Western Times – The British Newspaper Archive Blog

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‘Liner collides with iceberg. Passengers safe’: The Titanic, in our newspapers

Titanic startling news

At 11:40 pm on 14 April 1912, the RMS Titanic, which had been transporting 2,208 people from Southampton to New York, hit an iceberg while crossing the North Atlantic ocean. Search the newspapers Over the course of the next few days the British press was littered with conflicting news and information, with statements claiming that all passengers were safe and the ‘unsinkable’ ship had started making its way to Halifax. The Western Times had quite a job keeping up with

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Lady Harberton, cycling and the ‘Rationals’ scandal

Michelle Higgs, author of A Visitor’s Guide to Victorian England, has uncovered lots of fascinating stories by searching our historical newspapers. She got in touch to tell us about Lady Florence Harberton and her fight for Victorian women’s freedom to wear practical clothing.   **************   It might surprise you to know that until the 1870s, it was rare to see unaccompanied middle or upper-class women walking in the streets. This was because they ran the risk of being mistaken

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Facebook in the Edwardian era

Facebook is 10 years old today, but did you know there was actually also a ‘Face-book’ in 1902? We’ve found this reference in the Western Times, describing a book in which ‘everyone who comes to stay has to draw a face in… however badly, and sign his name underneath’.   View the whole newspaper page Western Times – Wednesday 30 April 1902 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  

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Bridget Driscoll: first pedestrian to be killed by a car – 17 August 1896

At the Crystal Palace in London on 17 August 1896, Bridget Driscoll of Croydon became the first pedestrian in the UK to be killed by a motor car – she was 44.   Read newspaper reports about the accident   Here is a newspaper story about the accident and also a report on the coroner’s inquest. Western Times – Wednesday 19 August 1896 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View the whole newspaper page    Sheffield Daily

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