FGS – Connect. Explore. Refresh – Prompt One (Part One)

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Julie Goucher

The first prompt

“Tell us and your readers/followers what you think of when you hear Connect. Explore. Refresh in relation to a genealogy conference.”

There has never been a better time to Connect with others, Explore genealogical material, both on and off line and Refresh our thoughts on our research, our families and the historical context in which they lived.
Lets delve a little deeper. For those who have started their genealogical research in the last fifteen years will barely remember a time when the internet was in not existence in its current form.
The internet has revolutionised they way we live, shop, research and interact with other people, strangers and family alike. Who would have thought that following a group of potential strangers would be considered okay before the concept and delivery of Twitter?
The internet has enabled us as researchers, both those new to the passion and those who have researched for a long time to access material within a few clicks of a button. The reality is the super highway has bought research material to us, rather that us going to them. Of course not all material is on-line, and you still can not beat touching a document that has the penmanship of an ancestor. To touch very gently the pages of a document that they touched. That feeling is so magical and yet hard to achieve if you live many thousands of miles away.
The internet has enabled us to Connect with others in a variety of way. The archive institutions who have placed their catalogues on line for all to benefit from. The mailing lists frequented by researchers, those who choose to share their family tree on line be that by a facility offered by Ancestry or FindMyPast or alike, or whether sharing by writing a website or blog. Those that frequent aspects of Social Media like Face Book, those of us that can see a website for a genealogical Society on-line and decide there and then to join and take advantage of what it means to be a member of something. Those researchers who attend on-line meetings using Google Hangouts, Google communities and webinars. Those researchers who use on-line methods to collaborate and work together on a genealogical task.
The internet has enabled us to make new friends, find lost family members and connect with friends, family and strangers in a reasonably safe and controlled way.
It has enabled us to be part of something in the present, whilst seeking the past in order to preserve for the future.
What a wonderful way to Connect. Stay tuned for the posts looking at Explore and Refresh and a bonus post. Twitter #FGS2015
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The Wedding of Miss Winifred Terry to Mr Grant Duncan at St Mary’s Church Guildford ~ 10th October 1925

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Julie Goucher

The following photographs and newspaper clippings were given to me for the purpose of sharing here, at Guildford and District.

The Wedding of  Miss Winifred Terry to Mr Grant Duncan at St Mary’s Church Guildford. 
10th October 1925

The Bridal Party

The Bride and Groom

The Wedding Certificate

Courtesy of Ancestry – Surrey Collection

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FGS – Connect. Explore. Refresh

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Julie Goucher

I heard earlier this week that I had been added to the list of genealogy bloggers as an Ambassador for the FGS Conference 2015

There is a full list of FGS conference Ambassadors HERE.

Over the coming weeks and months there will be periodic posts about the conference based upon my responses to a series of prompts.

It is a fine way to get the excitement building in advance of attending a large genealogical conference, so stay tuned!

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Book of Me, Prompt 49 – What do I sound like?

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Julie Goucher

The Book of Me prompt 49 can be found here and asked the question what do I sound like?

Actually I hate listening back to myself in recordings or video’s. Over the years I have been recorded many times, whilst giving professional presentations, holiday video’s, Google hangouts and even on a television program.

Of course, we very easily leave messages on voice mail services and answer phones – I hate doing that too!

This morning I was reading back through some of the recent posts from participants on the Book of Me Face Book Group and was suitably inspired (and not for the first time) by +Kristin Cleage.

Kristin who blogs at Finding Eliza shared a recording of her being interviewed by her sister. It was a great recording and I enjoyed listening to it and was as I said, inspired to share my response to the prompt.

In this recording I share that I have several recordings taken from voice mails left by my late Mum. In the early days after Mum passed away I took to playing these and whilst the professional in me thinks it is a little unhealthy, it has passed and I spent hours recovering those messages. I downloaded the messages as MP3 and now they reside in both OneNote and Evernote, both of which I have talked about on this blog previously.

In complete contrast I have a video of my Grandmother that my husband and I did, the last Christmas before she passed away (Dec 1994). It is a lengthy video and my Grandmother was completely unaware that it was being recorded. Twenty years on and I still can not watch the video and my husband’s next technical task is to archive that as a DVD and as a YouTube video that will be private.

Do you have any recordings from your family?

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Pub Bombings at Guildford – October 1974

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Julie Goucher
The 5th October 2014 marks the anniversary of the Guildford Pub bombings in 1974. I was just five years old, but I do remember the fear and emotional turmoil of Guildford even at that young age. As I got older and started working in both Guildford and London, I grew up with the political instability involving the “Irish Situation” and the terrorist threat.

Taken by J Goucher 28th September 2014
Just opposite one of the sites where the bombings happened, and next to Guildford Library is a spot known as Quakers’ Acre. There sits a memorial plaque to those that lost their lives that day.

The victims were two men from the military barracks at Pirbright, two female military personnel from the female barracks at Stoughton Guildford and a civilian, who lived out of the County. They are all commemorated on the plaque here. A further 65 people experienced physical injuries and of course live with the emotional scaring that will have surely followed from such an experience.

The first explosion occurred at the Horse and Groom public house in North Street. The second occurred at the Seven Stars public house a little after 9pm, with no causalities because it had already been evacuated after the first incident. The sites chosen because they were popular with the military personnel when allowed out of barracks.

Image courtesy of Get Surrey

I remember the damage at the Horse and Groom, of course being only 5 years old I had no concept of what a pub was, why there was this damage, but could sense there was a degree of sensitivity and anger around what had happened.

The bombings were believed to be the work of the IRA. Four individuals, given the name of the Guildford Four, comprising of three men and a women were arrested, tried and found guilty.

The verdict over turned 15 years later, in 1989 when it was established that there were severe issues with how the case had been conducted and how admissions of guilt were obtained by Surrey Police. Surrey Police were of course pressured into bringing the matter to a swift conclusion, and this pressure without a doubt affected the integrity of the investigation. The culprits of the bombing remain unpunished to this day.

Since then, several books have been published, copies of which reside in my Guildford Collection

  • Proved Innocent by Gerry Conlon
  • Stolen Years by Paul Hill
  • Trial and Error by Robert Kee

    • I remember the verdict being overturned, the admittance that there had been a severe miscarriage of justice and of course the publicity as each book was published, each telling a personal story.

    Whilst this is politically sensitive, for the families of those killed, for those (and their families) who were wrongfully imprisoned it is important that we acknowledge the historical event as it stands. We can, no matter how unpleasant something is simply ignore the fact that this event happened. The event is an integral part of the history of Guildford.

    Edited – Added the link to an hour long recording made by BBC Surrey about the Guildford bombings. <https://soundcloud.com/bbc-surrey/the-guildford-pub-bombings>

    The final Government report can be read at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-of-the-inquiry-into-the-convictions-arising-from-bomb-attacks-in-guildford-and-woolwich

    Links checked 26th November 2014

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    Book of Me, Written by You, Prompt 58

    Posted on October 3, 2014 by Julie Goucher


    Today is week 58 of what is going to be a 15 month project. Each Saturday, at around 12.30 am UK time I will release the prompt for that week’s Book of Me, Written by You.

    If you are new here, welcome! The details, background flyer and Face Book link to the Book of Me can be found HERE.

    This week’s prompt is – What do you See?

    Public Use Allowed
    • Having seen the image what is the thing you thought? Write that down.
    • Does what you have written have any resemblance to how you view life?
      • Half full or half empty
    • Describe how you feel after you have reflected. Does that differ from your immediate thoughts?
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    Old Dutch Courtyard, High Street, Guildford Circa 1910

    Posted on October 3, 2014 by Julie Goucher

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    Happy Birthday Granny – Annie Prudence Butcher (1879 – 1972)

    Posted on October 2, 2014 by Julie Goucher
    Today would have been my Great Grandmother’s, Annie Prudence Butcher (nee Harris) 116th birthday. I knew her as Granny, and later as I began my research I affectionately called her APH. My cousins knew her as Big Gran, because their Grandma looked after APH in her elderly years and I guess to a child having two Grandma’s in the same house was confusing!
    This picture is taken from the Christmas card Granny sent to family and friends in 1955. I have inherited the one she sent to my Grandfather, Grandmother and Mum.
    The first official document I saw when I began researching my family history in earnest was the 1881 Census, which in 1988 was the last official Census available to those of us in the United Kingdom.
    Image courtesy of Ancestry – RG11/780/6 Puttenham Surrey
    Crown Copyright
    The Census shows, Annie aged one year old.  I recall the moment I spotted that entry line as I muttered the words wow! complete with that tingly feeling of excitement.
    That very same Great Grandmother who cuddled up to me as an elderly lady. Smelling of talcum powder and lavender. Who had the firmest, yet gentlest cuddle of all. She would wrap me in her arms and tickle me and I would wriggle with excitement. I can almost feel that cuddle as I write this and all of a sudden I miss this elderly lady, who loved her family passionately and yet despite her frailness, always gave me one of those lovely safe and reassuring cuddles.

    Here is a picture of how I remember her, surrounded by flowers and the love of her family.

    Annie Prudence Butcher nee Harris
    1879 – 1972

    Happy Birthday Granny!

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    Old Houses – Farnham Road, Guildford Circa 1923

    Posted on October 1, 2014 by Julie Goucher

    This was a postal used postcard, with a postage date of 1923. The picture seems to date from earlier than that though. What do you think?

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    Tax Disc – The End of an Era

    Posted on October 1, 2014 by Julie Goucher
    Image courtesy of The Independent

    Today marks the end of an era for those of us in the UK.

    Back in 1921 motorists in the UK were required to pay a fee, known as Road Tax to the Government in order to drive their car on the road.

    Each year, those brown envelops would arrive in the post and would be followed at some point by the end of the month with a trip to the post office.

    There we would hand over the insurance certificate, the MOT (Ministry of Transport) certificate, which confirms that the car was safe on the road and the road tax request document. In exchange for cash or a card payment, motorists would receive a disc such as pictured here. 

    The disc would need to be displayed in the car, otherwise there was a hefty fine of £1,000 for failing to do so. In recent years the trip to the post office was removed as the enabling of the Ministry of Transport to accept card payments and track electronically that you were insured and the owner of a valid MOT. A few days later a paper disc would arrive in the post. It’s arrival would mean spending a few moments carefully removing the disc from the paper using the perforation. For those of us that are somewhat clumsy that proved quite a challenge!
    From today, it will no longer be required to display a tax disc. You still have to respond to the brown envelop containing the reminder and pay the fee, but you will no longer receive the disc in the post. Therefore this marks the end of an era.
    Will we, I wonder see an increase in the hobby of Velologists, or tax disc collectors?
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