Instant Cousins

Instant Cousins : archiving my ancestry

  • Newsletter

    At the beginning of this year, I began to receive feedback from family and friends that they were not receiving my posts by email when they were published on a Friday. I tried to understand the problem, but not only could I not solve it but it really was, to paraphrase one of my favourite…

  • Peter goes to France

    In 1958 my brother Peter left school and became a cub reporter with the Croydon Advertiser. The story, as I remember, was that when Peter, who had spent the last couple of years of his education at Pitmans College in Croydon, had set his mind on becoming a newspaper reporter, writing more than once to…

  • Bump Years

    A good friend of mine once told me, many years ago, that the closest friends that you will have for life are those that you make during your teenage years. That is not exclusive to those friendships that you make later in life that might last until you die, as will those teenage friendships. Many…

  • Grace, a star in the firmament

    This was the title of the eulogy that I wrote for my mother’s funeral service, in 2006. I spoke about her name which was often a mystery to me, as are many family names from the past and the different ways in which people used their names, and others used, differently. Grace Ethel Lena Wilcox…

  • Umpire Callaghan stops play

    It is difficult to imagine that at the height of the Anti-Apartheid movement in the 1960’s sporting authorities such as rugby and cricket should still believe that it was acceptable to tour and play all white teams from South Africa. All white because black players were not allowed to take part in these major sporting…

  • Strife

    Strife   noun: angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict A Wordsmith Post There has always been disagreement between Trade Unions and the Labour Party. Schisms of political interest, dogma and practical politics when Labour were in government. It still exists today. In the 1960’s the fluctuating economy was not helped by the Unions and…

  • Williamina

    A Welsh Family Post There is little to know about Williamina. Not one of her descendants known to me who are living in Scotland have any real knowledge of her. She has left neither footprint of her life that I can find, nor any photos. We know her parents, her brothers and sisters, her nephews…

  • The Youth Vote

    A Wordsmith Post In 1969 Peter Carver was 25 years old and a lobby correspondent in the House of Commons. This meant he was an accredited journalist sitting on the bench above the Speaker’s chair at the other end of the Stranger’s Gallery. Peter had left school at 15 and become a cub reporter on…

  • Caution

    The first thing that I discover when I reach the top floor of the Mitchell Library, the Archives and Genealogy Centre, is a sign on the Gents toilet before you enter the Archive room. “Caution (in capitals) this door is liable to slam shut unless it is held”. This is not the only sign that…

  • Without a Flutter

    A Wordsmith post Horseracing has been regulated for centuries by the Jockey Club. The associated betting industry which started on the racecourse was regulated by law. Cash betting could only legally be undertaken on the course. Off the course, betting could only be undertaken by credit account. An off-course punter could only place a bet…


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