women
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The Steadfast Tin Soldier and his Ballerina
Every now and then I use my lunch hour to have a peruse through my family tree in search of gaps that need filling. Today I decided to give my great-grandfather’s cousin a go. Until now all I had found … Continue reading
Posted in 1891 Census, 1901 Census, 1911 Census, Birth, Colwall, Death, England, Genealogy, Herefordshire, Killed In Action, Lancashire, Marriage, War, Women
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In Memory of a Mother
Yesterday was Mother’s Day in Spain. The event triggered my imagination: I couldn’t let the day go by without writing about one of the thousands of mothers who populate my family tree! But who should I write about? I suppose … Continue reading
Looking for Rina Amerio’s descendants: the Graziano family
Last October, my dad and I visited the village in northern Italy where my great-grandmother Giovanna Amerio was born in 1895. It was to be not only a quest for missing family information, but also something of a sentimental pilgrimage. … Continue reading
Posted in Emigration, Genealogy, Italy, New York City, United States, War, Women
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The day that Great-granddaddy met the King
The other day I walked into one of my favourite bookshops in town: Librería Arenas. As I am writing researching and writing about the history of my grandmother’s family, I was wondering whether there might be a good reference book … Continue reading
The Genealogy Corner 