Category Archives: Biographical sketch

Short occasional biographical sketches of people, places, companies, things or events

No small potatoes

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Gary

The Irish Great Famine saw a lot of people leave Ireland. One of them was a distant relative of Mirinda’s who was orphaned and sent to Australia to be married off to a man who had settled in Bathurst. Another … Continue reading →

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Beer, art and war

Posted on June 6, 2020 by Gary

Sometimes I research people whose names are included on a Surrey memorial with a tenuous connection to Surrey. Quite often, it turns out wealthy parents have sent their kids to expensive boarding schools and the school has a war memorial … Continue reading →

Posted in Biographical sketch, Gary's Posts, Lockdown | 1 Comment

Handling rejection

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Gary

The other day I researched, wrote up and submitted a short biographical article to Wikipedia. It was about Dorothy Darnell, the founder of The Jane Austen Society, among other things. My submission was rejected. That’s all perfectly fine. The reasons … Continue reading →

Posted in Biographical sketch, Gary's Posts, Lockdown | 1 Comment

Promoting hair growth

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Gary

I see from Twitter that a lot of older people (80-90) are determined to get their hair done. Men and women across the land feel that the worst thing in the world is to cancel a hairdresser’s appointment. My first … Continue reading →

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Canal fishing in France

Posted on November 17, 2019 by Gary

I have to assume that Robert John Waters Ross was a victim of faulty workmanship rather than his own lack of better judgement. Standing in a small boat, mid canal in northern France, I’d like to think his final thought … Continue reading →

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Living in America

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Gary

Edward Bannister is mentioned as being a Ewhurst World War One survivor. This is based on the fact that his ‘forwarding’ address for the army was ‘Mrs Parry, Oxmead, Ewhurst, Surrey.’ He had me flummoxed for quite a while but, … Continue reading →

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Well that was a stupid idea

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Gary

For a year now I’ve been travelling down to Portsmouth to work in the library and for that entire year, I have been getting a bus to Aldershot then a train to Guildford before getting the train to Portsmouth. It … Continue reading →

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Making the most of life

Posted on April 19, 2019 by Gary

I am currently researching a memorial at Hindhead. Sadly, I’ve found a few people who refuse to come out of hiding. This is sadder than the stories themselves of young people going off to die in a fruitless game of … Continue reading →

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The original Apple model

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Gary

Today I found the answer to a question I haven’t actually ever thought about but should have. In The Importance of Being Ernest, Cecily, in conversation with Miss Prism says “I believe that Memory is responsible for nearly all the … Continue reading →

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Unsolved murder

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Gary

Today, all day, the weather was relentless in its determination to keep us indoors. Not wanting to deny the weather, we stayed inside. Well, apart from brief forays for the girls to relieve themselves. And so we both worked. Mirinda … Continue reading →

Posted in Biographical sketch, Gary's Posts, Hewood 2019 | Leave a comment