Erik Satie, the French composer and pianist, was born in Honfleur, Normandy, on 17 May 1866. 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 …
On 16–17 May 1943, an attack on the Mohne and Edersee Dams was carried out by 617 Squadron, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. 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.
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The BNA Team had a grand day out in Galashiels on Saturday, attending the SAFHS Family History Fair/Conference. 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 …
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At the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on 15 May 1800, James Hadfield tried to shoot King George III while the national anthem was being played, and the king was standing to attention in the royal box. 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 …
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We’re always interested in new digitisation projects, so were very interested to see this news story about the start of the ‘Lives of the First World War’ website project. – 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/
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Back in November 2012, Angela Buckley, a researcher and writer from Manchester, tweeted to tell us about an exciting book project she’s working on. 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 …
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On 13 May 1880, ‘the Wizard of Menlo Park’ (aka Thomas Edison) gave a demonstration of his electric railway to a few lucky passengers at Menlo Park. 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.
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After over a year of blocking the roads and railway lines into Berlin, the Soviet Union lifted its blockade of the city on 12 May 1949. 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 …
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On 11 May 1857, the mutiny by Indian Sepoy soldiers at Meerut started. The mutiny at Meerut was the start of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, as it acted as a catalyst for other mutinies as well as uprising by citizens to take place. Included below is a letter written by an officer stationed in Meerut, who describes the terrible events that took place at this time. And here’s another very moving letter written by an army officer – this …
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Much like Scheherazade’s husband, the BNA Team is lucky enough to hear a wonderful story almost every day from visitors to the website. So when Sarah Hayes, a freelance curator from the West Midlands with a passion for social and family history, tweeted to tell us about her research in the BNA, we were all ears. Sarah and her mum are researching their family tree and, well, they are certainly discovering some fascinating stuff. In particular, the story of one …