After a break of a couple of years I’m now back with a new series of family and local history talks.
These are:
- Local Links to the Lusitania;
- Tips for Researching your Great War Ancestors;
- My Batley St Mary’s in World War One One-Place Study;
- The Home Front: the White Lee Explosion of 1914.
Local Links to the Lusitania focuses on people with Yorkshire connections on board the Cunard liner, torpedoed and sunk off the Irish coast on 7 May 1915. The sinking did not affect only the rich and famous. Many Yorkshire people were involved. This talk explores some of their stories.
There is a possibility this talk can be tailored to your local area.
Based on my groundbreaking book The Greatest Sacrifice: Fallen Heroes of the Northern Union about rugby league players who died in World War One, the talk investigates the stories behind some of the men. It is also packed with tips for researching your own Great War Army ancestors.
My Batley St Mary’s in World War One One-Place Study is based on my ongoing study of the Catholic parish of St Mary of the Angels, particularly during the First World War. It investigates what a one-place study is, why I embarked on one, why I chose this particular focus, as well as my findings.
The Home Front: the White Lee Explosion of 1914 is a talk based around the events of December 1914 when a devastating explosion, caused during the manufacture of picric acid for the war effort, took place at White Lee. It resulted in deaths and injuries, as well as damage across a vast area of Batley, Heckmondwike and the Spen Valley. It is an event often overlooked because of later explosions in Yorkshire at Low Moor and Barnbow. This talk aims to provide more information about this Heavy Woollen District incident, the forerunner to the later explosions. The talk will explore the unlucky history of the site as well as the events on the day and the aftermath.
For more details about these talks, including booking one, please contact me at: pasttopresentgenealogy@btinternet.com
PastToPresentGenealogy 