80th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings

Grandad Dennis in 1943

I know it's only been 8 years since my last post here (OUCH!!) but I felt this was an important one to share

6th June 1944 D-Day Landings, 80 years ago

My grandfather, Dennis Sutcliffe, at the age of 18 very early in the morning was on one of the first landing craft to land on Gold Beach with the Green Howard's. It was a day he rarely spoke of and clearly brought with it painful memories, as well as the physical pain of the injuries he sustained on that day. I do remember at the 60th Anniversary celebrations asking him some questions but I wish I had recorded what he had said to me!

It was his first experience of war, but he had been in training for a number of months specifically for this operation. He was a lucky survivor as 180 Green Howards lost their lives on this day.

I am hoping to visit Gold Beach later in the summer with my children to see where my grandfather landed, as well as to visit The Green Howards Memorial in Crepon.

Grave hunting in Kildwick

Ok, so family history research - grave hunting is difficult with 2 littlies in tow but I attempt it the other week with my 2 year old & my 7 month old. 

This is Kildwick Parish Church in West Yorkshire...

It is a very historical church dating back to 950AD (Kildwick Parish Website, accessed 6th April 2016) and the Leeds-Liverpool canal cuts through the grave yard.

My ancestors didn't live in the village of Kildwick but in other the villages lying within the parish  boundaries, ie Cononley, Cowling, Glusburn etc. I have many ancestors who were baptised & buried here in the 1700s and early 1800s.

Sadly, I did not get enough opportunity to have a good look at many graves because my 2 year old kept running off in the opposite direction and they both fought against taking naps & I forgot the double pram! But we had a nice picnic in the sunshine in the grave yard :) 

Here is the evidence with a picnic selfie with my toddler beginning to feed me the babies food when I was concentrating on taking the photo - he missed my mouth & plastered it on my face instead!

Next time, I will drag my husband along to watch the kids while I peruse some of the old graves & fathom out their old, worn inscriptions.

Some of the beautiful grave stones...

Herne, Hair and Hull: My Davidson Roots

I know I have been very quiet on this blog for some time, but life has been busy so family history has had to be put to one side for a little while, but also I have been concentrating on getting this finished, edited and printed ready for Christmas. 

 

The first edition of my family history book concentrating on the Davidson line of my family. It is a BIG achievement to finally complete this.

Big thanks goes to my father-in-law for formatting and printing it for me and to my husband for the cover design.

Remembering . . . Poppies in Yorkshire

Last year there was a magnificent display of ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London. Each poppy represented a man from the Commonwealth who had fallen during World War 1. It was an amazing display and proved very popular. Sadly, I was unable to make the trip to London to see the piece of artwork, but saw many photos of it.

Now, some (not all) of the poppies are touring different places in the UK, one being the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP). As we did not get to London and YSP is on our doorstep we took a trip to see them.

The blood shed, flowing freely...

...it is incredibly moving to see the vast number of poppies, each one representing a man 100 years ago just like my husband, my father, my friends and my cousins. 

An opportunity to remember those who've gone before who paid the ultimate sacrifice so we can live in the peace, comfort and freedom in the UK of today. 

Remembering my grandfather, great grandfathers, great uncles, great, great uncles who's lives were impacted by what they saw and experienced during the World Wars.

Book Review - The History & Topography of Bradford, (in the County of York)

I have been looking into a bit of this history behind the city in which I live recently and by accident through a random Google search for meaning of the street name "Ivegate" in Bradford, came across this book on Google Books...

The History & Topography of Bradford, (in the County of York) with Topographical Notices of It's Parish by John James 1841

I wanted to make some notes about the interesting facts which I read, so although this blog post is primarily for my own reference you may also find it of interest.

• Gate ie Westgate/Kirkgate/Ivegate is not a reference to a gate in a city wall but means a "street"

• There was a building at the junction of Ivegate, Kirkgate & Westgate which was the original toll booth, in which John Nelson was imprisoned in the dungeons for preaching

Bradford:

• lies in a valley which is a branch of Airedale (Aire river valley), otherwise known as Bradford Dale with the beck running from Thornton to Shipley with a considerable bend in the beck in the centre
• is the seat of four valleys
• is in a bowl with hill ridges surrounding about a 2 mile radius of the city centre, each side has a quick descent into the town
• beck or brook has diminished over time, so the once "Broad" ford is now a lesser crossing, the once wooded valley would have had more water running through it due to the woods and the coal mines have probably drained more of the water into the land which once ran through the city in the becks

The 3 main brooks are:

1. Bowling Beck which rises above Bolling Hall - in the Roughs or Parkside between Bowling & Bierley, which feeds a pond below Bolling Hall - the brook passed through Cuckoo Bridge, a single arched bridge (but now Britannia House stands on it's site - see Bradford Heritage Tour)
2. Source is at Bradford Moor, taking in a small stream at Laisterdyke and another from above the Bowling Iron Works
3. the Bradford beck - the chief stream, begins at Bell Dean or Old Allen in Allerton and is joined by Horton Beck at Shearbridge

In it's past there have been numerous floods of the town, two significant floods were:

1. 1768 when the bridge was swept away
2. 20th December 1837 which caused significant damage

• The iron manufactured at Low Moor, Bowling & Bierley is esteemed the best of the kingdom - limestone was transported from Skipton via the Leeds-Liverpool & Bradford canals to the iron works.
• Thatch was probably rarely used in Bradford due to the source of good quality stone and slate available naturally in the area.
• Agriculture was poor, all that was grown was to be eaten by the people who grew it & not to be sold, cattle was kept for milk & butter but cheese was not produced.
• Manufacturing was most common with the use of looms.

Plagues/sickness epidemics rarely hit the town, which was deemed to be due to the good westerly winds which blew over the town.  Some epidemics to note are:

• 1665/6 the black plague - from a bag of old clothes which arrived from elsewhere in the country. The stricken were sent to Cliffe Barn, near Cliffe Wood & recovered were expected to care for the sick
• 1675 the Jolly Rant - a severe cold and cough
• 1832 Asiatic Cholera
• Jan & Feb 1837 Influenza killed many

Roman Roads:

• Manchester to Ilkley - after leaving Black Stone Edge, leave Halifax on the right and Ellinworth (Illingworth?) on the left, through Dinham Park (Denholme Park?) to the west of Cullingworth and Hainsworth
• Bradford to Wakefield - via Dudley Hill, places with Street in the name often refer to places close by to a Roman Road ie Tong Street

It is interesting to note that - Bradford suffered few plagues or sickness epidemics?

Hallyng = a meadow of the manor of Bradford
Further research shows:

• Ings (OED) = meadow near watercourse, therefore possibly swampy
• Ing (Old English) = hill
• Inga = "the people of" or "family & followers" ie Birmingham - homestead (ham) of a family of a man called Beorma
• Ing = place of ie Hawkinge (Kent) - place frequented by hawks

I wonder where this meadow would have been in relation to the now street name Hall Ings and it sounds as if it was a meadow next to or nearby the hall which was near the becks and possibly slightly swampy.

Bradford had a Fulling Mill where cleansing of the wool from oils & dirts happened, but it was open to every house. There was also a water mill with access for every house.

There was a reference to a Bolleshagh which I wonder if this place has any relation to the current area of Bowling (or Bolling) & the hall their?

The Book of Me, Written by You - Week 69 - What is my most treasured possession?

The Book Of Me, Written By You is a 15 month project set up by Julie Goucher at Anglers Rest.

Each week there are prompts which require answering.

My great, great grandmother's wedding jug

Week 69 - What is my most treasured possession?

I have had to think about this a lot, well, what is my most treasured possession? I am not sure whether I have a MOST treasured possession but I certainly have a few possessions which are treasured by me, these are:

• my laptop - all my family history research is stored on here (as well as backed up elsewhere), so I would want all that work to be passed onto someone who would like to continue it or be interested in the work I have already done

• my leather bound bible - this was a 21st birthday present from my grandparents who are no longer with us, there is a beautiful inscription in the front cover which was written by my grandfather and means a lot to me

• my great, great grandmother's wedding jug - the only heirloom I have from my mother's side of the family

• my great grandmother's engagement ring - a beautiful ring which I wear occasionally for special occasions

The Book of Me, Written by You - Week 68 - Memory Tree

The Book Of Me, Written By You is a 15 month project set up by Julie Goucher at Anglers Rest.

Each week there are prompts which require answering.

Week 68 - Memory Tree

Think of those who are no longer with us, who would appear on your memory tree (ie friends, family, pets, colleagues etc)

There are many people who would appear on my memory tree, some I feel I cannot share publicly but here are a few of the ones I wish to share:

• My grandparents, all 4 of them. I was lucky to have a good relationship with all my grandparents in different ways. One of my grandfather's is still living although he has dementia and does not recognise me any longer, so although he is still with us - he also isn't, so I miss who he was. My paternal grandmother inspired me in my family history research, she would talk to me for hours about her cousins and auntie's and uncle's.  My maternal grandfather I would sit and chatter nonsense with him for hours and he would just listen. He was a source of great wisdom and had a deep faith. My maternal grandmother was also always there for me, she would keep me well fed with lovely home-cooked food especially during my student days. 
• Dusky, my pet house rabbit, who lived to a ripe old age of 8 years old - he was such a cheeky rascal of a rabbit in his youthful days. He would jump onto the sofas & run around the living room, chewing wires, rugs, chairs, boots, throws & cushions! We once left him with my parents for 3 months whilst we went travelling and when we returned he would come and sit in my lap, it felt as if he had really missed us and was very endearing.