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Showing posts from 2011

The Punjab and Sind at 1900 approx from a missionary standpoint

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This page is made up of scans from a variety of books in my possession. The are dated from approximately 1880 to 1900+. The main source of reference relates to Robert Clark. I have also included copies of photos in my possession they can be found here . Feel free to copy and download any of the pictures. Although I believe I own some sort of copywrite I would love to have a link back to these pages. The clergy at the Consecration of Bishop Lefroy 1899 The key to the photo above. Robert Clark has the long forking beard, centre right. Lord Lawrence, Sir Herbert Edwardes, Rev H Perkins, General Reynell Taylor, Colonel Martin Punjab Christian Schools Map of Punjab and Sind,  Afghan Border Punjab Missionaries   New Testament Revision Commitee Missionary Converts

Brucefield - Truro

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Brucefield This is linking 2011 with the 1920's to '30's. I have the good fortune that my father made diaries of the times he spent in Cornwall as a child. His parents died young and he was brought up with his sister Lucy by his two maiden aunts, Edith and Grace Rodgers, known as Tig and T'Edith.  (A page will be dedicated to these two) Both children were sent away to boarding school and spent their summers in Cornwall. Both at "Brucefield" in Truro and then "Sundew Cottage" in St Agnes. I do believe that Bruciefield must have been sold for the Aunts to move to Sundew. I do recall visiting Sundew as a child with my parents in the early 1950's. I do recall eating toast that my father made for me - cut into soldiers. It may have been my first serious encounter with marmalade. We visited for quite a few years after that. My aunts lived a frugal existence.  Edith loved to paint and I accompanied her on many of her little trips with her water col

My Dad's first job

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My father could get extremely hot under the collar about injustice. He must have been extremely irate about the condition of the school to even consider saying anything publicly let alone to the newspapers. I hadn't realised that he had been at the school longer than "Billy" Orrell. Got to admit that I don't think he had much time for the man. This is a paper clipping from the "News Chronicle" Wednesday, October the 5th 1955. He must have been in something like the second year of teaching - he loved the kids dearly. I know my father left the school later. I do not think the condition of the school had too much to do with the move. He did get an excellent reference from Billy Orrell in the end.   Walshaw School 1955 This is the transcript of the article: BRITAIN SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THIS Every day a cracked bell summons 180 chilren at Walshaw, near Bury, behind the high, prison like walls of a school that has been described as a "disgrace&q

The Greenmount Primary School years

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1956? 1960? Two more pictures of my class at Greenmount. Pretty sure that the "youngest" of them was when we were in Mrs Meadley's class, which makes us juniors. That must have been close to the year she set fire to the Christmas tree. I do recall being a very small person then. I cannot even remember anyone else at the school. We could only play in the small persons playground. I recall lessons occasionally being outside.  For some strange reason I have really natty socks. It seems that Alan Read and I shared heavy head syndrome. Never managed to stamp it out - some of my students still have it!  The photo on the top right must be dated about 1960, We all look faintly superior as if nothing could touch us. I can recall some of the names. On the back row: don't recall the chap at the far left, me, Timothy Burrill, Alan Taylor, Martin Capstick. A Postcard from Greenmount  The middle row, the three big lads in the middle were Alan Read, Paul Hassell, Pet

We are visiting Cornwall

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Feock, Friends Meeting House The Old Vestry at Feock. Dug out a beautiful postcard of Feock . Its on the opposite side of the county to which my father normally visited. The actual picture shows the "Come-to-Good" Quakers meeting house. I think the picture must have been taken in 1937, this is one year later than the Francis Frith pictures. This picture is from a different angle than those. There is a very full description at the Genuki website. I do not recall any visits to Feock with my father, but certainly St Just and Trellisick. Visited the Eden centre and hope to return this summer. There are many memories to publish from Perranporth and also St Agnes.The Meeting House was built in 1710, was in use up to 1993, still stands and is under the patronage of the National Trust. The view of the Old Vestry is the reverse of the one on the Francis Frith site . Lately I visited the Burial Ground at Sunbrick in Cumbria. This is where Margaret Fox was buried in 1702. Th

My direct ancestor - my mother

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Pat Lomax and "the gang" reverse My mother was most certainly social. She went to London to study music and like her son, found the man(I found a woman!) to spend the rest of her life with. The big city seemed to suit her. However she returned to Tottington via (Whitelegg Street) Woolfold near Bury, and settled back into the family residence of Brookhouse, just inside Tottington by virtue of being the Tottington side of the stream. But of course she was a great tennis player and represented her university at Wimbledon. The pictures below, I guess are separated by about 15 years. The names are quite familiar to me - and I met these people quite frequently as I grew up.  I really do remember Basil, his second name was Brown. He and his wife, Barbara had 3 children and I spent a lot of time with them. Nicholas the oldest became the proprietor of the hardware shop opposite the library. I think he was older than me. Tim was a good cricketer, don't recall any r

No! its not Colin Firth

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George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Royal College of Science King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1945 visited College to commemorate centenary of Royal College of Science, oldest forerunner to Imperial. King George said: "You students here assembled - men and women who soon will be going out from the Imperial College to your work in the world - have not only an opportunity but also a responsibility greater than men of science have known before. To you, I say: Regard your knowledge and your skill always in the light of a trust for the benefit of humanity, and thereby ensure, so far as in you lies, that science may never be put to uses which offend the higher conscience of mankind." This information is copied from the Imperial College Website, but the photograph belongs in our archives! My mother was at the Royal College of Music, but she did attend the centenary. As far as I know this picture is an original. There is no-one in the picture I recognise except the K

Lets go to Harmston!

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Although I want to return to the wilds of Parbold, Wigan and the rest of that rolling, but very muddy Lancashire plain, our journey takes us to Harmston, Lincolnshire, equally flat but where my fathers side of the family originates. Henry Martyn-Clark wrote the biography of his father, Robert Clark. I enclose the first chapter of his book. Tells me much about this side of the family. Up to 1990, I knew nothing except that Henry Martyn-Clark was shrouded in mystery, We had snippets of mail and written records, some transcribed. My fathers parents had died and he was "farmed" out to his aunts, his mothers sisters. They will have a chapter to themselves too. However the Internet changed so much of that. There is no way you can miss "Henry Martyn-Clark" if you search, but finding the biography for sale at a reasonable cost in America, and reading it was possibly the biggest eyeopener of my genealogical career. I include the earliest photograph of Robert, He is

Affetside Article in local paper

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A skull in Affetside I think this may have been published in the Bury times or the local BoltonEvening News in the late 60's. However this clipping was kept by my mother Pat Martyn-Clark(nee Lomax) and deserves the light of Day! (Further info available at http://www.affetside.org.uk/pub.htm ) Anything in brackets are my additions) Cannot easily find a reference to Anne Thomas working for the Bury Times or the Bolton Evening News. The article is reproduced in its entirety. A Skull at the Bar – written by Anne Thomas. Licensee Mike Hilton has a skull for company behind the bar of his 15 th Century inn at Affetside, near Bury. And it's a distinguished fragment of bone, a gruesome relic of a famous executioner who seemingly has a few unpleasant tricks up his ghostly sleeve. A skull, black and polished with age, isn't something that you expect to see in your local pub.. But regulars at Affetside's ancient Pack Horse Inn are used to it.. From a special shelf

Dunn's in Tottington

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Jane Dunn Roger Dunn The first photo is a picture of my maternal grandmother Jane Dunn, married Thomas Lomax. He was also a Tottingtonian. As far as I am aware this was the earliest photo I have. The date on the back of the photograph is 1901. I suppose that she would be 3 or 4 at the time. Stand to be corrected if others appear.  Sometimes she was known as a Dunne. As Tottington was a close knit community she was known as Jennie Dunn,even after 30 years of marriage!  However I want to go back a bit further. I have quite a lot of early Dunn Photographs which I have scanned. Big huge files. Sarah Ann or Sadie Dunn The first picture is of Rodger Dunn, died at the age of 26. I have discrepancy here with my mother and with ancestry. My mother has written on the reverse of the photo died at the age of 26. Ancestry claims 23 years. He was however the son of William Greenhalgh Dunn and Hannah Baker Yoxhall. Greenhalgh's figure a lot in the history. The Lomax's married