Edith Lines and James Rae

One of my Grandfather‘s sisters, Edith, known in the family as Dee, married James Rae on the 6th of July 1916. He was a civil servant who rose to Under-secretary to the Treasury, and his papers are in the National Archives, though not digitised. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the… Continue reading Edith Lines and James Rae

The Vicar of Harwell

Harwell is a village in Oxfordshire, probably best know for giving its name to the airfield which became the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, now the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, and where I spent most of my career. It was, amongst other things, a pioneer in computing, the Harwell Dekatron Computer dating back… Continue reading The Vicar of Harwell

About William Webster

My Great-Great Grandfather was William Webster (1823-1889). His daugher, Ada Webster (1861-1944) married my Great Grandfather, John Robert Box (1849-1826) in 1884 at Highgate Rise Church. Confusingly his father was also William Webster (1796-1888), and I think his Grandfather may have been also been a William Webster. Here I try to untangle the more recent… Continue reading About William Webster

Fitzhenry Family

My Great Grandmother, Jane Fitzhenry, married my Great Grandfather, Joseph Lines on 30th June 1877 the parish church of St Andrew in Holburn. Her father was Michael Fitzhenry, recorded in census and some other records as being born in Bristol in 1809. There is however no record of his birth, or who his parents were,… Continue reading Fitzhenry Family

William Williams Box , Solicitor – unexpectedly interesting

The family William Williams Box was born on 15th July 1851, the son of William Braund Box and Rosina Williams (whose story is told in Whatever Happened to the Williams Sisters). He had an elder brother, John Robert Box (1849-1926 – my Great Grandfather), and sister, Christina Elizabeth Box (1848-1875). His younger siblings were Frederick… Continue reading William Williams Box , Solicitor – unexpectedly interesting

Mr Acid Rain and our Interconnected World

My father, Roger Lines, was a research forester, working for the Forestry Commission. When, in the early 1970’s, I did my Statistics O-Grade I was fortunate to be able to help with some real research at the, then fairly newly established, Forestry Commission Northern Research Station. I was chopping young Sitka Spruce trees, grown under… Continue reading Mr Acid Rain and our Interconnected World

From Salonica to Sarajevo

My Great Aunt, Margaret Box trained as a nurse and, towards the end of the First World War went as a Red Cross Volunteer with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals to join their life-saving work in Serbia. She had been working in Skopje, but the unit was no longer needed there, and they had been sent,… Continue reading From Salonica to Sarajevo