Tales from the Front (3) tells the story of Ronald Scott, a Lance-Corporal serving with the 9th Lancers during the Great War. He fell at Mons, August 24th, 1914.
Tag: genealogy
Tales from the Front (2)
Tales from the Front (2) explores the life, world, and military service of William Robert Oakley. A former golf caddy, he had joined the 1st Dorsetshire Regiment in time for deployment to the Western Front in August 1914. He fell on the second day of Mons, during which his battalion fought a spirited withdrawal, though one that incurred many casualties.
Victorian Bournemouth (255): an angry woman
Victorian Bournemouth (255) has followed the life of Elizabeth, who used the census as a medium to communicate her broken marital relationship. Her cris de coeur, embalmed by the census, stood the test of time. The unusual nature of her response raises questions about how people perceived the census and the commonality of her condition.
Victorian Bournemouth (254): books for all
Victorian Bournemouth (254) charts the successful establishment of Bournemouth’s Public Library through the collaborative efforts of two men having different social backgrounds and political leanings. Despite the opposition stemming from social segregation, the Conservative (Leveson Scarth) remained steadfast in working with the Liberal (Whitting) to create an educational resource that transcended social boundaries. This partnership between the sons of a clergyman and of an innkeeper united a broader team to achieve this transformative goal.
Victorian Bournemouth (252): companions (2)
Victorian Bournemouth (252) has found that, underneath the stereotype depiction of a companion, considerable variation applies. Furthermore, the nature of a longer-term appointment may have changed over time. Also, employers of social ambition may have described an employee as a ‘companion’ to enhance their personal reputation.
Victorian Bournemouth (251): companions (1)
Victorian Bournemouth (251) has explored employment and social aspects relating to the women who worked as companions in the resort during 1901. Overall, the profile derived from analysing over a hundred people appears to match that found in contemporary fictional literature as well as modern third-party studies. The job may have offered the women a port in a life-storm, but the nature of the work environment and the relationships may have tested some.
Victorian Bournemouth (249): British Indians (5)
Victorian Bournemouth (249) reports on a notable concentration of Anglo-Indian individuals listed by the 1901 census for Boscombe, Bournemouth. These individuals, most native to the Madras and Bombay Presidencies, shared common social characteristics: involvement in colonial administration or commerce, and a transient lifestyle within the British Empire. While some family connections have emerged, more may have existed. After 1901, some continued their travels while others settled in Bournemouth, drawn perhaps by its idealised English atmosphere, a reflection of their own complex cultural identities.
Victorian Bournemouth (243): Perfect Thrift
Victorian Bournemouth (243) has explored events that concerned Bournemouth’s two Perfect Thrift Building Society funds. Newspaper reports suggest that the savings society perhaps achieved a measure of success. Several people won the lottery prizes, although the draws did not happen often. Malpractice lay not far from building societies at this time and may have reached Perfect Thrift, in Bournemouth and across the network. The founder disappeared after a large shortfall emerged at Leeds, while the secretary at Bournemouth took his family to Valparaiso in 1896. Nevertheless, some working people at Bournemouth, attracted by the dream of thrift, economy, and independence, found themselves assisted by their Perfect Thrift.
Victorian Bournemouth (242): bus battles
Victorian Bournemouth (242) has followed the fortunes of the two main local omnibus companies operating during the 1890s. Beneficial to their directors and shareholders for a while, a comfortable cartel between them, neither could withstand the commercial threat posed by motor traffic and the tramlines.
Victorian Bournemouth (233): Town Interest Association
Victorian Bournemouth (233) has followed the Town Interest Association as it fluttered into public attention for a short time. Philpots blazed a short-lived trajectory through local politics, but, as did other gentlefolk, he abandoned the town. Perhaps the Association’s main success consisted of launching the community career of its secretary, John Armitage Crawshaw. He adhered to the model whereby others of humble origin achieved respectability at Bournemouth. He exemplified how individuals of modest origins could attain respectability in Bournemouth. His involvement in many activities would have established a broad presence within the community.