The British Library will be holding their monthly, free, introductory training sessions in family history on the following dates in early 2011:
Wednesday, 12 January
Thursday, 17 February
Tuesday, 15 March
Wednesday, 13 April
As always, they start at 11.00 and last about one hour. To secure a place those interested should contact hrs-training@bl.uk
FIBIS member, Chrissy Wellborne, contacted me as she thought readers might be interested in the opening of ’The Lord Ashcroft Gallery’ at the Imperial War Museum, London on the 12th November 2010. Chrissy’s Step Grandfather, Maj G.M. Rolland, IA’s VC and African Service Medal won in Somaliland, 1903 is part of this collection and will be included in the display.
From the Imperial War Museum website.
Date: 12th November 2010
The Lord Ashcroft Gallery
The Lord Ashcroft Gallery is the first major permanent gallery to open at Imperial War Museum London for ten years. This new gallery will house the Extraordinary Heroes exhibition, proudly presenting the world’s largest collection of Victoria Crosses alongside the 48 VCs and 31 George Crosses already held by the Museum.
Visitors to the Lord Ashcroft Gallery’s Extraordinary Heroes exhibition will discover the personal stories behind each medal on display in a state-of-the-art space filled with interactive touch-screens, multimedia platforms and original interpretation. The new gallery will examine the concept of bravery and the personal stories behind the award of the medals. Alongside the precious medals will be many objects on display for the first time as well as newly commissioned artwork, film and photography.
Find out more here
Read more about the heroes behind the medals in an extract from Lord Ashcroft’s new book as well as an interview with Lord Ashcroft.
Free admission. Visitors may experience a short wait at peak times.
Every month the fibiwiki moderators chose an article, image and project to feature on the frontpage of the fibiwiki. Fibiwiki is a website about British India that anyone can edit.
This month’s featured article, image and project are:
Readers might be interested in the latest podcast from the National Archives on the First Afghan War. The national Arhive give the following description.
In this talk, journalist and historian Jules Stewart will guide us through the 1838-1842 period of Afghan history. Just some of the events explored include the Persian siege of Herat with Russian assistance, which Britain feared would lead to an invasion of India through Afghanistan; the issuance of the infamous Simla Manifesto that justified the invasion; the military and political blunders that brought on the uprising in Kabul; the forced evacuation of the Kabul garrison and the destruction of the entire army on the retreat to Jalalabad; and the second invasion by the Army of Retribution and the inconclusive end to the war. The talk will also take a brief look at the second and third Afghan wars.
Jules Stewart has spent most of his professional life in journalism, reporting from more than 30 countries. A graduate of New York University and the University of Madrid, he began his career as an academic, lecturing at two US universities before moving to Madrid, where he spent 20 years as a journalist. After joining Reuters, Stewart re-located to London in 1987, now his permanent home. He has been working as a freelance reporter since 1994. In recent years Stewart has turned his efforts to authorship, producing four books to date on the history of the British on the North-West Frontier and in Afghanistan.
Author: Jules Stewart Duration: 00:31:11
To listen to this podcast visit The National Archives website
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/the-first-afghan-war.htm.
COMING SOON
The East India Company and Redbridge: An Exhibition
Explore a story of trade and conquest and the 400 year-old links between Britain, India and Redbridge in this special exhibition by Redbridge Museum
Through a range of beautiful objects, paintings and documents from both India and Britain, visitors can uncover the astonishing story of the largest multinational business the world has ever seen.
Opens 20 October 2010
via Current Exhibitions.
The Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, which is part of the Andrews Collection at the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, Canterbury, Kent have now been made available on the Ancestry.com website. A quick search for the keyword ‘India’ produces 6,877 results
About the Index
This unique card index was compiled in England from the 1790s until about 1970 and features a collection of notices from newspapers and various official sources, such as the London Gazette. Approximately 250,000 cards include announcements of births, marriages, obituaries, and deaths abroad; notices of wills, unclaimed estates, and filings under the Colonial Probates Act of 1892 (which recognized probates from courts in British possessions); and advertisements for missing persons and people seeking next of kin. The original newspaper clippings on the cards sometimes include annotations referring to additional information from other sources.
The cards can have content on both the front and back. The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies notes that the index can be “useful for locating information about individuals who seem simply to disappear.”
via England, Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790-1976 – Ancestry.com.
The talk given by Allan Stanistreet, FIBIS Member and Collector of Medals, after the FIBIS Annual General Meeting on 7 November 2009 is now available to FIBIS members and non-members.
FIBIS members can find an extended version of the talk on the presentations page in the members area of the FIBIS website. The extended version includes the question and answer session at the end of the talk.
Non-members can find a a complete copy of the talk, minus the question and answer session, on our FIBIS podcast feed.
The National Archives has announced that it will be giving the following talk.
Thursday 22 July
14:00-15:00
The talk will cover the 1838-1842 period of Afghan history, and will include:
the Persian siege of Herat with Russian assistance, which Britain feared would lead to an invasion of India through Afghanistan the issuance of the infamous Simla Manifesto that justified the invasion the installation of the British protege Shah Shuja on the throne of Kabul the military and political blunders that brought on the uprising in Kabul the forced evacuation of the Kabul garrison and the destruction of the entire army on the retreat to Jalalabad the second invasion by the Army of Retribution and the inconclusive end to the war a few words about the second and third Afghan wars Jules Stewart has spent most of his professional life in journalism, reporting from more than 30 countries. A graduate of New York University and the University of Madrid, he began his career as an academic, lecturing at two US universities before moving to Madrid, where he spent 20 years as a journalist. After joining Reuters, Stewart re-located to London in 1987, now his permanent home. He has been working as a freelance reporter since 1994. In recent years Stewart has turned his efforts to authorship, producing four books to date on the history of the British on the North-West Frontier and in Afghanistan.
via The First Afghan War: lessons for today | The National Archives
The Brick Lane Circle have announced the following event.
Sunday 4 July 2010, 11am-5pm, Lab 2 & 3
Idea Store Whitechapel, 321 Whitechapel Rd, London E1 1BU23 June 2010 is the 253 years anniversary of the Battle of Plassey. It was on this day in 1757 that the East India Company conquered Bengal under the leadership of Robert Clive. It was also the beginning of the British Indian Empire.
Brick Lane Circle recently delivered a unique project that engaged a group of young people (18-25) who explored and wrote a book on the legacy of the East India Company and London’s historical links with Bengal.
The 2010 Annual Plassey Conference has been designed to continue and help increase the interest generated by the writing of the book Plassey’s Legacy: Young Londoners Explore the Hidden Story of the East India Company.
You will be able to meet some of the young authors at the conference and obtain a free copy of the book.
MORNING SESSION 11.00AM-1.30PM: CHAIRED BY SAMIA RAHMAN
CATALOGUING THE CLIVE PAPERS IN THE BRITISH LIBRARY
By Marie-Claire Wyatt, who has an MA in Medieval Studies from the University of York and received her Archive qualification from University College Dublin in 2005. She has worked at the British Library since 2007, first in the Manuscripts Department cataloguing the Coleridge Family Archive, then in India Office Records where she has been responsible for cataloguing the papers of Robert, Baron Clive of Plassey and of John, 13th Lord Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay.
THE GREAT BENGAL FAMINE OF 1770: NEW PERSPECTIVES
By Dr Tirthankar Roy, who is Reader in Economic History, London School of Economics. He has published extensively on economic and social history of modern South Asia, including a successful text, The Economic History of India 1857-1947, OUP India 2000, and a monograph on the history of the textile artisans from Cambridge University Press in 1999.
LUNCH 1.30 – 2.15PM (£6.00 per person for lunch)
AFTERNOON SESSION 2.15-5.00PM: CHAIRED BY NIAZ ALOM
MONSOON TRADERS: THE MARITIME WORLD OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
By Dr Robert Blyth, who is curator of imperial and maritime history at the National Maritime Museum. He has written on British India’s maritime frontiers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and on the history and material culture of transatlantic slavery. He is currently co-authoring a maritime history of the East India Company.
TEA: DIVIDING POLITICS, UNITING HERITAGE
By Ruhana Ali, who is a co-author of Plassey’s Legacy. She graduated in Social Policy, Criminal Justice & Psychology from the London School of Economics. She is a freelance writer, journalist, television presenter in the community and currently works as a community organiser for London Citizens.
All welcome! Free Entry! Advance booking only!
For details please call 07574224891 or email bricklanecircle@yahoo.co.uk
If, like me, you tried to take advantage of FindMyPast‘s ‘When England play, you don’t pay!’ offer last week, you were probably disappointed, as the website just couldn’t cope with the demand. FindMyPast have therefore decided to make a slightly different offer for this Friday’s match.
Here’s FindMyPasts offer for the second match on Friday, June 18.
View all the records* on findmypast for FREE and at a time of your choice, every time England plays in a World Cup match – just register by midnight (UK time) the day before.
How it works:
1. Register on the website before midnight (UK time) on Thursday, June 17. If you have already registered, you do not need to do this again.
2. Return to findmypast.co.uk any time between 9am UK time on Friday, June 18 and 9am Saturday, June 19 and sign in: you can now even watch the match as well!
3. Once you have signed in, you will have 90 minutes to search and view the records for free at your leisure (and a time of your choosing)
Not in the UK? Convert UK time to your local time.
*All records available using our Full subscription (including the 1911 Census) will be free: Living Relatives searches and Memorial scrolls are not included
via All our records free to view during every England World Cup match | findmypast.co.uk.
