H.M.S. Vivacious

HMS Vivacious crew

This photograph shows Royal Navy crew members from H.M.S. Vivacious and members of the National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO) who played a football match during the crew’s visit to Solihull in spring 1944. We think the sailors are on the right in the solid-coloured shirts and the NALGO union members are on the left in the light-sleeved tops, but do let us know if you have any further information. The man in the top hat is Councillor James Harold Malley (1891-1955), Chairman of Solihull Urban District Council 1943-45.

Continue reading “H.M.S. Vivacious” →

0

4th May 1920

John Hawkes, formerly a Private with 73rd Battalion, B. Company, no. 5 platoon, Canadian Royal Highlanders, died at 370 Beach Street, Saco, Maine, USA on 4th May 1920, aged 41 years and 20 days. His cause of death was listed as Bright’s Disease (an inflammation of the kidneys), with “life in trenches” given as a contributory factor.

Continue reading “4th May 1920” →

2

Organising your family history files

family history folders

Even if you use a computer to organise your family tree, you are still likely to end up with a lot of physical documents that you need to keep in order. There are a number of ways of doing this, the most obvious being alphabetically, but this can become confusing as your research grows, especially if you have multiple people with the same name. Another way is to use numbers from a pedigree chart of your direct ancestors.

Continue reading “Organising your family history files” →

0

Documenting Coronavirus in Solihull

pen and notebook

At Solihull Heritage & Local Studies we try to make sure that we are collecting items that will help future historians understand the history that we lived through.

Official reports will give the statistics of the COVID-19 pandemic, but won’t include the stories of everyday experiences and people’s feelings. Please help us to document what it’s like so that future generations can understand what we went through.

Continue reading “Documenting Coronavirus in Solihull” →

0

15th March 1920

Private Leslie Jones, 1st South Midland Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, died on 15th March 1920 and is buried at Olton Franciscan Cemetery, Solihull. He was born in Birmingham in 1889 and baptised at St Asaph’s Church on 7th July 1889. His parents were Thomas Henry Jones, a carpenter, and Harriet Elizabeth (née Evans), a tailoress who had married at St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Aston in 1886.

Continue reading “15th March 1920” →
0

The “Solihull Whirlwind” 1923

Between 3-4pm on Wednesday 24th October 1923, Solihull was battered by a whirlwind (now believed to have been a tornado) that travelled a path from Sharman’s Cross to Elmdon Heath. A man sheltering in a barn was killed by the storm. Lasting only three or four minutes, reports of the whirlwind, also described as a cyclone in some articles, appeared in newspapers across the country.

Continue reading “The “Solihull Whirlwind” 1923″ →
0

6th January 1920

Captain Charles Murchison Bernays, formerly of the Royal Army Medical Corps, died on 6th January 1920 in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Dover, aged 39. His death was attributed to haemorrhage as a result of his having been badly gassed in 1917 whilst on active service. Prior to the outbreak of war, he had been practising as a doctor in Shirley but at the time of his death he was house surgeon at the hospital where he died.

Continue reading “6th January 1920” →

0

29th December 1919

Francis George Harris, formerly a Gunner with the Royal Garrison Artillery, died at Birmingham General Hospital on 29th December 1919. He had been discharged from the Army in March 1919 so does not appear as a war casualty on official records, although he is commemorated locally in the Soldiers’ Chapel, Knowle. He is also listed on the Roll of Honour for Packwood amongst those who served.

Continue reading “29th December 1919” →

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑