Happy New Year from North West Kent Family History Society. NWKFHS Talks for January 2014. NWKFHS Newsletter for January 2014

Happy New Year from North West Kent Family History Society.

We are approaching what will be a very busy year for many Societies and Organisations including NWKFHS.

The Society is making great progress with the Commonwealth War Graves Photograph Project. Some forty volunteers have been visiting burial grounds all over our area photographing war graves. 

In the coming months the Society will be at a number of Libraries in the NWK area for drop-ins to help people with their family history. To mark the anniversary of the start of WWI the Society will also be taking part in various events at KCC Libraries.

Flickr: NWKFHS has placed many items connected with WWI at NWK Flickr  In addition there are a growing number of documents, Indentures, photographs which are in private collections and the owners have allowed NWKFHS to copy them and make them available on Flickr.

 NWKFHS Talks:

Bromley Branch: 18 January 2014 Timothy Stopford talks on Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Fleet Air Arm crests- their origins & history Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley BR1 3NS. Open at 9.45am.

Dartford Branch: 4 January 2014 Lady Mary Teviot, Baby Farming
Dartford Science & Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford DA1 2LY. Open at 9.45am.

Visitors are welcome, please check the NWKHS site  before travelling to any meeting.

NWKFHS Newsletter for January 2014 can be downloaded (pdf file) at  Newsletter it is free to download and read.

Kent Wildlife Trust awarded an Heritage Lottery Fund for Robert Pocock, 1760-1830 research. Dartford Library Exhibition 16th November - 14th December 2013. Peace Pledge Union, in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund, Conscientious Objectors

 

Robert Pocock, 1760-1830, a Gravesend resident, by profession a printer and by inclination a botanist.... with connections to Henslow, SF Grey and other important figures of that period. Sadly he died in Wilmington and received a pauper’s burial.

Now the NWK Local Group of Kent Wildlife Trust has been awarded an Heritage Lottery Fund grant to find those herbarium sheets, produce a digital herbarium available to all and to host a celebration of Robert Pocock and his work as a botanist.

16 volunteers have been trained and are currently searching through the herbarium at the NHM to re collate the Pocock Herbarium.  So far some 70 sheets have been located, along with stray herbarium sheets from the Banksian Herbarium!

 

More details can be found on Robert Pocock

Dartford Library Exhibition 16th November - 14th December 2013: "Documentarium - Opening up Kent's Archives" which is currently on display at the Peter Blake Gallery in Dartford Library. This is a new exhibition by Alan Kane - an artists’ view of the county's history. More details can be found at Exhibition

The Peace Pledge Union, in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund, has announced the launch of a new project to uncover some of the neglected stories of the First World War. 

From 1916-1918 some sixteen thousand men registered as Conscientious Objectors Many of these men would face unfair trial, imprisonment and torture. Some were faced with the death penalty and over 100 would die as a result of their commitment to peace. After the war some were shunned and in the modern day their lives, stories and struggles are largely forgotten.

The project aims to find out who these men were - why did they object? Who supported them? What punishments did they receive. Peace Pledge Union

findmypast announces a new collaboration with Family Search. Historians and Linguists need your help

findmypast announces a new collaboration with Family Search that will give access to billions of records on-line and new technology to collaboratively research their family roots.

However, some are questioning why? Family Search is available fee on the Internet, you can search all records they have throughout the world.

findmypast intends to have access based on subscription even though you can continue to use Family Search free of charge..  

What’s in a name? Historians and Linguists need your help!

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, The National Library of Wales, University of Wales and the People’s Collection Wales have set up a collaborative project which they hope volunteers will help to record all the place-names of Wales as they appeared on Ordnance Survey maps at the end of the Victorian period.

Details can be found at Cymru1900Wales

Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre concerns that it may be closed and moved to Bromley. North West Kent Family History Society has joined the First World War Centenary partnership

Live in Bexley and use the Local Studies and Archive Centre? Concerned that it may be closed and moved to Bromley?

Bexley Council announces it is proposing to move the Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre from Bexleyheath to Central Library Bromley.

Bexley Council has also announced that there will be a public consultation which will run from 21 October 2013 to 16 December 2013. The Council will publish each proposed option on its website and seek feedback from residents. The final decision will be made in March 2014.

Bexley Council Website is  Bexley Council Information regarding consultations can be found at Bexley Consultation Page

North West Kent Family History Society has joined the First World War Centenary partnership.

A network of over 1,600 local, regional, national and international cultural and educational organisations from 27 countries around the world and led by the Imperial War Museum.

Details can be found at First World War Centenary-IWM and on the First world War Centenary Page on this Blog 

Dartford Branch, 25th Anniversary and Auction. Biographical Database of Australia has been launched.

Dartford Branch of the North West Kent Family History Society celebrated its 25th Anniversary on 5th October, 2013.

Over 100 members came along to join in the celebrations, take part in the Auction arranged by the Branch and the Society Library and hear David Cufley give a talk on 'Kevin Bacon Family History Laboratory' a talk with a difference that got everyone involved.

The auction was a first for the Society and raised over £250. Many thanks to all who helped arrange and took part in the day, including Lynn who made a lovely 25th Anniversary Cake to mark the event.

Auction held at Dartford Branch

All the items were donated by Society members, just over 20 lots were auctioned. 

Biographical Database of Australia has been launched.

The not-for-profit database is the result of many years of work by volunteer genealogists, historians and contractors. The first release contains over 500,000 entries and can be searched for free. A present it contains convict, muster, census, baptism, marriage and burial manuscript records and has plans to grow.  A subscription of $25 AUD is needed to access the details.

For more information see Biographical Database of Australia

North West Kent Family History Society - flickr. Knole House Winter Lectures. WWI Soldiers Wills

North West Kent Family History Society - flickr

NWKFHS is now on flickr. As a start to the build up of the anniversary of the start of  WWI there are photographs of many aspects of the war. There are six sets consisting of some 130 photographs: Women and WWI, Civilians in WWI, WWI Entertainment, Cinema, Music, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Military WWI, How WWI was portrayed in Children's Comics and as Cartoons in Magazines.

The photographs are on subjects from all over the Country, it is hoped to have a set on Kent in WWI soon. NWKFHS flickr
 

Knole House, Sevenoaks, Kent, Winter Lectures:

Knole House is hosting a series of winter lectures in the property’s Great Hall. 

Lady Anne Clifford: was she Cleopatra?

Saturday 9 November 2013, 5-7pm

£15.00

Find out whether one of the extraordinary mistresses of Knole, Lady Anne, played the part of Cleopatra in this discussion and recreation of a 400-year-old play in the Great Hall, where it was once performed.

Lord Sackville’s Christmas Lecture

Tuesday 3 December 2013, 11:30-2pm

£35.00 including 2-course buffet lunch

Lord Sackville delivers his annual Christmas lecture; ‘Living at Knole’.

Normal for Knole: our unbelievable architecture

Tuesday 10 December 2013, 11:00-12:30pm

£15.00

Archaeologist Nathalie Cohen reveals why all the 'unusual, baffling, uncommon and singular things' about Knole - the wonky roofs, voids, hidden stairs and a timber structure that defies the laws of physics by staying up' are all normal - at least for Knole.

The writing on the walls of Knole

Thursday 12 December 2013, 11am-12:30pm

£15.00

Archaeologist Matt Champion discusses hundreds of years of graffiti at Knole. Why did people write and draw on the walls? What does it tell us about life in a great house?

You need to book in advance. Further details can be found at National Trust Knole House

WWI Soldiers Wills:

Some 230,000 wills of soldiers who died on the front are available on line. They are part of huge on line archive is also a part project which aims to make all war wills from the Boer War to the Falklands publicly available. It is free to search but you will have to pay for copies of a wills. The charge is £6, which seems high for a copy of a Will. Find A Will 

The Bexley Times features NWKFHS. Kent County Council Libraries could be privatised. The Archives and Records Association and findmypast to publish school registers.

Bexley Times. Read the interview with Society President David Cufley that appeared in the 19th September issue.

The Bexley Times featured the Society Library and some of the volunteers who help visitors and Members. Bexley Times Interview

Kent Libraries could be one of the front line services to be privatised or run by other organisations in shake-up by Kent County Council. 

Libraries could be among the first wave of services the Kent County Council intends include in a “market review” under a three-year plan which will get under way next month (October 2013). This could have huge implications for Libraries and Local Archives in Kent, affecting our Society, Members use of Library and of course other FHS in Kent.  See Kent Online for more details.

The Archives and Records Association (UK & Ireland)  - ARA -  has signed a deal with  brightsolid to publish on-line millions of school records from England and Wales.

A new National Digitisation Consortium of 120 some 120 English and Welsh archives and schools working together to  offer records for digitisation. The school registers are from 1870 - 1914 school registers. Once they have been scanned and transcribed by brightsolid, they will be available  on-line on findmypast.co.uk. ARA See also SOG News

The NWKFHS Newsletter for September 2013. NWKFHS meetings for October 2013

The NWKFHS Newsletter for September can now be downloaded/read (pdf file) at NWKFHS Newsletter. You can also download/read the latest Branch Newsletters at Branches

NWKFHS meetings for October 2013. Visitors are welcome to come along to any of the meetings.

Bromley Branch: The main hall, Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley BR1 3NS. The hall opens at 9.45am, the meeting proper starts at 10.30am, ending by 12.15pm.

19 October 2013: Ian Porter Women’s employment options in Victorian & Edwardian London.

Dartford Branch: Dartford Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford DA1 2LY. Doors open from 9.45am.

5 October 2013: The 25th Anniversary meeting of Dartford Branch Includes an auction of family and local history lots. David Cufley, Kevin Bacon Family History Laboratory - an interactive experiment to make family history links between members and to verify if the 'six degrees of separation' has any relationship to Family History Research. An interactive experiment to explore links between members - Serendipity & Kismet!

Sevenoaks Branch: meetings are held on the second Thursday of the month at the Sevenoaks Community Centre, Otford Road, Sevenoaks, TN14 5DN. Doors open at 7.15pm, meetings start 8.00pm, ending by 9.30pm.

10 October 2013: Pat Mortlock Intrigue, Ambition & Respectability - The Owners of Ightham Mote.

Please check the NWKFHS Website to ensure that there are no last minute changes before travelling to a meeting.

North West Kent Family History Society Auction - Saturday 5th October, 2013 at Dartford Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford DA1 2LY. Change of speaker at Dartford Branch Meeting for 1st February 2014

North West Kent Family History Society Auction - Saturday 5th October, 2013 (meeting starts at 10.00 am and finishes 2.30 pm) at Dartford Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford DA1 2LY. The auction will take place on the same day as the Dartford Branch 25th Anniversary. 

All items are‘family or local history’ related and have been donated to North West Kent Family History Society. You can attend the Meeting on the day to bid on any item or Bid via the Society website. All proceeds go to the Society.

Details of all lots will be displayed on the Society’s website during September. If you wish to place a bid on any item please email Auction Bid  with the amount you are prepared to bid up to plus your name, membership number and telephone number. Successful bidders will be contacted after the auction by email so arrangements can be made to collect their item from the Society Library or one of the branches. The Society will not be contacting unsuccessful bidders. The Society will not be delivering or sending the item to the successful bidder.

Full terms plus a Catalogue  can be downloaded at NWKFHS Catalogue  The Catalogue gives full details of all 22 Lots.

Lots include:   

Indenture dated 1688 the year the Stuart King James II was deposed in the so called ‘Glorious Revolution’


Names mentioned in the document are Joyce SOULLEMONT of Eltham, Elizabeth SOULLEMONT also of Eltham, Thomas HILLIARD of St Leonards Shoreditch (carpenter) Solomom SOULLEMONT (Gent, deceased), Edward WILSON St Olaves, Southwark and Stephen RYDER of St Leonards Shoreditch (Gent).

Original antique engraved print of the ancient church of St Nicholas Chislehurst dating from around 1830. The picture was engraved by Henry Adlard (1799-1893) for ‘England’s Topographer’ published between 1828 and 1831.

Change of speaker at Dartford Branch Meeting for 1st February 2014. Andy Robertshaw of the Army Logistics Museum re WW1 - Finding the fallen and their Family History will now give this talk at the Society AGM in April 2014. In his place is John Meakins who will talk about the Kent Fire Brigade

Online WWI memorial to the men of Swanscombe, Kent . Canterbury Cathedral Books and manuscripts digitally available to researchers. Canterbury Archives Sharing Histories exhibition.

Online WWI memorial to the men of Swanscombe, Kent 

The site is dedicated to the men of Swanscombe who gave their lives in the service of this country during the first world war. There are currently 108 names and Chris Hester is slowly going through the list, adding what biographical details he can from sources such as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission,  census data, military records etc.  he would like to add personal information if possible such as photos or stories from the front in letters home. If you have any information relating to any men from Swanscombe who served during the First World War please clink on the link for contact form

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The site can be found at Swanscombe Memorial   

 

Canterbury Cathedral: Books and manuscripts have been made digitally available to researchers. A collaborative project involving Canterbury Archives, University of Kent and researchers in Rouen.

"Known as DocExplore, the project aims to develop an interactive system which allows digitised versions of valuable historical documents to be explored via a touchscreen, simulating, as far as possible, the experience of accessing the physical object itself. But users can see much more than the document – they can access translations and transcriptions, read more about the period in which it was written, its contents and who would have used it at the time by using the additional text, image, sound and video resources that are a feature of the system. DocExplore will also capture the knowledge and expertise of the Archive’s staff by allowing them easily to present any available digitised document".

Canterbury Archives is holding a Sharing Histories exhibition in the reading room on 13th-14th September 2013 10.00-16.00 details are at  Canterbury Cathedral  more details can also be found at BBC News and  docExplore  and docexplore press release (pdf file).

The Royal Free hospital is transferring its archive collections to London Metropolitan Archives. Manchester City Library reopens in Spring 2014. Certificate of Honour that was awarded to Frederick Joseph Mason 1914-15.

From the FFHS comes the following announcement The Royal Free Hospital is transferring its archive collections to London Metropolitan Archives. The reading room at the Royal Free Archive Centre will close on 13 September. The collections are due to become available at the LMA in early 2014. During the move, we will continue to answer as many remote enquiries as possible, subject to staff and document availability.

Further afield the Manchester City Library, following major refurbishment and extension, Manchester City Library reopens in Spring 2014. Current temporary arrangements will change on 15 September, when the Manchester Room at City Library, at Elliot House, Deansgate and the Greater Manchester County Record Office will both close. From then until Manchester Central Library re-opens there will be restricted access to their holdings. You can find more details at this link. Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society will remain open during this period.

NWKFHS will be recognising  the Anniversary of the start of WWI in various ways throughout 2014.  During the build up to August 2014 the Society will also publish on this blog items that may be of interest to those researching ancestors during the 1914-18 war. This time it is a Certificate of Honour that was awarded to Fred Mason (Frederick Joseph Mason) by the Norfolk Education Committee for regularity of attendance during the year 1914-15 at his school at Trowse, Norfolk.

 

Fred Mason was the youngest son of Charles and Alice, nee Farrow, Mason of Trowse, Norfolk, Charles was a Carter at the Coleman Mustard Works at Trowse.

The 1911 census gives the following information:

Trowse, Norwich:

Charles Mason, Head, born abt 1858 53 Male Married,   Carter At Mustard Works. Born Stoke Upon Trent, Staffordshire.

Alice Mason, Wife, born abt 1868 43 Female, Married   15 years Born Howe, Norfolk.
Herbert Farrow, Stepson, born abt 1892 19 Male, Single   Mustard Worker. Born: Alpington, Norfolk.
Sidney Mason, Son, born abt 1896 15 Male, Single,   Painter Lawrence & Teotts Born Trowse, Norfolk.
Alfred Mason, Son, born abt 1898 13 Male, School, Born Trowse, Norfolk.
Edith Mason, Daughter, born abt 1901 10 Female, School, Born Trowse, Norfolk.
Frederick Mason, Son, born abt 1902 8 Male, School. Born  Trowse, Norfolk.
Florence Mason, Daughter, born abt 1907 4 Female, School. Born Trowse, Norfolk.

 

The 1901 census shows that there were other children born to Charles Mason from a previous marriage.

 

James Mason Son 20 born abt 1881 Male Honingham Norfolk.

William Mason Son 16 born abt 1885 Male Easton Norfolk.

Millicent Mason Daughter 13 born abt 1888 Female Trowse Norfolk.

Sarah Mason Daughter 11 born abt 1890 Female Trowse Norfolk.

 

The Head Teacher who signed the Certificate was Arthur Tuck who in 1911 lived at West Wymer, Norwich with his wife Mary and two children, Hilda and Arthur C Tuck who was also a Clerk at the Coleman Mustard Works, Trowse.

 

NWKFHS Research Service. Handwriting (Palaeography) 1500 - 1800. Free National Archives online tutorial. NCOs of the 3/18 London Regiment (London Irish Rifles)

Looking for ancestors or family in North West Kent? The Society offers to members and non-members a genealogical Research Service. Society volunteers are available to carry out research for members and non-members at a cost of £5.00 per hour. This service uses parish registers and other sources at the Society Library covering the north west Kent area. We cannot guarantee a result but we will do our best to answer your enquiry.

 

Full details can be found at NWKFHS Research You can now pay by Credit and Debit cards online at Genfair or Parish Chest. Just fill in the Research Request form downloadable from   NWKFHS Research return it by e-mail or post and only  pay an order for this service when requested to do so by an official of North West Kent FHS.

 

If you live outside the UK you can also join the Society or renew your membership by Credit Card at both Genfair or Parish Chest.

 

Handwriting (Palaeography) 1500 - 1800. Free National Archives online tutorial.

 

One of the problems many of us encounter when researching our family history is with old documents, wills, parish registers etc. The handwriting can be very difficult if not almost impossible to make out.

 

The National Archives has a practical online tutorial to help you read the handwriting in documents written in English between 1500 - 1800. It provides an  introduction to the basics of palaeography and offers a variety of documents, each with a transcript, on which you can practise your palaeographical skills. NA Tutorial

 

 

NWKFHS will be recognising  the Anniversary in various ways throughout 2014.  During the build up to August 2014 the Society will also publish on this blog items that may be of interest to those researching ancestors during the 1914-18 war.

 

NCOs of the 3/18 London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) from the Illustrated War News 6 October 1915. 

 

 

Back Row, left to right:

L-Cpl Reynolds, L-Cpl Smith, L-Cpl Spencer, L-Cpl Callendar, Sgt Purtell, Sgt Tynan, Sgt McKinley, Cpl Davies, Cpl Primmer, Cpl Coxon, Cpl Rust, Cpl Aygton, Cpl Hobbs, Cpl Stone, Cpl Page, L-Cpl Marsh, L-Cpl Penn, L-Cpl Chalmers, L-Cpl Holness, L-Cpl Burge, L-Cpl Barrett, L-Cpl White.

 3^rd Row, left to right:

L-Cpl Fox, L-Cpl Percy, L-Cpl Sheen, L-Cpl Gardiner, Sgt Smith, Sgt Shubrook, Sqt Hammond, Sgt Evans, Sgt Johnson, Sgt Finglestone, Sgt Collins, Sgt Jenner, Sgt Morgan, Sgt-Instr Brocks, Sgt Farnfield, CQMS Coppinger, Sgt-Bugler Camps, L-Cpl Patrick, L_Cpl Taune, L-Cpl Menness.

2^nd Row, left to right:

CQMS Massey, CSM Wood, Bandmaster J. Appleford, Major R.R. Kimmitt (Comdg Officer), Regt SM A.E. Holmes, Major R Curtis, Lieut and Adju. C.S. Hardy, CSM Pike, CQMS Riordan.

Front Row, left to right:

L-Cpl Patrick, L-Cpl Allsop, L-Cpl Hall, L-Cpl Lacey, L-Cpl Gatling, L-Cpl Dennis, L-Cpl O’Hillary, L-Cpl Qickenden, L-Cpl Clarke, L-Cpl Nethercoat, L-Cpl Stanger, L-Cpl Swales, L-Cpl Johnson, L-Cpl Gathergood, L-Cpl Phillips.

NWKFHS Dartford Branch Talk 7 September 2013 - change of speaker. The 1921 Canadian census is now online. Queensland, Australia BMDs are now online. Officers of the 3/18 London Regiment (London Irish Rifles)

 

NWKFHS Dartford Branch Talk 7 September 2013 - change of speaker.

 

The speaker from the London Fire Brigade Museum  who was going to speak on the history of the London Fire Brigade cannot now make the meeting.  John Neal has agreed to speak at short notice on St Pancras & King's Cross - A history of the stations and the surrounding area.

 

The 1921 Canadian census is now online, though you will need an account with Ancestry.com to access it. You can search free if you set up a free account (though you will have to cancel it before any fees start to be payable. Details can be found at Canada's 1921 Census

 

Queensland Australia BMDs are now online and are free to search, fee payable if you order a certificate. They cover the period Births 1829-1914, Deaths 1829-1983 and Marriages 1829-1938. The index can be searched free, and will give you more information than those for England and Wales. For Instance Births will give you the full name of the father and the full name, including the Maiden name of the mother. The marriage index gives you the full names of  the Bride and Groom. Queensland historical index  

 

WWI Centenary. The Centenary of the start of WWI is now less than a year away.

 

NWKFHS will be recognising  the Anniversary in various ways throughout 2014.  During the build up to August 2014 the Society will also publish on this blog items that may be of interest to those researching ancestors during the 1914-18 war.

 

Officers of the 3/18 London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) from the Illustrated War News 6 October 1915. 

 

 The Officers Back row from left to right:

2nd Lt. H.A. Staples, 2nd Lt. H.B. Rowe, Lt. W.R. Staham, Lt. W.S. Carruthers, Lt. S.B. Mitchell, 2nd Lt. R.E.A. Mallet,   Lt. W.V. Thomas,  Lt. A.T. Tweddle, Lt. S.B. Skevington, LT. P.A.C. Maginn, Lt. F.H. Crawford, 2nd Lt. C.E. Norris, 2nd Lt. A Totton, 2nd Lt. S.E. Charlton.

Middle row:

Lt. and Qr-Mr. C.H.P. Higgins, Lt. J.K. Brownlees (RAMC), Capt. M. Barry O'Brien, Major R.W. Curtis, Major R.W. Curtis, Major R.R. Kimmitt, Lt. and Adjut.E. Hardy,    Capt. J.C. Harrison, Capt. E.N. Wanklyn, Capt. the Rev. R.M. Currwen (Chaplain).

Front Row:

2nd Lt. R.F.V. Mayle, 2nd Lt. R.V. Tivy, 2nd Lt. P.F. Keane, 2nd Lt. G.F. Lewis, 2nd Lt. G. O'Shiner, 2nd Lt. R.W. Moneypenny, 2nd Lt. S. Macbeth, 2nd Lt. J.P.H. Butcher, 2nd Lt. F. Clement.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Talbot House Offer Reward for their Lost “Robin”. NWKFHS is holding a drop in session at Bexley Local Studies,14 September 10am - 12 noon & 1.00pm - 4.00pm.

Talbot House Offer Reward for their Lost “Robin” In December 1915 two British army chaplains – the Reverends Phillip “Tubby” Clayton and Neville Talbot – opened a soldiers' rest and recreation centre, named Talbot House, in Poperinge, Belgium. On 15 December 1921, at the now-demolished Grosvenor House in Park Lane, London, a “Round Robin”, was signed by all those present, who wished the text on the document to be read aloud once again on the centenary of the opening of Talbot House (also known as Toc H). The original document , was last seen at the Toc H archives in London but now appears lost.

Have you seen it? If you can help Please contact Talbot House For more details about Talbot House website

NWKFHS is holding a drop in session at Bexley Local Studies, Townley Road Library, Bexleyheath, DA6 7HJ Saturday 14 September 10am - 12 noon & 1.00pm - 4.00pm.

If you are in the area why not come along to see what the Society has on offer, if you are stuck with your research why not see if we can help.

Medway Archives and Local Studies are planning a Annual Open Day for Wednesday 4th December, 2013. More details will be available in the near future.
 

North West Kent Family History Photographic Collection. Branch Meetings. Gazetteer. The latest, August 2013, NWKFHS Newsletter. Northfleet Harbour Restoration Trust.

North West Kent Family History Photographic Collection.

The Society’s small but growing collection consists of donated private family history collections, private picture collections or from the Ivan Green ‘Kent Parish Church Collection’.

The original photographs and slides have been scanned and printed into a standard format for reference and display in the Library on the open shelves. The original photographs have been put into the Library store and can be produced if requested. There is a catalogue of the pictures which can be searched on the Society website  NWKFHS Catalogue   

The Map collection. The catalogue of this collection is included as part of the main library catalogue which you can view or download as part of the Library Catalogue Listing (April 2013 update).

Also on the website is the West Kent Parish Gazetteer an on-line resource based on the much more comprehensive version to be found in the Society's publication West Kent Sources This on-line version includes a photograph of each ancient parish church, as well as of many Victorian churches. There are currently 250 church photos. NWKFHS Gazetteer

NWKFHS Branch Meetings for August 2013. Visitors are welcome.

Bromley Branch. In the main hall, Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley BR1 3NS (on the corner of North St). There is free parking at the church; access is from College Rd. and from North St. The hall opens at 9.45am, the meeting proper starts at 10.30am, ending by 12.15pm.

17th August, 2013. Rob Cottrell, Watermen & Lightermen.

Dartford Branch. New Auditorium, Dartford Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford DA1 2LY. Open from 9.45am with the meeting proper starting at 10.30am, ending by 12.30pm.

3 August 2013. Stephen Humphrey, The burial grounds of Southwark.

Please check with website before travelling to ensure that there are no changes. Visitors are welcome, a donation is appreciated.

The latest, August 2013, NWKFHS Newsletter is available free to download and read at NWKFHS Newsletter you will also find Branch Newsletters that can be downloaded and read  for free.

Other news: Northfleet Harbour Restoration Trust. Northfleet Harbour Restoration Trust has been set up to reverse the decline and decades of neglect of Northfleet Harbour and to bring it back into use.

The River Fleet was by the 18th Century no longer navigable as a watermill and weir had been created for flour production, parts of this may still survive a full archaeological study is needed, this flour mill was then superseded by a watermill for cement production parts of which still also survive. This would have been one of the earliest sites for cement exporting.

This site has photographs and history of Northfleet Harbour and is worth looking at, especially if you had ancestors or family who lived in the area.

 

WWI Anniversday and the NWKFHS: Commonwealth War Graves Photographic Project. The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich – information to become available. Publications and Projects.

Like many other Societies The NWKFHS is starting preparations to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI.

Throughout 2014 the Society Journal will be running articles and stories under the banner of World War 1 Commemoration. If you have any stories of any of your family during WWI in the NWKFHS, a soldier, Civilian, or how it affected your family you consider sending them into the Editor of our Journal for consideration. We would love to see as many stories as possible published. The Editor can be contacted through the NWKFHS website

As a Society we are taking part in Commonwealth War Graves Photographic Project. Volunteers from Dartford, Bromley and Sevenoaks Branches are photographing, in some cases, re-photographing all Memorial Stones for service men and women and civilian war deaths including private burial stones within our area.

The photographs will be provided to the CWGPP and used by them on their web site, just as importantly it will give the CWGPP the current condition of the stones.

The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich – information to become available

a Member who worked for the Woolwich Arsenal for many years discovered that when the Arsenal closed many tons of paperwork was being destroyed. He was able to save some that he thought were worthwhile keeping. The information relating to part of this material is as follows.

A list of 1st World War (1914-18) disabled who were employed at the Arsenal during the period 1936 to 1945. This database includes name, date of birth, clock & centre number, date of birth, date employed and nature of disability. There are over 800 names.

2. A list of air raid casualties during the 2nd World War (1941-1945). This database gives name, address, hospital they were taken to and injury. There are over 500 names.

3. The Arsenal had its own doctor’s surgery and medical staff were able to do operations on site. The data base is for 1906 and has over 500 names. The information includes name, age, case number, department they worked in and ‘concern’. Typical were ruptures, hernias, splinters, appendicitis etc. The doctor would also come out to the home if the employee lived within 3 miles of the arsenal.

4. Some 40 photographs of children’s parties held in the arsenal during the 1950s. No one is identified.

The information is in the process of ‘tidying’ and he would like to make the above information readily available to all but before he does so would welcome enquiries to give him an idea of its precision. He would like enquiries to go in the first instance by e-mail to Publications and Projects who will pass them on.

Some Society Publications that have become recently available:

Bexley Metropolitan Asylum District Board Minutes 1890-1930. and Bexley Asylum Minute Book, 1901-39.

Asylum District Board Minutes 1890-1930: An index to 38 volumes regarding asylums, hospitals, schools, organisations, some personnel and many other topics across what was Greater London at that time. Bexley Asylum Minute Books 1901-1939: this is an index of some 12,000 names of patients, staff and contractors.

Details of these and other publications can be found at  Publications  The progress of other NWKFHS projects can be found at Society Projects

Free NWKFHS E-Newletter for June 2013. North West Kent Family History Society Library & Resource Centre. Scotland: The 1895 Valuation Rolls

NWKFHS E-Newsletter for June 2013 is now available to be read/downloaded for Free at Newsletter.

The North West Kent Family History Society Library & Resource Centre is located at Summerhouse Drive, Joydens Wood Estate, Bexley, DA5 2EE. It is open every Wednesday, 10am-4pm.  

It is open to Members and Non-Members and there are Society Volunteers who will help you with your research. The Society has a room separate from the main library, where our complete collection of books and other reference material is now available on open shelves. This includes microfiche, data CD's. 

There are  computers with internet access, including Ancestry and other on-line genealogical databases. The material available primarily covers parishes within the Historical North West Kent area, but includes the rest of Kent and other parts of the Country including London. Material is constantly being added.

A Catalogue of the holdings and other information can be found at NWKFHS Library

Other News:

Scotland: The 1895 Valuation Rolls containing  2,095,707 indexed names and 75,565 digital images. The Rolls cover every kind of building, structure or dwelling that was assessed in 1895 as having a rateable value, and provide a fascinating picture of Scottish society during the late Victorian era.

More details can be found at ScotlandsPeople website

WDYTYA?LIVE 2014 new dates- 20th February to 22nd February 2014. Over a million Kent records on line. Marden History Archives and Mid-Kent Marriage Index 1754-1911. Chartist

WDYTYA?LIVE 2014  has announced that there has been a change to the dates for next year's show. The new Dates will be from Thursday 20th February to Saturday 22nd February 2014.

It is hoped that the change to a Thursday instead of a Friday and making the last day Saturday instead of Sunday will make the show more accessible to visitors. Research  has clearly identified that visitors would prefer a weekday to a Sunday and this, coupled to better public transport during the week, means that we can expect a significant increase in footfall.

Findmypast now has over a million Kent records on line.

 

The records on Findmypast (subscription payable) include those from North West Kent FHS, Kent FHS and those from the Canterbury Archives.

 

Along with with the Medway Archives which has Parish registers of the Rochester Archdeaconry area, extending from Dartford and Gravesend in the west to Rainham in the east and focusing on the Medway Towns (Which is available free to all at City Arc ) this means that a large part of the parish registers for Kent are now available to search.

 

The Canterbury Parish registers and those on the Medway Archives site City Arc are copies of the original parish registers. Many of the others are indexes and transcriptions provided by Family History Societies. Copies of many of the original parish register for North West Kent are available to purchase at NWKFHS Publications

 

If you look round there are also other indexes for Kent parish registers on the Web that are free, such as the Marden History Archives and the Mid-Kent Marriage Index 1754-1911 which has transcriptions of the marriage records of seven registration districts in the mid Kent area: East Ashford, West Ashford, Cranbrook, Elham, Hollingbourne, Romney Marsh and Tenterden. Also included are marriages at Maidstone (All Saints).

 

Chartist. William Lovett, from The London Working Men’s Association and five ‘working men’ plus six members of Parliament published the People’s Charter in 1838 seeking the vote for all men. In 1842 a petition of some three million signatures was presented to the government, which was rejected. In the early 1840s, economic depression and dissatisfaction lead to strikes and several Chartist leaders being arrested.  Chartist activity culminated in 1848 when a mass meeting on Kennington Common was organised.

 

There is a good chance that one of your ancestors signed the petition and or belonged to the Chartists.

 

The website ‘Chartists Ancestors’ has a list of some 5,000 subscribers from all over the Country to the Chartists Movement

NWKFHS E-Newsletter for May 2013. Dictionary of Occupations.

NWKFHS E-Newsletter for May 2013- An electronic publication available on-line to anyone interested in Family History can be read/downloaded at Newsletter. You can also download/read previous Newsletters at the same place.

NWKFHS has a new publication for Sale, Dictionary of Occupations Published by Family & Community Historical Research Society.

This CD ROM was originally published by the Open University (OU) as part of their courses 'Studying family and community history: nineteenth and twentieth centuries'.  It was first published by the UK Ministry of Labour in 1927, has been available in only a few specialist libraries.

This CD-ROM reproduces all of it. It defines 29,106 terms, covering 16,837 different occupations of people who worked in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many of these occupations, and the terms used to describe them, are today generally unknown.

FACHRS (Family and Community Historical Research Society) have given our Society permission to distribute the CD ROM. The disks are available from the Society at Branch meetings or by post. Cost by post £10.00 plus postage and packing of £1 for the UK and £2 overseas. Details can be found at NWKFHS publications

Operates with Windows XP and Windows 7 operation systems using Adobe reader 11 and Adobe Acrobat 7.0 software.

North West Kent FHS talks for May 2013. Kent Family History Fair Sunday 19 May 2013. The National Library of Wales will no longer claim ownership of copyright in digital copies of items in its care.

North West Kent FHS talks for May 2013.

Bromley Branch: main hall, Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley BR1 3NS. The hall opens at 9.45am.

Saturday 18 May 2013 Jerry Toop The National Archives - further resources identified.

Dartford Branch: Dartford Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford DA1 2LY. Open from 9.45am

Saturday 4^th May 2013 Gerald Toop Using the National Archives (website) for family history research.

Sevenoaks Branch: Sevenoaks Community Centre, Otford Road, Sevenoaks, TN14 5DN. Doors open at 7.15pm.

Thursday 9 2013 May Mari Alderman Protestant Nonconformity.

Visitors are welcome, a donation is appreciated. All the Branches have a bookstall and all the helpful advice that you might need. More details can be found at  NWKFHS Meetings   Please check the website for any changes before travelling to any meeting.

Newsletters for Dartford and Sevenoaks Branches can be found at  Branch Newsletters a Society Newsletter can be found at  Society Newsletters they are all pdf and can be read and or downloaded.

NWKFHS will also be at the Kent Family History Fair Market Hall, Barker Road, Lock Meadow, Maidstone, Kent. ME16 8RG on Sunday 19 May 2013 from 10.00am - 5.00pm.

If you are at the Fair please call by our Stand for a chat and to see how we can help with your Family History research.  Fairs and Events 

Other News:

The National Library of Wales will no longer claim ownership of copyright in digital copies of items in its care.

The Library will be implementing a policy that will mean the public can use thousands of images on its website without any restriction. Though many images will still be subject to third party rights that need to be cleared before use, the Library will not impose additional copyright restrictions unless it owns the copyright in the original work. High resolution versions of the images will still be available under licence. National Library of Wales where you can also access Wills and Newspapers Free.