The Archive contains 100s of stories about Thomas Edward Lawrence, including many reports of his amazing exploits during World War One.

Here is a fascinating newspaper report about the life and death of Lawrence, published just one day after he died.

Nottingham Evening Post – Monday 20 May 1935

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19350520/001/0001

Nottingham Evening Post – Monday 20 May 1935

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19350520/025/0007

The Mexican artist, Diego Rivera had been commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller to paint a mural in the RCA Building, which was the centrepoint of the Rockefeller Center.

The painting, entitled ‘Man at the Crossroads’, contained a large portrait of Lenin, which, ahem, did not go down very well with a very surprised Nelson Rockefeller.

As the Rockefeller Center is a citadel of capitalism, the feeling was that it probably wasn’t the best place for a massive portrait of Lenin – admittedly, that perspective likely depends on your political viewpoint!

However, Rivera refused to remove Lenin from his mural, hence the fascinating kerfuffle that followed.

Nottingham Evening Post – Thursday 11 May 1933

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19330511/050/0010

Satie was a member of the Parisian avant-garde of the late 19th and early 20th Century, and was famous for the eccentricity of his work.

While reading articles about Satie in the Archive, we found this terrific story about what the newspaper writer calls ‘ultra modern composers’.

In the last paragraph of the second section, the writer quotes the weird and wonderful instructions that Satie wrote for people who wished to play pieces of his music, for example:

‘Play this in exactly the same way as a crab walks’.

The whole newspaper article is a fascinating celebration of composers who thought about things a little differently.

We’ve also included a newspaper report on a lecture about Erik Satie that was given in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1915 – we like the description of Satie being ‘the Mark Twain of music’.

Hull Daily Mail – Saturday 31 October 1931

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19311031/058/0004

Newcastle Journal – Monday 15 February 1915

Image © Trinity Mirror. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000242/19150215/037/0006

The attack famously used the ‘bouncing bombs’ that had been invented by Barnes Wallis.

Included below is a newspaper report of the attack and also some photographs, which were published just two days afer the attack on the dams.

Derby Daily Telegraph – Tuesday 18 May 1943

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000521/19430518/001/0001

Aberdeen Journal – Wednesday 19 May 1943

Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19430519/010/0001

We heard scores of fascinating family history stories, and we hope we helped lots of people with researching their family history via the BNA website.

A big thank you to everyone who visited the BNA stand!

And thanks, also, to the Borders Family History Society for all their hard work in organising such a popular and successful event.

The next SAFHS Fair/Conference takes place in Dunfermline on Saturday 26 April 2014.

Amy of the BNA Team at the SAFHS 2013 Fair in Galashiels

It’s reported that after missing his target, Hadfield then said to the king:

‘God bless your royal highness; I like you very well; you are a good fellow.’

Hmm, we’re thinking that his words might be a very good examples of quick thinking…

Hadfield went on trial for high treason but, after listening to evidence from three doctors as to Hadfield’s state of mind, the judge decided on an acquittal, with the proviso that Hadfield would be detained indefinitely at his majesty’s pleasure.

Hadfield died from tuberculosis in Bethlehem Hospital (i.e. ‘Bedlam’) in 1841.

You can read dozens of stories about James Hadfield, including his escape from prison and recapture in Dover, in the Archive.

Chester Chronicle – Friday 27 June 1800

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000341/18000627/009/0004

- http://www.1914.org/news/new-digital-centenary-project-lives-of-the-first-world-war/

And here’s the URL for the ‘Lives of the First World War’ website – the archive content isn’t yet on the site, but there’s a video explaining what this fascinating website will eventually contain.

- http://www.livesofthefirstworldwar.org/

The book is entitled, The Real Sherlock Holmes: the Hidden Story of Jerome Caminada, and Angela wrote a fascinating article in November 2012 about her work-in-progress which, as well as telling a cracking story,  also highlights how she’s using the BNA for much of her research.

As Jerome Caminada was a detective who operated in Manchester’s underworld, he came into contact with all sorts of questionable, colourful and nefarious characters. One such character was the Reverend Edward Silverton (pictured left). Despite looking like a harmless academic and having the reputation of being an ‘esteemed pastor’, the Reverend Silverton was in fact a quack doctor who ‘preyed on the fears of his vulnerable victims’.  Determined to get his man, Detective Caminada went undercover in his efforts to convict the self-proclaimed ‘doctor’…

Angela has written a terrific article about Reverend Silverton’s clash with Detective Caminada, and has kindly allowed us to publish her new article below.

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On 23 May 1876, Exeter Hall opened for the first time in Nottingham. In a lavish inaugural ceremony presided over by His Worship the Mayor of Nottingham, Alderman Manning, the assembled Baptist community expressed their heartfelt gratitude for their long-awaited place of worship: their pastor, Rev Edward Silverton, had turned their dreams into reality.

Reverend Edward Silverton – this image has been republished with the kind permission of the Greater Manchester Police Museum & Archives.

The Nottinghamshire Guardian praised his success: ‘There was something noble in the venture of their pastor, Mr Silverton, who must have great confidence in the sentiment of the human heart’. The mayor presented an illuminated address to the reverend, conveying the ‘great esteem and affection’ of his congregation:

Nottinghamshire Guardian – Friday 26 May 1876

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000176/18760526/004/0003

The proceedings closed with a hymn, a collection and a vote of thanks to the mayor. Later that evening a concert celebrated the great success and achievement of this ambitious project. Despite earlier rumours of financial irregularities, the faithful flock of Reverend Silverton remained blissfully unaware that their esteemed pastor was a crook and in fact, he was a ruthless quack doctor who preyed on the fears of his vulnerable victims.

The nineteenth century had seen an unprecedented rise in the nefarious practices of fake doctors in towns and cities throughout the country. In many places, life was precarious with cramped accommodation, inadequate water supplies and poor sanitation. Contagious diseases like tuberculosis, typhus and cholera ravaged communities throughout the early Victorian period. Mortality rates were high, especially in the city slums, and everyone, whatever their walk of life, was preoccupied with their health. In this climate of fragility and insecurity, doctors selling miracle cures and offering free professional consultations, lured the ‘worried well’ with elaborate ruses to part with their hard earned cash in a desperate attempt to survive.

Manchester was one of the unhealthiest places to live in Victorian England with a mortality rate of 33 per thousand (the national average at the time was 22 per thousand). In the rookeries of the city the conditions were deadly, with an average life expectancy of just 18 years. When advertisements appeared in the local press for Rev Silverton’s astounding ‘Food of Foods’, hordes of potential patients flocked to see him.

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser – Thursday 22 May 1884

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/18840522/086/0003

Silverton claimed that his tonic would cure all manner of illnesses from consumption and bronchitis, to ‘noises in the head’ and general weakness; it was particularly effective for deafness. His medical advice was so popular that, on a visit to Manchester in 1884, he hired the Free Trade Hall for a series of health lectures and free daily appointments. Always on the alert for a scam, Detective Sergeant Jerome Caminada of the Manchester City police decided to investigate this self-proclaimed ‘doctor’. In the pretence that he was suffering from gout, he put on an old shoe and limped into the hall. As the reverend wasn’t available, Caminada saw his assistant who, without even examining his foot, diagnosed that he was suffering from rheumatism and needed a “good clearing out”, for a fee of 35 shillings. The detective followed his advice and purchased the tonic.

On analysis, the miraculous ‘Food of Foods’ turned out to be nothing more than a concoction of lentils, bran, brown flour and water: the ‘Elixir of all Diseases’ was a sham. Caminada obtained summonses against Rev Silverton and his assistant for conspiracy to defraud but the trial didn’t quite turn out as he had hoped and the stipendiary magistrate failed to bring a criminal case against the pair.

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser – Thursday 12 June 1884

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/18840612/035/0007

Undeterred, this ingenious impostor continued his bogus medical practice for some thirty years, his daughter later joining him in his flourishing business. Rev Silverton died in 1895 at the age of 60, and following his well-attended funeral, his moving eulogy was reported in the Nottingham Evening Post. His former congregation clearly had no idea of how unscrupulous and calculating their beloved pastor had been.

Nottingham Evening Post – Thursday 09 May 1895

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/18950509/056/0004

Fortunately, as conditions improved during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the need for the dubious ministrations of quack doctors declined. However, there were many other sophisticated swindlers and heartless con artists on the streets, as well as a ready supply of gullible victims to keep them in business. Living amongst them, Detective Caminada, with his unerring instinct for deception, continued in his daily battle to rid the city of criminals and protect the vulnerable.

Angela Buckley

The Real Sherlock Holmes by Angela Buckley will be published in March 2014 by Pen and Sword Books.

There is more information about Jerome Caminada at http://angelabuckley.wordpress.com or you can follow the author on Twitter at @amebuckley.

To mark the day, here is a newspaper report on the demo, which also contains some thoughts about what the future might hold for electric railways.

Tamworth Herald – Saturday 19 June 1880

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000484/18800619/004/0003

To get food and supplies into the cut-off city, the Western Allies manned 200 flights a day in an effort to defeat the blockade.

The Russians had closed the roads and railways in protest at at the plans by the Western Allies to create the independent republic of West Germany.

Here is a newspaper report published on the day that the blockade of Berlin was lifted.

Hull Daily Mail – Thursday 12 May 1949

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19490512/042/0005