Monthly Archives: January 2021
Family History Friday: A Pontefract Man
For Family History Friday this week we will give you examples of the resources available to research your ancestors by looking at the life of a Pontefract man.
John Garlick was born in 1891, a Census year. Here we can see John’s family (before his birth) on the 1891 Census. The census, taken on the night of April 5th, shows his father Samuel, an agricultural labourer, his mother Rachel and his 1 year old sister Laura living at 7 Beech Hill, Pontefract.
Beech Hill can be seen marked on this 1800 map of the area between All Saints Church and Pontefract Castle.
And the area can be seen here in this photograph taken during the 1910s.
John’s first appearance in the records are his baptism from February 3rd 1892 at All Saints Church, Pontefract, which shows his birth date as September 26th 1892 and the family still living on Beech Hill.
The 1901 census shows that the family has grown significantly. John and Laura, now 9 and 11 respectively, are joined by Lydia, Mary and Alice. John, his parents and his 4 sisters still live on Beech Hill but Samuel has left the fields and is now supporting his growing family as a coal miner.
By 1911 Samuel has evidently died, as his wife Rachel is listed as the head of the household and as a widow. His death is listed on the Birth, Marriage and Death Index as having occurred in 1903, at the age of just 36.
His elder sister Laura has also left the household leaving the 19 year old John as the oldest child in the house. John is supporting the household as a general labourer while his 17 year old sister Lydia works as a shop assistant. In fact the only Garlick child not working in 1911 is the 10 year old Alice; at 13 years old Mary is working as an ‘Office Girl.’ The family continue to live on Beech Hill.
Great Britain entered World War I on 4 August 1914 when the king declared war on Germany. A month later on September 3rd, John Garlick enlisted for “3 years (or duration of the war)”. John’s army records reveal a wealth of information about him. For example, we know he stood 5 feet 10 ¾ inches, weighed 146 pounds and his chest measured 37 inches. He had 6 vaccination marks, perfect eyesight and worked as a coal miner before his enlistment.
We can also find details of his service such as him being admitted to field hospital in October 1915 suffering from “Celulitis (knee)” and “Boils” which saw him shipped back to England.
We see him promoted to Lance Corporal on 30th June 1916, only to be ‘deprived of (his) stripe’ a month later for ‘drunkenness.’ He then receives shrapnel wounds to his foot and abdomen in September 1916
Despite his injuries (and another punishment for drunkenness in 1917) John survived the war and was dispersed on 30th December 1918. In 1920 he was awarded the 1914-15 Star to add to his British War and Victory medals.
Garlick returned to Pontefract and is listed on the 1918 Electoral Register, living at Castle Garth with his mother Rachael. He appears again at the same address in both the 1930 and 1947 electoral registers.
Aged 29 and working as a miner he married Mary Ellen Feather on March 28th 1921.
Due to laws protecting peoples’ privacy it becomes more difficult to trace ancestors by official documents the closer it gets to the modern day. The 1939 England and Wales Register is a valuable snapshot of life at the outbreak of the Second World War.
The register shows John Garlick, now 47 years old, with his wife Mary and 3 sons John, Edward and Geoffrey aged 17, 15 and 8 years old. John is still working as a miner and the family still lives on Castle Garth in Pontefract.
The Birth, Marriage and Death index lists John Garlick as dying in Pontefract in 1952.
We hope this has given you an idea of the resources available to you to research your family history. This has really only ‘scratched the surface’ of the materials available and by looking at other resources such as old newspapers or coal mining records it may be possible to flesh out John’s story further.
If while reading this you found yourself asking questions such as how did Samuel die at such a young age?, What became of John’s sisters? or What were John’s sons’ experiences in World War 2? you will start to realise what a fascinating and rewarding hobby family research is.
Reading Well for Children
Children’s Mental Health Week is taking place on 1-7 February 2021. Around three children in every primary school class has a mental health problem, and many more struggle with challenges from bullying to bereavement.
Reading Well for children provides quality-assured information, stories and advice to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. Books have been chosen and recommended by leading health professionals and co-produced with children and families.
The booklist is targeted at children in Key Stage 2 (aged 7-11), but includes titles aimed at a wide range of reading levels to support less confident readers, and to encourage children to read together with their siblings and carers.
The books are available to borrow from your local library. Check our catalogue and order to pickup from your local branch. Due to COVID-19 our branches are open for order and collect only. Please contact your local library to arrange collection. Selected titles are also available to borrow as e-books and audiobooks.
Browse the books on the list below or download a full overview of the titles here.
Healthy minds
- What’s Going On Inside My Head? Molly Potter, Sarah Jennings Reserve
- Healthy for Life: Self-esteem and Mental Health Anna Claybourne Reserve
- How Not to Lose It: Mental Health – Sorted Anna Williamson, Sophie Beer Reserve
Feelings
- Sometimes I Feel Sad Tom Alexander Reserve
- How are you feeling today? Molly Potter Reserve
- Mindful Me: Exploring Emotions: A Mindfulness Guide to Dealing with Emotions Paul Christelis, Elisa Paganelli Reserve
- Feeling Angry! Katie Douglass
Worries
- Worry Angels Sita Brahmachari Reserve
- All Birds Have Anxiety Kathy Hoopmann Reserve
- Outsmarting Worry: An Older Kid’s Guide to Managing Anxiety Dawn Huebner, PhD, Kara McHale Reserve
- Ruby’s Worry Tom Percival Reserve
- Questions and Feelings About: Worries Ximena Jeria, Paul Christelis
- Grobblechops Elizabeth Laird Reserve
- Me and My Fear Francesca Sanna Reserve
The world around you
- Something Bad Happened: A Kid’s Guide to Coping with Events in the News Dawn Huebner, PhD, Kara McHale Reserve
- Dealing With…: Bullying Jane Lacey, Venitia Dean Reserve
- Ella on the Outside Cath Howe Reserve
- #Goldilocks (A Hashtag Cautionary Tale) Jeanne Willis, Tony Ross Reserve
- Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet: Book 1 Zanib Mian, Nasaya Mafaridik Reserve
Dealing with tough times
- If All the World Were… Joseph Coelho, Allison Colpoys Reserve
- Mum’s Jumper Jayde Perkin Reserve
- Michael Rosen’s Sad Book Michael Rosen, Quentin Blake Reserve
- The Colour Thief: A family’s story of depression Andrew Fusek Peters, Karin Littlewood, Polly Peters Reserve
- Clownfish Alan Durant, Helen Crawford-White Reserve
- The Boy Who Built a Wall Around Himself Kara Simpson, Ali Redford Reserve
- Up and Down Mum Child’s Play, Summer Macon Reserve
When you have a condition
- M is for Autism The Students of Limpsfield Grange School, Vicky Martin, Robert Pritchett Reserve
- The Illustrated Guide to Dyslexia and Its Amazing People Kate Power, Kathy Iwanczak Forsyth, Richard Rogers Reserve
- Double Felix Sally Harris, Maria Serrano Reserve
- Can I tell you about ADHD?: A Guide for Friends, Family and Professionals Susan Yarney, Chris Martin Reserve
- Questions and Feelings About: Autism Louise Spilsbury Reserve
- Check Mates Stewart Foster Reserve
- Questions and Feelings About: Having a Disability Louise Spilsbury Reserve
Family History Friday – Railway workers
If your ancestor worked for railways before nationalisation, then the first thing you need to do is learn the region and company that they worked for. It’s a good thing to also bear in mind that “railway worker” covered a wide range of occupations – drivers, firemen, guards, porters, managers, clerks and engineers all fitted into this description.
As usual we’ve a few suggestions of websites that might help you further in your research.
Professional & Organisational Directories (ancestry.co.uk)
As you might imagine, Ancestry has records that could be of use including the Railway Employment Records collection (1833 – 1956). Here you’ll find the staff register but also pension, accident and apprentice records. There’s also the “Great Western Railway Magazine” (1838 – 1943) and the “Southern Railway Magazine” (1840 – 1942) which might be of interest.
Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Railwaymen: Trade Union Records (warwick.ac.uk)
Several different rail unions existed and this shows which one your ancestor was likely to join. By clicking on the individual union name you’ll find out what records remain. Links for staff records for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can also be found here.
National Railway Museum
Family history | National Railway Museum
A wealth of material here, as well as helpful advice to get you started.
Railway Staff database, Cheshire Archives
Railways Staff Database (cheshirearchives.org.uk)
Staff registers from 4 railways companies can be found here – Cambrian Railway, Great Western Railway, London and North Western Railway and Great Western Joint Railway. The registers provide a summary of an employee’s career, the actual details varying slightly between registers. The registers cover the period c. 1869 when the first register was compiled, to c 1950 although no one company’s registers cover this whole period. The index contains around 25,000 entries and contains these fields: Employee’s name – This is entered as Smith, John, Location – usually the station, Job Grade, Date of appointment – this date is usually the start of service, not necessarily the date of promotion, Volume – the reference number of the volume containing the information and Page.
Railways Archive
The Railways Archive
Railways Archive is a free online archive of documents charting the development of Britain’s railways. It includes key documents such as the Beeching reports and an Accident Archive documenting over 9,000 accidents.
Trade Union Ancestors
Welcome to Trade Union Ancestors – Trade Union Ancestors
This website aims “to help family historians to identify the correct union, to discover the role their ancestor played in it, and to find out more about trade union history”.
Railway Map Online
Rail Map online – historic railways, railroads and canals
Interactive map which shows previous and present train routes.
Science and Society Picture Library
Science and Society Picture Library | Quality Prints, Frames & Canvas Art (ssplprints.com)
Includes lots of images of stations, railways life and locomotives, taken from the National Railway Museum.
Warwickshire Railways
Warwickshire Railways
If you’ve ancestors who worked in the Warwickshire area, then this could be useful for background information.
National Records of Scotland – Railway Guide
Railway Records | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)
This research guide gives helpful advice if you’re researching ancestors who worked for Scottish railways.
The National Archives – Railway Workers Guide
Railway workers – The National Archives
Explains what records are held by The National Archives.
And finally
Great Western Railway Shareholders (1835 – 1932)
Great Western Railway Shareholders 1835-1932 | findmypast.co.uk
Find out the names of shareholders in the Great Western Railway (GWR). The index currently contains details for approximately 440,000 individuals.
Family History Friday: Police Records
From twixtAireandCalder.org.uk
In 1750 Henry Fielding, chief magistrate, employed six runners form his office in Bow Street and these became known as the Bow Street Runners. Thus began what we now know as the Police. Further police forces were then formed including the Marine Police (1798), Glasgow Police (1800) and the London Metropolitan Police (1829). Survival rates of police records can be patchy and access policies to them vary. Some forces maintain their own records and have their own museums. We’ve included a few sites to help you get started.
Essex Police Museum
Essex Police Museum research services | Essex Police Museum | Essex Police
The database includes:
Police officers in the Essex County Constabulary from the 1880s to present day
Police officers who served in the Colchester Borough Police and transferred to the Essex County Constabulary in 1947
Police officers serving in Southend Borough Police 1914 – 1969
Police War Reserves – World War II
Women Police Auxiliaries – World War II
British Transport Police History Group
Welcome to the BTP History Group « British Transport Police History Group (btphg.org.uk)
Includes a photo gallery, a Roll of Honour and lists of Honours, Decorations and Medals.
Staffordshire Names Indexes
Home Page – Staffordshire Name Indexes (staffsnameindexes.org.uk)
Among the many indexes are the Staffordshire Police Force Registers (1857 – 1886 and 1904 – 1923) and a police disciplinary index (1857 – 1886).
Metropolitan Police Heritage Centre
Heritage Centre – Friends of the Metropolitan Police Heritage Charity (fomphc.com)
The items available include:
The Police Officers nominal database with over 60,000 records of previously served police officers. The details date from 1829 and are continually updated by the team of volunteers.
The Police Officers Central Records of Service which date back to 1911
The Police Officers pension cards of those who have died
Divisional Police Officers ledgers giving details of shoulder numbers and previous occupation. It also includes any services with the armed forces and other details of interest
Please be aware that the existing Heritage Centre is scheduled to be re-located in the near future. Please contact the Heritage Centre for further information on this matter.
Police Records Guide
Police – The National Archives
This short guide by The National Archives provides useful advice on where to go to locate police records. Only the records of the Metropolitan Police, the Royal Irish Constabulary and transport police are held at The National Archives.
International Centre for the History of Crime, Policing and Justice
Resources | Centre for the History of Crime, Policing and Justice (open.ac.uk)
Includes the Police Archives Guide – in 1991, Ian Bridgeman and Clive Emsley complied the ‘Guide to the Archives of Police Forces of England and Wales’ for the Police History Society. In 2006, a facsimile version of the ‘Guide’ was put online and made freely available. The ‘Guide’ remains an important starting point for research on individual police forces in England and Wales.
Manchester Police Index
The Manchester Police Index | findmypast.co.uk
Over 10,000 records can be searched in the index which covers the years 1812 – 1941. Included are physical descriptions, religion and marital status, as well as information about their career history.
Police History Society
Home | PoliceHistorySociety
The Society includes experts in all areas of police history from all around the world. Their aim is to educate the public and promote interest in police history.
Police Roll of Honour Trust
Police Roll Of Honour Trust (policememorial.org.uk)
Lists all UK police officers who have been killed in the line of duty.
Wakefield Libraries 