It's grand to be an Englishman in 1910, King Edward's on the throne, it's the age of men. (George Banks, in the film, Mary Poppins) My grandfather's birth seemed to have marked the beginning of his family. On his birth certificate the space under "father" … Continue reading An Edwardian family
Category: History
Nurse Mabel Butler and The South Eastern Fever Hospital
In the year that Queen Victoria died, 1901, my great grandmother, Mabel Butler, was 25 and unmarried. According to the census that was carried out that year she was a hospital nurse at The South Eastern Hospital, Avonlea Road, Deptford, London SE. However, the census … Continue reading Nurse Mabel Butler and The South Eastern Fever Hospital
Growing up in Victorian England
My great grandmother, Mabel Butler, and her sister Sarah were orphans. Sarah was 11 years older than Mabel. They lost their parents in unclear circumstances when Sarah was about 14 and Mabel was 3. Their parents, Ephraim and Jane Butler, lived in Bristol when they … Continue reading Growing up in Victorian England
Major Charles Holdorf at Fromelles
It is a cold, windy summer day in Dalarna, Sweden as I write, 19 July 2013. I have been reading a little about my great grandfather, Charles John Holdorf, born 1869 in Sydney. His parents were German migrants to Australia and he grew up in … Continue reading Major Charles Holdorf at Fromelles
Searching for Grandpa George
I've been trying to imagine the world in which my grandfather, George Simmonds, grew up. I never knew George, because he died when he was only 50, 6 years before I was born. He was born in England, in Redhill, Surrey, in 1905, but his … Continue reading Searching for Grandpa George
Forgotten tales 