Where
We Meet
The
Society meets at 19:30 on the fourth Thursday of each month (except
August and December) at St Peter's Church Hall in Wisbech unless otherwise
stated. There is a map of the centre of Wisbech
to show the location of the hall.
We
have a full programme, including speakers, members' evenings and outings.
An archive of reports of previous years
meetings is available.
Current
Meeting Programme
Summaries
of meetings
| Date
- 2008 |
Description |
Author |
| January
2008 |
The
speaker for our first meeting for 2008 was Robert Bell from the
Wisbech Museum. Many of our members have already used the museum
to look up the local Parish Registers for their family B. M.D’s,
and Robert was able to tell us what else was available.
There were many early maps on display, of Wisbech & the surrounding
areas, which in some cases also showed who owned the land. Books
such as Council Minutes, sanitation inspector’s reports,
early Kellys trade directories & old newspapers were also
shown as were copies of Bastardy orders settlements & removal
papers, old sale notices & much more to help us to fill in
our family history.
Robert said that the museum is hoping to get an online catalogue
of what is available at the museum in the future but advised that
if anyone wanted to look at large documents, an appointment needs
to be made to enable the museum staff to allocate adequate space.
After
a question & answer session, the donation of the 100-year-old
wedding dress, first seen at our ‘Weddings evening’
in November, was made to the Museum. The 23-year-old bride was
Edith Letitia Spanton of Cambridge, daughter of Emery Spanton
a Baptist Minister & her groom also 23 years was John Dickens
Groome, son of Charles Groome, a farmer in Wellingborough, Northants.
The wedding took place in the September quarter of 1903 in Cambridge.
J.R. Glass. Milliner Draper & Ladies Outfitter of Wisbech
supplied the material for the bride’s gown & was made
locally.
Mentioned
also were the generous donations made to the Society by members,
Barbara Bullen, of stationary items, Kevin Rogers for his work
on the MI’s at the Octagon Church cemetery Wisbech &
Heather Stanbury’s gift of CD’s. |
Barbara
Holmes |
| February
2008 |
Peter
Carter, our speaker for the February meeting told of his family
going back to the 1500s. This true Fenland family has been mentioned
in five books & the skills have been passed down through his
family.
Attired
in his working clothes Peter fascinated his audience with his
knowledge of the country - side. He described the life cycle of
eels & how they were caught using wicker traps & special
eel forks, & explained how their numbers were diminishing
partly due to the large catches made at sea preventing the eels
coming into local waters for breeding.
With
the aid of a computer pictures we saw different types of punt
gun & how they were used to shoot duck, & Peter described
the careful approach used in a punt in the early mornings to catch
duck as they settled on the marshes.
We
then heard how poaching in the past was carried out, always illegal,
but if carried out during the daytime & the poacher got caught
he was sent to prison, but if caught night poaching then this
was a hanging offence! It was presumed that the daytime poaching
took place ‘by chance’ but that poaching at night
was pre- planned. Peter pointed out that birds & animals were
always killed for food & never for fun.
Peter
is responsible for willow beds & described the growing &
coppicing to maintain their usefulness in providing willow for
traps & baskets for the long term.
The
Woodland Trust also provides work for Peter as he makes fences
& does hedge laying which he much prefers, to the practice
of flaying hedges to reduce their height.
Peter
also visits schools & instructs the children on the use of
willow & how they should treat the Countryside, and his ‘claim
to fame’ when he met & spoke to the Queen at the Welney
Wild Life Association.
We
saw a few artefacts & Peter answered questions, especially
on how to trap moles, for the rest of the evening whilst we enjoyed
light refreshments. |
Barbara
Holmes |
| March
2008 |
CHILDHOOD
MEMORIES
Members recalling their childhood memories took us back in time
for our March meeting.. The stories ranged from the war - time,
air raid shelters, ration books & the value of the sweet coupons,
searchlights & the food that was available, to the games children
played. We were told of children, in one case a 14yr old boy,
being in charge of a horse & loaded cart that was being taken
through town, and having time off school to help gather the wheat
& potato harvests (no health & safety in those days)
Mentioned also was the discipline that was the rule rather than
the exception, which in retrospect was usually fair & certainly
did no harm.
The
games we played, even to sliding down a pigsty roof & the
bicycle rides & ball games.
The
first TV programmes for kids such as the Wooden Tops & Bill
& Ben. The radio was important not only for the news but for
programmes such Uncle Mack & his way of ending his programme
with ‘goodnight children –everywhere’. The Billy
Cotton Band show & Workers Playtime with its catchy songs,
and Dick Barton –special agent.
Holidays
by the seaside, leisure time, liquorice straws & gob stoppers,
fruit picking, school time, & friends to share adventures
with - all had a mention.
From
this evening the memories proved that family, friends, freedom
& fearlessness was the order of the day, with common sense
prevailing even to learning some of life’s lessons the hard
way.
One
could wonder today if our children are missing out on such a lot
….. |
Barbara
Holmes |
| April
2008 |
FUNNY
BLOOD - a family disease
Ann
Simmons’s reason for investigating her family history was
medical. At out April meeting Ann, a retired State Registered
Nurse, spoke of the ‘funny blood’ disease which afflicted
her immediate family & told us how the symptoms presented
with pallor, tiredness & a general feeling of being unwell.
One member of her family was seen to have ‘white ears’.
Ann, being advised that the condition was probably hereditary
& with her medical knowledge, decided to try & find out
through which part of the family the disease came.
Her
search, as with all family historians, began by finding her forefathers.
Aided with many beautiful family photographs, hoarded by her Aunt
Miriam & interspersed with paintings by Ann’s artistic
father, she traced the past family members who had had various
medical conditions such as anaemia, renal failure & leukaemia.
A diagnosis of a ‘malfunction of the spleen’ (splenic
anaemia) was made because the red blood cells became spherical
instead of the normal convex shape & the patients were ‘cured’
by blood transfusions & eventually the removal of the spleen.
It was often found that a personal stress situation was experienced
before the disease became apparent & not all members of the
same family suffered the disease.
A
vast amount of research proved, with the aid of death certificates
that many of her past family had peculiar illnesses, which today
would be associated with Sphero-cytosis, Modern medical thinking
is that the bone marrow is responsible for the condition rather
than the spleen & treated with drugs. The operation, for this
disease, is rarely carried out today. We learned that Ann herself
has had a splenectomy & many transfusions whilst working as
a nurse & now enjoys good health.
Her talk was very knowledgeable & eloquently presented &
Ann answered many questions. |
Barbara
Holmes |
| May
2008 |
LIFE
ON THE LINCOLNSHIRE SALT MARSHES
‘Queen
of the salt marsh’ is another name for June Barton, for
one could not meet a more dedicated & enthusiastic person
when it comes to the flora & fauna & taking care of the
salt marshes. She was born one mile from Kirton Marsh to farming
parents & at six weeks old was taken to the marsh when her
father went to harvest Samphire. Her knowledge is such that none
have been able to ask a question about the marsh that she could
not answer. She is now well known & can be heard on the local
radio & has been interviewed for BBC TV programmes. She likes
to meet people but says she is just as happy being alone on a
1000 acres of marsh watching birds in flight.
June
explained that a salt marsh is an area covered by water twice
a day & explained about spring & neap tides, how the creeks
can alter course over time & how it can be a dangerous place
because of quick sand & the tidal actions. She can also weather
forecast by observing nature’s signs.
Her
fame spread when she claimed commoner’s rights & succeeded,
to harvest Samphire, also known as poor mans asparagus, which
the local council wanted to stop. June explained that the correct
way to harvest Samphire properly was by cutting & not by pulling
up by the roots. She pointed out that the collection should be
done by the locals & not turned into a commercial project.
During
her life June has been a local government officer amongst other
occupations, & her opinion is called for when decisions need
to be made about her beloved environ. Her talk was fascinating
& was interspersed with amusing anecdotes.
June
showed us videos of some of her TV broadcasts & then answered
questions, one of which was about her thoughts on wind farms.
As much as she dislikes them June said she thinks eventually the
coast line will have several & that we have to be prepared
to look forward even if the outlook is not as favourable as we
would like.
An
enlightening evening in the company of a lady whose life is the
Lincolnshire Salt Marshes. |
Barbara
Holmes |
| June
2008 |
ST.
MATTHEW’S CHURCH. SUTTON BRIDGE
The
Reverend Woods greeted us when the Society held it’s June
meeting at St. Matthews Church.
The village of Sutton Bridge came into existence shortly before
the Church which was built of Suffolk flint with stone dressings
in the Early English style.
The trustees of Guys hospital bought an estate as an investment,
which covered most of the Sutton Bridge area.
William Skelton became steward of the estate & was responsible
for improved drainage, the building of roads & planting trees.
Thomas Guy, who is remembered for the founding of Guys Hospital,
was a bookseller in London who made a fortune selling Bibles in
Holland & was a contractor for printing Bibles in Oxford,
and it is he who was mainly responsible for the founding &
building of St Matthew’s Church.
St. Matthew’s was consecrated on 29th August 1843, the first
stone being laid on July 28th 1841 by Benjamin Harrison Esq. Treasurer
of Guy’s Hospital.
The church consisted of a chancel, nave, north & south porches
& a western tower containing a clock & one bell &
was of plain design with no stained glass windows, no side chapels,
no heating & only candles for lighting.
After a short talk we were able to look round the church &
noted the Reredos, which was commissioned in 1961. This caused
great concern amongst the churchgoers, as it portrayed a beardless
Christ.
We also saw the RAF chapel of St. Michael, which was incorporated
into the chapel of St. Philip in 1956, in memory of the men of
8 countries who are laid to rest in the churchyard. A board close
by shows the names & country of origin of the fallen men.
The magnificent east window behind the High Altar depicts the
Epiphany, Crucifixion and Ascension.
The yellow west window depicts the Millennium & the blue window
is to the memory of ‘All who left Sutton Bridge to work
abroad from 1840 –2000’.
We were also able to browse the church registers & visit the
tower & the Reverend was kept busy answering questions.
|
Barbara
Holmes |
|