Publications
Heirlooms: my links with the past, by David Ridpath, published March 2009 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 5, article, pp.242-246) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508972] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.
Preview:There is nothing like tangible objects to give one a feeling of continuity with one's forebears. I have a number of items which give me this feeling of contact. I have entitled this article 'Heirlooms', though none is of great value and some have no monetary value at all, but all have a story to tell, which gives me a feeling that I know the individuals from whom they have been passed down, even though in most instances those ancestors died before I was born. I'd like to share these stories with you which I hope will convey that sense of belonging with my family.
My father was George Leonard RIDPATH, who was born at 37 Sydney Street, Brighton, on 29 May 1916. He died in 1995 in the Royal Sussex County Hospital. It is from him that all the objects mentioned herein have been passed to me.
My father was George Leonard RIDPATH, who was born at 37 Sydney Street, Brighton, on 29 May 1916. He died in 1995 in the Royal Sussex County Hospital. It is from him that all the objects mentioned herein have been passed to me.
The Bodies in The Chancel, by Dr. David Ridpath, published March 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 1, article, pp.3-5) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]
Preview:When I started researching my family history, some 15 years ago, two of my father's brothers had already researched the origins of our RIDPATH line back to Berwickshire in the middle ages, where our ancestors were the 'lairds' of the village of Redpath. I subsequently found that two of my father's cousins had done considerable research into my paternal grandmother's families (EVES and ALLFREY lines). No one, however, had given any thought to my paternal grandfather's mother, Rhoda RIDPATH (née BURCHELL). She had died in 1891 when my grandfather was only three years old, so no one in the family had any memory of her and she was never spoken of. So I determined to try to fill this ancestry gap.