Genealogy Research

Published Articles

The Birtley Belgians: The concerns of soldiers at the front in WWI about the Birtley Belgians, munitions workers living in a self contained township established at Birtley to provide a factory run entirely by Belgian nationals. The Journal of the Northumberland & Durham Family History Society, 2017 p.71 (Summer) Link to Article

A Case of Furious Driving. The press reports in 1886 of the case of "furious driving" on Percy Street, Newcastle by a horse and cart, that led to the death of Andrew Morton (my ggg-grandfather). The Journal of the Northumberland & Durham Family History Society, 2018 p.18 (Spring) Link to Article

Researching The Origins of Florence Nightingale Harrison Bell:  Newcastle Suffragist and Social Reformer. My researches to establish the previously mysterious origins of a notable Tyneside figure. The Journal of the Northumberland & Durham Family History Society, 2019 p.39 (Spring) Link to Article

Explosions, Strikes, Riots & Royalty: My Relatives' Life In The Durham Coalfield. The story of Richard Heckels the miner's son from Tyneside who became the Chief Mining Engineer to the Earl of Durham who's story parallels the history of the Durham Coalfield. The Journal of the Northumberland & Durham Family History Society, 2020 p.69 (Summer) Link to Article

Family History Talks

Chirupula Stephenson: Tyneside's African Legend. The remarkable story of the boy from Tyneside who became one of the pioneering explorers in Southern Africa, viewed alternatively as a Legend, a Black Sheep or a God.

Explosions, Strikes, Riots & Royalty: My Relative's Life in The Durham Coalfield. The life of Richard Heckels who became Chief Viewer to the Earl of Durham, who's life mirrors the turbulence in the Durham Coalfield during the nineteenth century.

    

DNA & Family History: An introduction and personal experiences. An introduction to DNA for family history, what tests are available, what they mean and dealing with your first results.


(email me for further details)

 

Other Research

 "Their War Our History". The Belmont, Durham Community Association received grants from Belmont County Councillors and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to fund a WWI project to remember the effect of WWI on the people of Belmont & Carville and to commemorate the fallen men recorded on the village war memorial. 

Members from the Belmont branch of the Northumberland and Durham Family History Society collaborated on research which included the background stories of the men (Alastair Laws), mapping the location of their homes in the village (Derek Britten, sadly deceased) and life in the village as reflected in the local newspapers of the time (Harry Aicheson & myself).