I seem to be famous. Reviews of my two new books were accompanied by an interview in the recent Your Family Tree Magazine. Although I am not about to retire on the strength of the royalties both seem to be selling well. In the fast moving world that is family and local history I am already collecting information for second editions. So some interesting websites that have been drawn to my attention recently include:

A Gazetteer of English Place Names. The ability to search and download the surviving Irish census images free of charge. And the mapping section of the Family Search website. Finally, with my forthcoming talk at The Society of Genealogists in mind, something on the history of witchcraft.

Posts will be spasmodic for the next month while I am busy with the job that I am not allowed to mention on social media – so of course I won’t. This job involves travelling to a northern industrial town some 270 miles away and it requires me to do so twice. Never my favourite destination it is particularly unappealing at this time of year. Bank Holiday weekend, the first day of the school half term and the world and all his wives are on the road. No way would I be undertaking this sort of driving but my trusty companion is manfully acting as chauffeur. It takes us five hours to progress 150 miles along the M6 and M5. We play put and take repeatedly with the cars in the neighbouring lane. A small child’s teddy waves at us. We wave back. This happens several times, much to the glee of the child. Then my driver realises that he has a Papa Smurf toy on his dashboard. There is a good reason for this. Let’s just say any resemblance between Papa Smurf and my chauffeur is purely deliberate. Papa Smurf waves cheerily next time the child passes us. We did inadvertently wave at the wrong car at one point but we are used to being thought slightly strange.

We stop at services, along with everyone else who is hoping in vain that the congestion will lessen whilst they are off the road. There is barely a parking space and I try to manoeuvre myself back in the car without opening the door into the closely parked and exceedingly expensive looking car in the next space. Somehow I manage to bang the door into my nose. An interesting looking black eye begins to develop.

These trips to the north involve an inordinate amount of food. The all you can eat breakfasts – and yes I can eat quite a lot, the three course evening meals, lunches – I never eat lunch. All this is designed to make me semi comatose just when I need to be alert. The bedroom in the motel is clearly designed for northern climates. Sadly this is a hot and humid spell and it is impossible to get the night time temperature below 23 degrees.

Back home I have been victim of a couple of mail order situations. I am advised, on the basis of my previous ordering patterns, that I may be interested in a ‘skinny see through bandage dress’. Who on earth decided that my mundane books, household and stationery purchases might fit me for such an item? Then there is that moment when you realise that the vital packaging for returning a mail order item is in the bin under a layer of rice & chicken bones.

I have been silent on the house renovations recently. They are almost done. Somehow moving from ‘almost done’ to actually done always seems to take a very long time. I did purchase a smart TV, sadly this did not come supplied with an operator smart enough to work out the subtleties of all its features.

Various history projects are progressing nicely. My lovely ladies who are recording their memories of 1946-1969 have become a really cohesive group and are meeting up in various regions. Some submitted Mass Observation Diaries for May 12. What a wonderful idea. We could also record our lives on an ‘ordinary’ day for the benefit of our descendants. What did we wear? What did we eat? Wouldn’t it have been great if our ancestors had done this for us? Excited by the forthcoming work on the servicemen of the first world war with the local school. It is great to help the community become involved in enjoying history.

As regular readers will know, recently I have spent time trying to discover as much as possible about those who perished in the fishing disaster off Clovelly in 1838 and their descendants. This was made more difficult by the paucity of records. The only list of names was in a local paper (subsequently repeated by other publications) and proved to be inaccurate. Although villages of origin were noted in conjunction with the names, there were no ages. As about half the bodies were never recovered, these victims have no death certificates and no burial records, which might have given further clues. Strangely, some seem to have burial records but no death registrations. Even allowing for the fact that some may have been registered as unknown deaths and subsequently identified in time for burial, this seems odd, especially as there were inquests. It was of course very early in the days of death registrations but this does not seem an adequate explanation.

As a direct result of the tragedy, The Shipwrecked Mariners’ Association  was formed 175 years ago and they were celebrating this milestone with the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the victims of the 1838 disaster. As the research progressed there were hints of a royal involvement in the event. Initially this was all very hush hush but eventually it transpired that I and the descendants I had unearthed, would be invited to meet HRH Princess Anne, the Princess Royal. Great in theory but this involved posh, not only do I not do ‘posh’ but this was the sort of posh that was compatible with standing on a windy and possibly rainy, quayside having descended a steep cobbled street. Fortunately hats were deemed unnecessary and in the end the weather was kind, although my version of posh did not really go with flat shoes. I was tempted to send Mistress Agnes in my stead – warm and comfortable at least – but Master Christopher was reluctant to accompany her so she had to attend disguised as her twenty first century self.

When the date of the event was set it was too good to be true, the day after the end of our annual Braund family reunion. Braunds would be descending on North Devon from near and far and may want to stay to witness the unveiling. Some Braund Society members were already involved in the day as descendants of the victims. A swift bit of negotiating and I gained permission for others to attend.

Shaking Hands with Her Royal Highness

On a lovely day I assembled in my designated position on Clovelly quay where I was to introduce some of the descendants to HRH. Having unveiled a fountain at the top of Clovelly, the Princess descended the cobbles and spent five minutes or so talking to each of the six assembled groups on the quay. HRH had clearly done her homework and spoke in an informed way to each group. The memorial was unveiled and a Cornish shanty group ‘Stamp and Go’ sung a song composed especially for the occasion. I thought my job researching the descendants was bad enough but when the composer contacted me for help with information, prior to writing the song, I knew who had drawn the short straw! My response went along the lines of, ‘Good luck with that one’. Not much scanning or rhyming potential in ‘Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners’ Royal Benevolent Society’ but they did a great job.

The Braunds who were expecting only to spectate were thrilled that the Princess stopped to talk to them on her way back up the quay. Two of them appeared on the local news, even though the BBC manage to mis-spell one of their surnames.

So I can now add shaking hands with a Princess and talking to her about research to the list of unexpected experiences to which my research has led.

The dictionary tells us that a zealot is one ‘who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals.’ Here is not the place to discuss the two unmentionables ‘politics and religion’ but other ideals maybe. In my ideal world people would engage with and preserve the heritage that surrounds them. They would value their ancestry and be interested in passing on the stories of preceding generations. Most people who undertake historical research as a hobby would agree that it very swiftly become much more than a hobby and yes, we may well own up to the ‘fanatical and uncompromising’ label. Anyone who has stuck with me from A all the way to Z during April can probably tell that, for me, history in all its forms is an obsession. Yes, it has taken over my life – although I enjoy making room for my other interests, not least of which are my wonderful family, my home and garden and the great outdoors – both near and far.

Back to the dictionary and we learn that a fanatic is ‘a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal’. Like any ‘fanatic’ I am single-minded about my history and I do want to share it with anyone who will listen. This doesn’t mean I want to bore people rigid with stories of my research – I want to encourage others to take an active part in history for themselves.

I like to think that my ‘audiences’, when I share aspects of the seventeenth century as Mistress Agnes, are entertained as well as informed. Just because I try (sometimes!) to make history amusing does not mean that it is not good history. I aim to get others to participate in history in an active way – then history does the job for itself – they are hooked!

I hope that some of these A-Z posts have been thought provoking. It has been hard work but fun. Normal blogging service will now resume, with less frequent posts and random musings about my historical and occasionally hysterical life.

Unusually, I was interested in family history before my seventh birthday and was seriously researching in my early twenties. At a recent local history talk that I gave, my most enthusiastic audience member was an eight year old boy – brilliant. If we believe that it is vital to enthuse younger generations with our love of history and family history, rather than just hope that, with all the other competing interests, they will enthuse themselves, what can we do? Having worked with young people, both in and out of a history and family history context, I believe that the spark is there now, young people ARE interested. I could spend the rest of this post trying to prove this to you but I believe there are more important things to be said. I promise they are interested or they could easily be persuaded to be interested, if approached in the right way. In that case, why are most local and family history groups made up of wonderful people who are nevertheless, predominantly of retirement age? Here is the crux of the matter – young people are not interested in doing things OUR WAY.

Be aware, be very aware, that young people have the attention spans of gnats and they expect things to be immediate, bite-sized, visual and interactive. That’s fine you might say, I can do modern technology, I have a website. Websites are great but not if they are effectively a 1970s textbook on line. Young people want a young people’s website. Look at Devon Family History Society’s Acorn Club website pages. They are designed for young people and most are not Devon specific.

One of the best ideas for involving young people came from a family history student of mine who wrote a series of illustrated letters to his ten year old grandson, as if from his grandfather (the boy’s great great grandfather). These involved a certain amount of Victorian local and social history research but worked wonderfully. If your descendants aren’t likely to read letters there are always emails, blogs or text messages!

Have a look at the television series ‘Horrible Histories’ – now presented by Stephen Fry and featuring such delights as ‘we sell any monk dot com’ and ‘The V factor’ (auditions for a Viking rock band). Yes, personally I preferred the books that spawned this TV series and the excellent, interactive website that goes with it and I do have to confess to being irritated with the leaping from Aztecs to the first world war and back to the Tudors (young people have enough trouble with chronology as it is) but here I am not following my own advice. I am a book person, young people, sadly, often are not. I must not want them to do it my way. Start with the TV programmes and the website, maybe that will lead on to the books. I’ve yet to find a 7-13 year old who doesn’t like this series.

For young people who will sit still for more than a millisecond, you could create a photograph album together. Most family tree software will allow drop-line pedigrees with photos which could also help. I know many of you do try to involve young people but for those who feel that it isn’t possible to interest the younger generation, that just isn’t so, it just has to be done THEIR way. Get them young. Give me a child until they are seven and I will give you the person who will want to inherit your historical research. Over to you.

If you want to hear more on this theme, book me for my ‘Harnessing the Facebook Generation’ talk or I can advise on running a young persons’ day for local and family history groups. Several books have been written to encourage younger family historians. Particularly recommended are Anthony Adolph’s Who am I? The Family Tree Explorer (Quercus 2009). Emma Jolly’s Family History for Kids (Pymer Quantrill Publishing Ltd. 2007) and Jane Starkie’s Hw 2 *t Ur Fmly Hstry (FHP 2008). There are a number of “fill in the gaps” family history books for younger children. Zap the Grandma Gap by Janet Hovorka (Family ChartMasters 2013), with its accompanying workbook and website is full of ways in which adults can help to inspire the younger generation with a love of family history.

Ok I know we are getting to the tricky letters of the alphabet but you are probably thinking, what on earth can she being going to drivel on about now.

You know those occasions when you have to provide your current occupation? It is usually when you are applying for some kind of insurance. Frequently there is a pre-prepared drop down list with no option for ‘other’. No chance that this list will include ‘historical interpreter’. Often ‘historian’ doesn’t appear either, although strangely most of these lists include ‘art historian’. I told you we were in danger of extinction (see yesterday’s post). Depending on my mood (and what I think will get me the lowest premium) I might go for ‘lecturer’, or ‘researcher’, or ‘author’, or even ‘museum guide’ – none of which describe all of what I do. If I say I am an ‘historian’ it conjures up visions of a, usually male, antiquarian, beavering away in a dusty study, communicating with no one. This so isn’t what I do.

Err, you are meant to be writing about unity remember. – I know I am getting there. There are two aspects to this – how can a united front help the cause of the historian and how can a study of history promote unity in a community or group.

Access to a world-wide audience can give historical research a completely different complexion. Group projects can be undertaken by those who never physically meet. Take, for example, my 1946-1969 project. Nearly 100 women from three continents are contributing to this study, giving me data that would be very difficult to collect If I had to meet with these ladies face to face. The scope for collaborative research is infinite. Databases can be added to by those working in distant locations; group participation makes for more detailed and comprehensive research.

Local historians can accomplish far more as a group than one person can alone. This is not just an issue of time. Each person will bring their own specialist interests to the team and can enjoy working on the aspect of community history that they enjoy best. Someone who has a fascination for ancient earthworks may not be the right person to conduct oral history interviews. Team work brings greater and more focussed results.

The Society for One-Place Studies is undertaking a joint project about the First World War. This is a brilliant idea because members can share ideas and experiences, can encourage each other and will eventually be able to compare results. This will make the research much more meaningful than isolated projects. Members will be able to see just how typical their communities were. Family history is like a jigsaw puzzle. If you work with others you may find some of your missing pieces. Sometimes we are all too keen to hang on to ‘our’ research (See O is for ownership) but sharing really does have its benefits.

Unity of course is power. Many strange things are happening to heritage, to archives, to online genealogical data providers at the moment. If you want to campaign for the retention of an archive facility or changes to an online data provider’s system, then there may not be safety but there is certainly impact in numbers. Joining together in an organised way is far more likely to bring about change than a lone voice in the wilderness.

Finally, a study of history can bring about unity and I have touched on this in previous posts. Creating a community archive can bring a community together, as they explore their shared heritage. Family history spawns renewed contact with distant family members, it may lead to family reunions, it may help to unite the family. All in all then uniting in groups of like minded people can be beneficial to historical research and engaging in that research can bring a disparate individual together with a sense of common purpose.