St Mary’s Church, Guildford Circa 1945

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Julie Goucher
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Guildford Livestock Market, North Street, Circa 1880

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Julie Goucher
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Effects of the Great Storm Guildford 1906

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Julie Goucher
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Carnival Of Genealogy 120 – Business and Commerce

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Julie Goucher

My Grandmother always said “Uncle Joe had a shop and he went to Canada, but they didn’t like it so they came back”  – It is not much to go on, but I did establish who Uncle Joe was and just where he slotted in to the family history.

My Grandmother’s Aunt was Eliza Elstone, born in 1862 in Bramshott Hampshire to James Elstone and his wife Mary Denyer. In 1887 Eliza married Joseph Parslow in Kingston Upon Thames and together they raised a family of four children.

  • Lilian Sophie born 1890 in Ontario Canada
  • Emma Mary born 1893 in Ontario Canada
  • Richard Henry born 1895 in Ontario Canada and died 1897 in Kingston Surrey
  • Dorothy Edith born 1898 in Kingston Upon Thames Surrey

The Census reveals that Joseph was originally from Waltham Abbey in Essex where he had been born in 1863. At some point the Parslow’s moved to Kingston as there is a well known population of the family there. Kingston is a Royal Borough and sits on the Thames and is technically in Surrey, and was originally in part of Greater London. 

So where was the shop and what sort of shop was it? Uncle Joe  had a second hand and antiques shop in in Woking and the family can be traced at an address in Monument Road Woking during the 1921 – 1923 period.  The 1901 Census shows the family living at Chertsey Street Woking, which is parallel to the work address, so that was a fairly easy commute to work!
There is so much work still to do with this family line. There was all sorts of stories from my Grandmother, a daughter, was killed by a Doddlebug during the war, twin boys called Pip and Squeak. All stands of mystery, some of which have been unravelled, although not fully. The daughter “killed by a Doddlebug” was in fact not killed and research has shown that she married and raised her family not more than 50 miles from where I am now sitting!

Taking part in the Carnival Of Genealogy, hosted by CreativeGene

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Library Loot – 1st August 2012

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Julie Goucher

Well I was impressed with the electronic library book system operated by Devon Libraries. On my first attempt I downloaded the maximum 3 books and then read and reviewed one of them. I investigated if I could return it early and thankfully I could.

As I am reading in Bluefire Reader, you simply go to the book and once it has opened click on contents and then select item info and then hit the  return item button. Simple!

The next books I downloaded were these two.

Spuds, Spam and Eating for Victory:…Ox-Tales:Earth by Oxfam

Taking part in Library Loot and you can read the details HERE

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Rosie’s War by Rosemary Say & Noel Holland

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Julie Goucher

The sobering account of Rosemary Say, known as Pat who found herself in France at the outbreak of the Second World War.  The events are presented in a very matter of fact way, which has a genuine feel to it and as I read I wondered if I would have faired better given the situation? I suspect not.

Pat is a young girl in her early 20s who sets out to explore and meet others in a foreign country. That country is France and she is employed as an Au Pair to a family in Avignon.

Therefore as Europe heads into the turmoil of War, Pat finds herself in France, as the German troops invade. Pat is young, isolated and has very little money. She seeks assistance at the embassy in Paris only to find that the employees who could have helped have left and made their way back to England. She eventually finds some work within the cafe at the police station, but that is short lived and she is eventually interred in a camp.

The story continues to unravel the events that happened once in the camp, how Rosie copes with a loss of liberty and functional belongings such as a toothbrush. After a period of time, Rosie is determined to escape and with another internee she indeed does escape and makes her way, eventually across France into the region known as Free France, through to Spain and finally to home.

There was huge amounts of fear and uncertainty. Not just for Pat, but also for her family who had eventually managed to correspond with Pat through the help of the Red Cross. Once Pat is an escaped prisoner and effectively on the run in enemy territory, her parents are bewildered as to what had happened.

This was a remarkable story. Pieced together by archives and letters written and collated by Rosie’s father, notes written by Rosie before she passed away and then by her son.

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Conclusion of Paris in July

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Julie Goucher

So, we have reached the end of Paris in July and it has been rather fun!

Here is the round up of the various posts that I have published.

Paris in July was hosted by Karen from BookBath and Tamara from Thyme for Tea.

You can see a list of all participants for Paris in July HERE

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The Siren of Paris by David Leroy

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Julie Goucher

Amazon Summary

In German occupied Paris, a group of unlikely people join in collaboration to smuggle Allied airman south to Spain. One of those intrepid heroes happens to be American. The Siren of Paris, the debut work of historical fiction by David LeRoy, tells a searing story of love, betrayal, forgiveness, and war that brings to vivid life the shimmering City of Lights during its darkest hours during World War II.

The story starts in 1939, when Marc Tolbert, the French-born son of a prominent American family, takes off for Paris to follow his dream of becoming an artist. Marc’s life soon sparkles in the ex-pat scene in Paris. His new friend Dora introduces him to a circle that includes the famous Sylvia Beach, owner of the bookstore Shakespeare & Company; and he accepts a job with William Bullitt, US ambassador to France. At art school, he finds himself further enchanted by the alluring model Marie.

Marc’s Parisian reverie, however, is soon clouded over by the increasing threat from Germany. As Americans scramble to escape Paris, he finds himself trapped by the war, and nearly meets his fate on the disastrous day of June 17, 1940, aboard the RMS Lancastria. Upon returning to Paris, his fate grows more troubled still, as he smuggles Allied airman through the American Hospital to the Paris Resistance underground, until a profound betrayal leads him into the hands of the Gestapo and onto Buchenwald.

Rigorously researched and vibrant in historical detail, The Siren of Paris reimagines one of history’s most turbulent times through the prism of an American abroad in Europe’s most harrowing days. Poignant, gripping, and thought-provoking, The Siren of Paris mines the human dilemma of revenge versus forgiveness, and vividly captures the conflicted state of survival.


Excerpt:

     Marc decided to walk home instead of taking the Metro. He approached one of the main boulevards that led from the east train station. All along the road, people carried whatever baggage they could manage. A few were injured. Marc stood on the side of the street and watched as they passed. At first he was going to cross over, but then decided to join the crowd and walk for a bit. He knew after a few moments where they were going. He could overhear them speaking among themselves in French or Dutch. After crossing the Seine, and walking a few more blocks, 

     Marc briefly lost track of time. It had not been long, maybe only twenty minutes or so. The crowds grew denser. There was less room to walk on the sidewalks or even the street. In another block, he could see the façade of the station in front of him. He did not walk any further, and instead turned around. He walked against the crowds coming down the street, turning his back to the south train station with a horde of people before it. A herd of goats being led by a peasant farmer did not faze him, because livestock had now become common in Paris. After another thirty or so minutes, he stood in the street below his apartment. Bricks crushed a car on the other side of the street. People took what they could from the building. Marc stood in shock, as he looked directly up into the parlor room of his fourth-floor flat. He made his way in through the door and up the marble staircase as others were coming down. Marc opened the door to his apartment, and the evening breeze gently flapped the drawing he’d done of Marie back in early December. 

     He turned over the armoire, pulled out the clothes, and packed his bags. He found the keys that Nigel and Dora had given him. The bowl’s rose-colored glass lay shattered on the floor. He stuffed the francs from Dora into his jacket. Marc felt cold and detached as he gathered his belongings. He fully accepted the loss of the wall to the outside street below. It did not bother him at all that he was not sure where he was going to stay. He had two sets of keys, after all, for two other Parisian apartments. They could not have got all of them, he thought to himself. Nothing could take his mind off the crowds at the south station. The desperate voices, the stares of the other refugees looking to flee the city, echoed in his mind. Before he left the apartment, he looked around. He saw the drawing again on the wall, and remembered with a small laugh what the instructor had said. “This is what you came to France for, Marc.”

(LeRoy, David. The Siren Of Paris)


David Leroy did extensive research on the German occupation of France for his debut novel The Siren of Paris. This historical novel follows the journey of one American from medical student, to artist, to political prisoner at Buchenwald Concentration Camp during World War Two.

You can purchase The Siren of Paris in Kindle e-book format from 

and learn more about this author and novel at http://www.thesirenofparis.com/

For more information about this virtual book tour, please visit — http://bookpromotionservices.com/2012/05/22/siren-of-paris-tour/

Taking part in Paris in July which is hosted by Karen from BookBath and Tamara from Thyme for Tea

Stay tuned for an author interview and a book review.

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Ramblings from my Desk…..(7)

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Julie Goucher

It has been a couple of months since my last Ramblings post, so I hope that I am forgiven. The time has ticked by very fast and I looking back I am not too sure what I have achieved.

The biggest issue has been on the work front and I am in the process of taking my research business to the next level and adding the additional focus on bits of the day job – mainly in terms of training and care home work. I need to add the day job focus because of the rules around registration with the regulator, but as soon as I am set up being an employee is looking to be a thing of the past.

On the genealogical front, I am still plodding away researching, filing and trying to get organised and if I see another stack of papers anywhere in my study I shall scream. I had no idea I was SO messy! I really need to get into the habit of replacing into the filing cabinet items which I have removed. If I achieve that then that will solve the problem.

I am quite behind on some of my genealogical blog posts, which I find irritating. If I take part in a weekly series I do like to post in order, but I have a bit of a plan and all should be resolved soon.

On the book and reading front I seem to have acquired an enormous amount of books to review. They are like buses, nothing for ages then four (or more) at once! I have been given the opportunity to write regular blog posts for Historical Fiction which is wonderful and I am still contributing to the not so frequent Graveyard Rabbits blog – in fact I have a post due in a few weeks. I have also been asked to write a piece for Any Subject books, which should be finished in the next few days.

Alfie our lovely Border Terrier gets cuter every day. I had a few days away last week, joining hubby where he was working – more on that later. Our friends looked after Alf and from the looks of him he had a wonderful time. He had a walk on the beach and managed to find a very wet patch of sand. The result was he needed a bath, which is not one of his favourite pastimes!

The Olympics has just started and I wish the team members of Team GB lots of successes. I am not especially sporty. Sports at school was an inconvenience, as it reduced my reading time. Then when I got to about 12, I was introduced to hockey and that became a real passion. I kept playing for a while after my school years, but gradually it was a hassle to play, it caused huge discomfort to my joints and I eventually stopped. As a colleague said  recently “built for comfort not for speed!” and I could not agree more!

Well. that is it on the ramblings until next time.

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Address Unknown by Kressmann Taylor

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Julie Goucher
Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann TaylorOriginally published in Story Magazine in 1938, this is the fictional account, through letters of an America Jew called Max and his German friend Martin. 
We join the story as Martin and his family relocate from America back to their homeland of Germany. They have been business partners and friends and once the relocation happens Martin and Max continue their business dealings and friendship with Max sending Martin chatty letters which contain brief financial details.
The year is 1932. Germany is not in a good shape, there is poverty. We are at the eve of the rise of Hitler in Germany and he is bring hope to the people….
Over the coming pages we see the once sturdy relationship and friendship of Max and Martin come under strain. Martin is greatly influenced by the political developments in Germany and how those of Jewish descent are being treated. Max continues writing, despite Martin asking that he does not and at once we see the formation of censorship and those who receive certain letters being held to account. We see the division of a nation driven by the policy of Germany at that time. The book concludes in March 1934.
Although a slim volume, just 95 pages this book has left a lasting impression. This is certainly a classic of the 20th Century and this is most definitely a case of less is more.

There was a play broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The various episodes are available via YouTube and they are just as powerful as the book.

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