Grandpa – The Mikado

From every kind of manObedience I expect;I’m the Emperor of Japan —” The Mikado, Act II During fighting at Armentières on 9th February 1916 my Grandfather, George Edward Lines, was wounded in the leg and sent back to England to recover. By April he was in Keynsham, staying with the Stevens family, where a local… Continue reading Grandpa – The Mikado

Trust me, I am your bank

A while ago my credit card was cloned, or hacked in some way, and their computer systems correctly identified a fraudulent transaction. That part of the system worked very well, however the next part of their process was almost a textbook example of what not to do. I was alerted by a text message, from… Continue reading Trust me, I am your bank

The Proof of Identity Problem

More and more organisations are requiring ‘Proof of real identity’ by asking their users, members or customers for a scanned image of their passport of similar official document. At first sight this may seen a reasonable thing – why should your doctor, or your bank, or Google not know who you really are? The problem… Continue reading The Proof of Identity Problem

Stoke Newington – where family history and literature meet.

As well as in interest in family history, I like to read. The American Boy, by Andrew Taylor is one of the books I am currently reading. This historical drama is set around 1818 in Stoke Newington. This is a work in progress. Some sections are merely skeletons The American Boy The main character of… Continue reading Stoke Newington – where family history and literature meet.

Robert Harden Champion – Sweet success

This is a work in progress – posted before it is complete to share some of the information I have. Robert Harden Champion, my Great-great-grandfather, was born at Berrow in January 1845, eldest son of James Harden Champion (1821-1895) and Jane Hawkings (1820-1884). He married Ellen Horseman (1845-1926) at St Barnabas, Bristol in 1868, and… Continue reading Robert Harden Champion – Sweet success

Dynastic Unions

There are several cases in my family history of siblings from one family marrying into their in-law’s families. In the days of large families, and no Internet Dating it made sense, and presumably the elders of both families approved. In some cases it might throw some light on how some of the couples met. This… Continue reading Dynastic Unions

A visit from Parson Pobjoy

Margaret Box, my Great-aunt, trained as a nurse, and joined the Scottish Women’s Hospitals, towards the end of the First World War, working primary in what was at the time Serbia. By March 1919 she and other nurses and doctors were working in a hospital in Sarajevo, which had been converted from a school to… Continue reading A visit from Parson Pobjoy