Francis Waring the Vicar in a Hurry.
In the early 18th century Francis Waring was vicar of Heybridge in Essex. He liked to get through a service as quickly as possible. Having set up a small clock…
An Extraordinary Cricket Challenge
On 21st May 1827 at Harefield Common, near Rickmansworth, farmer Francis Trumper and his sheepdog, ‘Cooper’, challenged ‘two gentlemen of Middlesex’ to a game of cricket, and defeated them. Cooper,…
The Waggonette
Mr Hamblin was born in Chedzoy, Somerset in 1891, he recalls life growing up: – Most people had to rely on the carrier’s van to take them to Bridgewater to…
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
Mrs Hillman of Lyng in Somerset remembered celebrating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 when she was nine years old. She went to tea in the schoolroom at Lyng where…
The Motor Car and Putting on Weight
The invention of the Motor Car brought with it many difficulties for the Edwardian’s, as Sir Henry Thompson, noted in his 1902 publication ‘Motors and Motor Driving’ one was the…
The Man Who Broke The Bank at Monte Carlo
Charles Wells was a very dubious inventor. Wells born sometime around 1860 duped people into investing in far-fetched inventions, among them a musical skipping rope. He was successful enough to…
New Year 1917 from Harry Lauder
Here is an account of Christmas 1916 and New Year 1917 by the star of the music hall stage Harry Lauder from his book “A Minstrel in France.” I think…
Saved from sailing on the Titanic
Emigrations to new counties were seen as a way for families who were very large and there was not enough work in villages. Just before the First World War in…
The Sinking of the Lusitania
This story was published in “The Story of the Great War – Volume V. “One of the most catastrophic events of the Great War was the sinking of the Cunard…
Barbed Wire in the German Trenches
In his book The Old Front Line, John Masefield describes the German trench defences in the Somme battlefield and their use of barbed wire. Dug-outs and barbed wire in La…