At our September meeting member Louise Fanfarillo gave a short presentation “The White brothers go to war.” She told the story of her two great uncles and maternal grandfather who all served in World War One. The three brothers who were all born in Blackwell, Derbyshire -Johnny, Harold and Percy were all present at the battle(s) of the Somme and two of them, Johnny and Percy, never returned from the Western Front.

 Very sadly Percy died in Flanders in November 1917 and Johnny in September 1918, just two months before the war ended. Harold, Louise’s grandfather, was a conscientious objector and served as a stretcher bearer. He was wounded in the thigh in August 1918 but recovered at home and never returned to the war.

Harold worked as a miner who enjoyed caring for the pit ponies and went on to marry his cousin, Emma Louisa Kerry in early 1922. The couple had Louise’s mother, Joyce Elizabeth, and three sons Joseph William, Terence and John Brian, all of whom subsequently served in World War Two. Happily this time all three survived!

The session continued with a round table discussion on the best way to start researching one’s family history and the various resources both paid for and free that are available. These include Ancestry.com and FindMyPast.co.uk as well as familysearch.org and freebmd.co.uk. The very best source however, is always the memories and often photos and documents of older family members.

If this is a group that interests you, feel free to come along to our monthly meetings at The Brammer Room of the Village Hall. These take place at 2pm-4pm on the first Monday of the month with refreshments included. Your first meeting is free and you will be made very welcome!