Bibliography - Family Historian - 2014
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Sussex Family Historian, vol. 21 no. 1, edited by Sharon Paskins, published March 2014 (pp.2-48, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]

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]

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.

The Early Payne Family of Sussex - Part Three, by John F. Howes, published March 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 1, article, pp.5-10) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]

In the two prior articles I have demonstrated the presence in Twineham/Hickstead of a well-established yeoman family of PAYNEs. I also provided evidence to suggest that all the PAYNEs in the Mid-Sussex area were descended from this family, due to strong connections to both the HOMEWOOD and the MICHELBORNE/MASCALL families. While direct links between the early family members are not always documented there is enough circumstantial evidence to suggest a strong likelihood of a connection.
In this article I will deal with the PAYNEs of Horsted Keynes and Balcombe and one of the branches from East Grinstead who also held properties in Waldron and some adjacent parishes. These branches of the family all have good circumstantial connections to the PAYNEs of Twineham, through connections in Lindfield during the 15th century (See Parts 1 & 2).

Serendipity (or thanks to Letsy), by Elizabeth Prior, published March 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 1, article, pp.12-13) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]

This story begins on Sunday 21st November 1819 in the parish church of St. Mary the Virgin Appledram with the baptism of the youngest child of William WEDGE and Grace CARTER. She was given the name Letsy. In the same church some twenty two years later on Sunday 9 January 1842 Letsy married John PRIOR (born 1812 in Northmundham). They went on to have eight children - George, Letsy, Frank, Harriet, Charles, Nathanael, Henry and Fanny. George, Letsy and Fanny died unmarried.

Nicolls and Boots: A Sussex Heritage, by Tim Sanderson, published March 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 1, article, pp.13-20) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]

The surnames of the title are the maiden names of my paternal and maternal grandmothers respectively. Although I have lived in Haywards Heath, West Sussex for some 30 years I grew up in south east London and was born in Forest Gate, east London. My mother and her mother before me were also born in the East End, and, until researching my family tree over the past year, we believed that our ancestry was there.
My father, Stuart SANDERSON, was born in Lewisham SE13, and his parents both lived in south-east London. He often spoke of a Sussex connection, with cousins in Seaford. His mother, Rose Ella (née NICOLLS) came from a large family of 10 children, the offspring of John George NICOLLS and Charlotte (née THOMAS). John G was born in Robertsbridge in 1841 - his baptismal record shows the abode of his parents as "Fair Lane, Salehurst". Modern mapping shows this as not far from Robertsbridge Station, between the high street and modern A21 bypass, and continuing toward Salehurst village. Charlotte was born in Battle in 1839. They married in 1865, in Lambeth, London. It is not clear whether they met in Sussex or elsewhere.

John Stone: A Sussex Tyburn Victim, by Michael J. Burchall, published March 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 1, article, pp.20-22) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]

On Wednesday 11 May 1715 a Sussex man named John STONE was executed by hanging at Tyburn, near modern day Marble Arch in West London. He had been brought there in one of the three carts from Newgate Prison along with seven other prisoners to suffer for various crimes committed in London and on the scaffold admitted that he had also stolen a silver tankard about two years previously for which David WILFORD had been tried. The carts had been accompanied by the Ordinary of Newgate who, after prayers, the recitation of the Creed and the Lord's Prayer, watched as the carts were drawn away from under the six condemned men and one woman and they were left to die by slow strangulation.

My Tudor Connections: Sir John Gage of Firle and his family, by Colin Smith, published March 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 1, article, pp.25-27) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]

I have been researching my family tree for over 35 years, not an easy task with a surname like SMITH! The SMITHs were Kent based, at a village called Westwell, near Ashford and were the usual agricultural labourers. However, the marriage of my 3 x great-grandparents, William SMITH (1791-1873) and Charlotte WALKER (1795-1866) on 18th October 1813 at Westwell has provided me with the 'stepping stone' to an ancestral line that includes the well-known family of GAGE, based at Firle Place, near Lewes.

Thy Will Be Done, by Mark D. Bishop, published March 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 1, article, pp.27-32) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]

Berkeley House, at No. 2 Albion Street is a delightful B&B and I fully recommend it. Just stroll down Lewes High Street towards the river and it is easy enough to find; there on the left, you cannot miss it. No. 2 is first in the row of fine Georgian terraced townhouses that were constructed in 1822. That 1960s, out-of-place looking block of an 'extension' built on the side is not what it seems though, because No. 2 Albion Street was the Sussex Probate Office from 1857 until 1976. That 'extension' was actually the walk-in strong room, the safe depository for keeping the Wills and other important documents in secure storage; the original 'The Keep', one might say. It was actually erected in two stages, the lower in 1862, while the upper was plonked on top of it in 1880. The heavy 8ft high, steel entrance door from the landing is still in situ, its brass fittings in working order, with the flat top of the strong-room now providing a pleasant roof terrace.
All these factoids are important to me because my great-great-grandfather (on my father's side) was the Chief Probate Clerk at No.2, Albion Street from about 1861 until 1882 - that being the year someone took a pot-shot at Queen Victoria at Windsor Station and fortunately missed. Hey, please do not let your imagination get away with you, it was not my great-great-grandfather, for no fame holds he to such high notoriety. No, he is known simply as Edwin BATTERSBY the Probate Clerk. Having said that, he might have been known to my great-great-grandmother (on my mother's side), Mary Jane "the Redhead", alias My Stray Sussex Angel (Family Historian Vol. 20 No 6 - June 2013) who also, coincidentally, by karmic design, or otherwise, happened to be living around Lewes High Street in the early 1860s.

Growing Up in Eastbourne during WW2, by John Ranger, published March 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 1, article, pp.36-39) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]

We lived in Palmers Green, Middlesex prior to the last war and on the outbreak of hostilities my father, who was a carpenter, lost his job so he decided to look for work elsewhere. Thinking he would get a better chance of work on the south coast, we moved to Eastbourne and rented part of a house with a man - Mr WOODS at 36 Junction Road. He was a real misery, probably because he had a family from London foisted on him. I cannot remember much about him, just that the house was dark, unfriendly and he was always moaning.
During the early part of the war, the Observer Corps were set up to report on enemy aircraft approaching. Initially they were not allowed to sound the air raid sirens but had to get permission from somewhere, I believe in London, before doing so. This resulted in a lot of unnecessary deaths from bombs because the public were not aware enemy aircraft were on their way. This rule was soon changed.

A Holiday in Dorset in 1796, by Annette Rose, published March 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 1, article, p.39) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508980]

My home has been in Dorset for the last 43 years (although I was born and brought up in Sussex). I had always thought that none of my ancestors had any connection with this county - that is until I read a couple of letters written by my aunt Mary MARTEN (4x great) who had been on an extended holiday in Dorset during March, April, May and June of 1796. Mary's home was in Firle, Sussex.

Sussex Family Historian, vol. 21 no. 2, edited by Sharon Paskins, published June 2014 (pp.50-96, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

Hit a Brick Wall? Try India!, by Elaine MacGregor, published June 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 2, article, pp.51-53) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

The Honorable East India Company (HEIC) was formed in the 17th Century when in the early 1600's Queen Elizabeth I gave a charter to the company giving them the rights to trade "anywhere east of the Cape of Good Hope" - including China, Japan, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and of course India, which became known as the "Jewel in the Crown". They were, first and foremost, a trading company and wanted to engage in the highly profitable spice and silk trade, which the Portuguese (ahead of the British by 100 years) and the Dutch had already established in the East Indies. As well as the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Danish, the Swedish, the Holy Roman Empire and the French were all trading there in one form or another. It is thought that over three million Europeans lived and served in South Asia from the 1600s to Indian Independence in 1947.

The Broadwood Family, by John Wickens, published June 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 2, article, pp.55-56) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

Many readers will have come across the name of BROADWOOD, piano manufacturers, whose family has Sussex connections as we shall see. John BROADWOOD, born 1732 in Scotland was apprenticed to Burkhat SHUDI in 1761 who had a harpsichord workshop in London from 1728. John married SHUDI's daughter Barbara in 1769 and took full control of the business after SHUDI's death in 1773.
His sons James Shudi and Thomas became partners in 1795 and 1808 respectively when the firm of John BROADWOOD and Sons was created. Henry Fowler BROADWOOD, eldest son of James Shudi, became a partner in 1836. Around 2500 pianos a year were being made at their factory in Horseferry Rd, Westminster. The firm were among the biggest employers in London. Following a disastrous fire in 1856 the factory was rebuilt, largely from private means.

The Early Stophams of West Sussex, by Michael J Burchall, published June 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 2, article, pp.56-61) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

The medieval knightly family of STOPHAM derived from the village of that name in West Sussex. The earliest references are to a Ralph de STOPHAM who was the first witness to a charter of Reginald de WINDSOR, (dapifer to Henry I's widow Queen Adelizia and her second husband William D'AUBIGNY, Earl of Arundel) while he was holding the honour of Petworth, giving the church of Petworth and others to Lewes Priory about 1140. Ralph de STOPHAM also appears sometime later as third witness of Walter de DUNSTANVILLE III's gift of land at Newtimber to Lewes Priory. He or his son Ralph II was a pledge in 1194-4. Ralph was probably the father of Ralph II and Hugh de STOPHAM who before 1190 were witnesses to a deed of his overlord Alan la ZOUCHE. These acts of witnessing were common for knightly families but at this period we have no knowledge of the lands they held other than perhaps that of Stopham manor. The family's later more extensive land holdings over three counties derived from two fortunate marriages.

The Sussex People Index, by Judy Excell, published June 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 2, article, pp.61-63) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

When I mention the Sussex People Index I am often asked: "What is the Sussex People Index?" This is actually a tricky question to answer and I usually start by saying what it does not contain, namely: baptisms, burials, census, and pre 1837 marriages, these being catered for elsewhere.
The Sussex People Index started as references to names occurring in Sussex found by Frank Leeson and his team of Marriage Indexers. When the Sussex Marriage Index was published I offered to take over the remaining slips and many volunteers made database entries for me. It now has approximately 137,400 entries referring to about 242,000 people for at least 12,450 surnames and 7,700 locations (property names, hamlets).
The sources vary considerably; there are names from various Sussex Record Society volumes, East Sussex Parish Apprenticeships 1575-1844, Bankrupts 1731-1789 from the Gentleman's Magazine, names from Michael Burchall's Sussex Genealogist and Local Historian, from various books, from newspapers, information from BMD certificates as sent in by various people, some pedlars' certificates/licences for East Sussex. A major source is Wills, as provided by Rosie Ansell (willstore@sfhg.org.uk); the names in SPI are not just of the testators but legatees, witnesses, tenants and anyone else mentioned.

Gleanings from the Registers, by Don Burgess, published June 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 2, article, p.63) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

Some of you may wonder what is of interest in transcribing early burial registers. Here are a few gems I have recently encountered whilst transcribing early Fittleworth.

A Sussex Postcard, by Mick Henry, published June 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 2, article, p.64) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

You do not always have a way of finding out the sender of a postcard, but one I purchased the other day had an address on the front side of the card. The address was: Quecake, Stone Cross, Laughton, Sussex.

Brighton's Backstreet Contessa, by Roy Grant, published June 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 2, article, pp.74-78) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

The life of the Countess of Beauregard: Formerly Harriet Howard, but born Eliza(beth) Ann Haryett of Brighton (1823 -1865)
One advantage of having an interest in family histories is that you can occasionally diversify and use the same skills to explore some quite fascinating topics. An investigation I undertook for personal amusement rather than family ties, was verifying numerous historical accounts about an astute beauty from Brighton's backstreets, whose activities as a courtesan made her an extremely wealthy confidante of Napoleon III of France. Although I have no connection with the Brighton HARYETTs, GOWENs, ALDERTONs or to my knowledge, the French aristocracy, her rise, 'from rags to riches' so intrigued me that I was determined to investigate the accuracy of those stories.

Heathfield Story in New York Public Library, by Frances Stenlake, published June 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 2, article, pp.80-85) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

What a surprise discovery while preparing a talk to the Uckfield Family History Group: photographs to do with Heathfield in New York Public Library! These form part of the Schwimmer/Lloyd collection: Rosika SCHWIMMER was a Hungarian women's rights activist, journalist, pacifist and diplomat; her friendship with American peace campaigner Lola LLOYD began after the outbreak of the First World War when SCHWIMMER was touring the United States putting the case for a non-military solution to the conflict.
The photographs of particular interest to Heathfield date from the years before the War and tell a story little known in the area - about the DRYSDALEs of Cherry Croft, situated to the east of Heathfield, beyond Broad Oak, towards Burwash.

The Early Payne Family of Sussex - Part Four, by John F. Howes, published June 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 2, article, pp.86-90) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508981]

In the three previous articles in this series I have described how the PAYNE Family of Mid Sussex developed in the Twineham/Hickstead area then spread to adjacent parishes in Lindfield, Ardingly, West Hoathly, Horsted Keynes, Balcombe and East Grinstead. More than one branch of this family resided in East Grinstead during the 16th century. The connection to Twineham is less obvious initially but as I deal with the first group referred to initially as the PAYNEs of Pyckstone, their relationship to the earlier PAYNEs becomes evident in a marriage of distant PAYNE cousins in 1583.
In this article I will deal with the PAYNEs of Pyckstone and their probable relative the PAYNEs of Plawhatch. I have also taken this opportunity to mention the PAYNE family of Petworth even though I have been unable to fit them to the rest of the family.

Sussex Family Historian, vol. 21 no. 3, edited by Sharon Paskins, published September 2014 (pp.98-148, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

The Manwood Family: A Story of Fame and Infamy, by Roger Sutton, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.99-102) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

To the south of Chichester in West Sussex is the Manhood peninsula, comprising about 14,000 acres. The South Saxons first landed on this peninsula in AD 477. The name 'Manhood' is believed to have been derived from the Saxon words meaning 'common wood' (manwode). For many generations the family of MANWOOD lived in the Manhood, including my fifteenth century ancestor, Robert MANWOOD. He claimed to be descended from Sir John MANWOOD, circa 1400, but an earlier pedigree for the MANWOOD family does not exist. What we do know is that Robert MANWOOD was a man of some standing and was part of the landed gentry. He married Margaret MARTYN, daughter of Judge John MARTYN. His family roots were in Graveney, Kent and Frognall, Lincolnshire.

Warren Farm School, by Allison Caffyn, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.104-107) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

In 1858 the Brighton Guardians were beginning the process of building a new workhouse with an industrial school located about two miles away at Warren Farm in Rottingdean. The aim of the school was to give pauper children a basic education and a grounding in industry so that they could go out and earn a living (so reducing the likelihood they would be a burden on the system in the future). The school opened in 1862, boys were taught trades such as gardening, tailoring and shoemaking whilst girls were taught domestic service. There was a school band and many boys were taught to play an instrument, often leading to a career in an army band.
The school produced a variety of records including a log book which lists the children as they were placed in employment. The log book is now at the East Sussex Record Office (reference R/S/37/1) and covers the period 1891 to 1935 but the 100 year rule means only entries up to 2013 can be viewed (two other log books survive which take the records up to 1951).

Charles William Hatten and his India Connection, by Alan Fraser, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.107-113) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

This article explains why I've spent so much time in the Macclesfield LDS Family History Centre reading through screens of microfilm from the Bengal Presidency of British India in the 1840s!
My maternal grandmother, Mabel Elizabeth HATTEN (1880-1950) was born in Haughley in Suffolk in what was then a wealthy farming family. Her father was William HATTEN of Great Finborough (1844-1907), and his cousin, Charles William HATTEN (1838-1918), also born in Great Finborough, was a Church of England vicar who spent time in India in the 1860s and married there.

Making Ends Meet, by Geoff Rowell, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.114-116) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

Matching Emigration and Immigration records

Who Are You Mr James?, by Sue Coward, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.116-119) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

I've spent many hours researching my own JAMES family who, for hundreds of years, are recorded as tenant farmers, wheelwrights, blacksmiths and victuallers living in West Sussex and Surrey. I had always wondered if there was a connection with the JAMES who were buried at East Grinstead but the time never seemed right to explore the issue until the Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills became freely available on Ancestry.

PRTS Are Changing!, by Roy Winchester and Joe Bush, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.120-121) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

Parish Register Transcription Society are handing over the production of their Sussex parish register CDs to SFHG who will become the sole supplier.
RTS began in 1999 as a not-for-profit organisation with no particular ties to any county and with the aim of publishing transcripts of parish registers and manuscript records to assist family history researchers. The society has no subscribed membership, but consists of a very small group of volunteers who assist the committee by transcribing. Being an entirely non-profit making organisation, all proceeds from sales of published material are used to fund further transcriptions and other projects.

Who were the Parents of Charles Tupper?, by Diane Cole, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.124-126) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

My ancestors came to New South Wales as assisted migrants from around 1840 to the mid-1870s. Two families from Sussex were joined when my great-grandparents, Laura Sophia MARTIN and William Richard COLLIS married in 1886 at Christ Church St Laurence, Sydney.
Charles TUPPER (1804-1868) and his wife Eliza HARWOOD (1820-1889) accompanied their daughter Catherine Tupper (Harwood) COLLIS (1839-1914), son-in-law Edmund Richard COLLIS (1833-1885), their grand-children Catherine Ann COLLIS (1860-1863) and William Richard COLLIS (1861-1922), and their son Harwood William TUPPER (1842-1913), on the voyage of Blackwall liner "Orwell", which sailed from Plymouth on 16th Nov 1862 under Captain Quin. They disembarked in Sydney, New South Wales after a voyage of 100 days, on 26th Feb 1863. During the voyage, on 12th December 1862, a second son for Edmund and Catherine, Henry Orwell COLLIS was born, "near the Equinoctal Line".

The Early Payne Family of Sussex - Part Five, by John F. Howes, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.129-133) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

In the previous four articles I have provided evidence that suggests the numerous branches of the PAYNE family living in mid-Sussex descended from a single branch that settled in Twineham/Hickstead in the early 15th century and was closely associated with the Bolney family. Both families had significant holdings in the Eastbourne area. This led me to the conclusion that the mid-Sussex PAYNEs had descended from the Eastbourne family and specifically from a John PAYNE and his wife Gunnora (See Part 1).

A Curious Tomb at Stedham, by Christine Payne, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, p.135) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

In my role photographing and transcribing the tombstones I sometimes get one which intrigues me. This spring I have been transcribing Stedham, which has just such a stone. A large tomb dedicated to one family; John KNIGHT who died 1822 and his children with his wife Pricilla, though Pricilla's own death does not appear to be remembered on the stone.

A Tale Of Two Divorces, by Barry W. Farrant, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.136-140) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

I am sure that everyone reaches a stage in their family history research when they can no longer progress in their main family lines, the proverbial brick wall. When one of those situations arises I start spreading my research sideways. That is how, with the help of a premium subscription to a family history web-site and other resources to be found on the internet, this tale has developed. The case of William Anthony Burlton Bennett and the case of Joseph Ephraim Bannister

A Growing Resource, by Rosie Ansell, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.140-141) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

It is now approaching ten years since Joan Goddard asked me if I would be interested in setting up a Wills Depository for Sussex as she had been sent a number of will transcriptions and did not know what to do with them. My first appeal for members to send me transcriptions of wills of their Sussex Ancestors appeared in the Historian in March 2005 and met with an immediate response. The first CD of nearly 300 wills was sent to the SFHG library that June.
You may have noticed that there has been a recent update to the wills listed on the website as another 470 wills have been added in the 9 months to the end of May. We now have nearly 4,500 wills, over 400 Admons and over 400 abstracts listed and we have recently started collecting inventories. Copies of transcripts received are put in the library and all names from wills (testators, beneficiaries, executors and witnesses) are added to the Sussex People Index and so can be found in the SFHG Data Archive on the website. If you are interested in a particular parish wills are sorted by place on the website as well.

The Great Storm at Burwash, by Barbara Heavens, published September 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 3, article, pp.141-142) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508853]

In the Sussex Family Historian of December 2009 (the first I received), Kath McGurl recommended the British Newspaper Archives website. At the first opportunity I visited the site and amongst my first discoveries was an article which mentioned my three times great grandfather, Richard BARROW. Richard was born in Hawkhurst, Kent but moved to Ticehurst in the 1820's where his younger children were born, including my two times great grandfather Joseph.
The article described how a great storm struck Burwash in August 1839 which brought down many trees in the area and did considerable damage to crops.

Sussex Family Historian, vol. 21 no. 4, edited by Sharon Paskins, published December 2014 (pp.150-200, Sussex Family History Group, ISSN: 0260-4175) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

A WW1 Aussie Connection, by Graham Black, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.151-157) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

In 2001, a simple request from a cousin for the birthdates of my children started me on a journey that will continue for many years to come. Like many of my generation, I had listened to family stories around the dinner table and didn't think too much about it but after that simple request in the main street of my home town in New South Wales, Australia, I had an urge to find out more.
This story revolves around my great grandfather Charles Alfred James LAMBOURNE, his family and his lineage. The earliest LAMBOURNE I am confident to lay claim to is John LAMBOURNE born circa 1808 in Alresford, Hampshire, who, with his wife Ann (marriage date unknown) were to have eleven known children (Ellen bc 1831, Frederick John b 1836, Andrew bc 1838, Amelia b 1840, Ann Maria bc 1841, Ellen bc 1844, Louisa bc 1846, Jane bc 1848, Walter bc 1851, Alice bc 1873 and Amelia Catherine bc 1876).

Uncle Stan's Conscientious Objector, by Gwen May, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, p.159) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

Stanley PHILCOX (1890-1974) was the eighth child and fourth son of the ten children born to George and Alice PHILCOX (my great grandparents). In 1916 he joined the army as a private in the Royal Fusiliers, going at first to Chichester and in September 1916 to France. Three of Stanley's brothers were also in the army and his eldest brother (my grandfather), already married and living away from the family home in Coleman's Hatch, was doing war work at Woolwich. Stan wrote many letters home to his mother and sisters, some of which I have been lucky to inherit. He first meets the conscientious objector, who is never named, when he joins up at Chichester. He is refusing to eat and is shut in the guard room.

A Military Coup!, by Sharon Paskins, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.160-163) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

Several years ago a (non blood) relative of mine was having a clear out and, knowing my interest in family history, gave me a cardboard box "with some old family photos in". The box had been in the loft for years, and far from containing a few photos, it was full of family documents, memorabilia and photos dating back to the 1850s. I scanned all the carte de visits, family letters, wills, original birth marriage and death certificates and apprenticeship papers onto my PC and packed the box away in a safe place and forgot about it. With the WW1 centenary approaching, the box came to mind as a source of possible photographs so I dug it out and retrieved a pile of history that I had so carelessly dismissed all those years previously.
. . .
From a Sussex perspective there were two entries in the autograph book that caught my eye; one from Norman BOURNE from the Royal Sussex Regiment and the other from R.T. OLIVER whose entry includes reference to St Leonards on Sea.

From Hansom Cabs to Tanks, by Jane Joslin, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.163-165) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

My father William Alfred HARDING was born just as the 19th Century was drawing to a close, into a family of Hansom cab proprietor/managers in London. The only pictures that I have seen of cab yards have been of galleried accommodation with families living above the stables and it would probably have been very crowded. The smells, sights and sounds of the horses and drivers within the yard where they lived and worked must have been noisy and ever penetrating as cabs worked both during the day and at night. Ormond Yard was almost opposite Great Ormond Street Hospital in Bloomsbury so would have been busy all the time.

Salt Lake During WW1, by Susan Martin, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.168-173) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

Many of my generation are now asking what their grandparents did during the First World War, I am now almost certain; from strong circumstantial evidence that my paternal grandfather George Edward STEER didn't serve in the armed forces. Instead of looking through war diaries and studying military actions I've decided to look at what life would have been like for him and his family in the part of South Lancing called Salt Lake where they lived.

War Memories, by Rosie Ansell, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.175-178) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

My grandfather, Cecil ANSELL, had a very short part to play in the First World War. He rarely spoke about it but two of my uncles got him to talk once near the end of his life when they had a tape recorder running. I have adapted this article from a transcript of the conversation.

Rent Payments to a German House Owner, by Shirley Bond, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.178-180) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

My grandmother Alice Jane GRAY married my grandfather Patrick QUINN in her home town of Bath on 1st January 1896. They settled in Haywards Heath, West Sussex where Patrick worked as a nurse/attendant in what was then St Francis Lunatic Asylum. They rented a flat in South Road, Haywards Heath, but as the family grew in number they needed more space and a garden. So they rented 22, Haywards Road, Haywards Heath where the last three of their children were born, the last being my mother Edith QUINN.
Number twenty two was a semi detached house, the owner living in the adjoining house. The owner was Ethel WEDLER. In 1902 Fraulein WEDLER, a diplomee of the Berlin Academy, mortgaged property in Haywards Road and the surrounding area.

George Loveland 1875-1970, by Andrew Howard, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.180-183) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

The recent surge of interest in the Great War leading to my involvement in setting up an exhibition on the theme in Petworth, and more particularly an appeal for information from my teenage grand-daughter for information on the role of her family in that conflict, all caused me to look more closely at my maternal grandfather's service in the Royal Navy. He was a great teller of yarns, and his five grandsons, my two brothers and I, and our two cousins, could all recall some of his tales. More importantly, his parchment service and conduct records, and his medals had all survived. So I had somewhere to start.
George LOVELAND was born in Pyrford, Surrey on 30th June 1875, son of a market gardener. By 1891 he had become an apprentice blacksmith in Sandhurst. Family legend has it that he ran away from home. However, he joined the Royal Marine Artillery on 27th August 1894, overstating his age by a year. His baptism certificate shows 1875.

British Red Cross - VAD Indexes Online, by Viv Bennett, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.184-185) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

To mark the centenary of the First World War, the British Red Cross has received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to digitise and make available an interactive database and website of the collection of 244,000 Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) personnel index cards of those who volunteered during the First World War. Working with Kingston University, volunteers are currently transcribing the record cards for the database. The database was launched on 20th October 2014 by the British Red Cross to mark the centenary of the establishment of the Joint War Committee.

Letters from the Front in 1917, by Susan C. Djabri, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.185-190) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

I have some unpublished memoirs and a number of letters from my uncle, Norman WELTON, to my mother Marian - his younger sister - telling of his experiences at the Front during the First World War. Though many of the letters are written in a light-hearted tone, they reveal a good deal about the conditions in which the soldiers lived, the terror of heavy shelling and my uncle's feelings about his friend, Charles TREGLOWN, who had been killed. There is also a vivid account of his experiences in combat, as part of General Sandeman Carey's 'force', hastily assembled to plug a gap in the line in March 1918. Norman was posted to Sussex when the war ended. I have added some notes on useful websites that can be used to find further information about the First World War.

Kate, Sid & Our Ruby, by Mark D. Bishop, published December 2014 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 4, article, pp.193-197) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508854]

All I knew about my great-grandmother, Kate, before beginning my ancestral research, was that she, in my mother's words, 'Great Gramma', gave me a pair of booties as a christening present - now, that was a long time ago. Although I have no memory of it, the gift was dutifully noted in the 'Baby's Progress Book' that my mother so lovingly compiled over the first year of my life. Oddly enough, I still have those booties. Being too small now, I have kept them all the same, subconsciously I suppose, because of what they represent; Kate's outward delights and hidden grief that she passed on to me through this gift, perhaps somehow knowing that I would one day find out what really happened to Sid and also share in her sorrow at losing her precious jewel.