The latest and genealogy, plus apps, books on history podcasts and websites
Identifying Cap Badges
A Family Historian’s Guide
Graham Bandy Pen & Sword, 328 pages, £25
The cap badges featured in military photographs are usually the easiest way to identify the unit that a soldier belonged to. This expertly written and copiously illustrated book can be used by both professional and amateur researchers, and contains an initial chapter explaining how to date and identify both badges and uniforms throughout the whole period of photography.
The badges themselves (which are shown in clear and detailed photographs) are divided into chapters covering means of initial identification such as shape (which allows you to eliminate many possibilities in even a very poor photo), then a variety of identifying features including horses, lions and other animals, crosses, bugles and crowns. A badge that has more than one feature appears more than once, with cross references. There’s even a chapter about badges that don’t fit the more usual features which includes an astrolabe (No. 1 Demolition Squadron AKA Popski’s Private Army), a mailed fist (Royal Armoured Corps) and a snake (Royal Army Medical Corps). There are some rare, interesting and unusual badges here.
Since the book covers badges from the beginning of photography to the present day, and includes women’s units, some naval badges and those of long disbanded ones, it’s an invaluable addition to other books written about the subject.
A very handy set of appendices includes where to research further, information about both historic and current regiments, regimental and army numbers, and a handy guide to examining photographs in detail.
At a price of £25 Identifying Cap Badges may not be a necessity for a family historian who has few military ancestors, although military historians really should be interested. However, it would absolutely be a useful addition to the library of a family history group or a local library.
Phil Tomaselli is a military family history expert. Don’t miss his ‘Record Masterclass’ on First World War pension cards
Workhouses of Wales and the Welsh borders
Peter Higginbotham The History Press, 312 pages, £19.99
RIGHT: Left to right: the Birkenhead Union Workhouse, Tranmere, and inmates in one of the yards of Llanfyllin Workhouse
This is a long-awaited publication about the workhouses of Wales along with the border counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. It begins with a clear introduction to the background and development of the Poor Law in England and Wales and the establishment of the workhouses. This includes some detail regarding the building of workhouses, how they were run and what life was like inside.
The main body of the book is arranged by Welsh and then English counties; within each chapter you will find details of each union within the said county. The amount of detail for each union varies according to the amount of surviving records, and is interspersed with relevant photographs. Each chapter includes detailed referencing for those wishing to research further. It includes a list of where relevant archival material is held, places of interest to visit, and a comprehensive bibliography for further reading on the subject relating to both England and Wales.
I certainly will be keeping the book to hand and recommend it to those who already have an interest in the Poor Law and workhouses in England and Wales, or would like to further their research. It’s a welcome companion to author Peter Higginbotham’s extremely popular website The Workhouse (workhouses.org.uk).
Beryl Evans is research services manager at the National Library of Wales and the author of Tracing Your Welsh Ancestors (2015)
READER REVIEW: YOUR CHANCE TO ASSESS THE LATEST HISTORY AND GENEALOGY BOOKS
Secret Britain
A Journey Through The Second World War’s Hidden Bases And Battlegrounds
Sinclair McKay Headline, 320 pages, £16.99
This book explains the work of the brave men and women who were trained and worked at many secret locations all over the UK during the Second World War, whether that was in underground tunnels, manor houses, suburbs or lonely areas of Scotland. Each chapter is about a different location, each one a story in itself. Bletchley Park is probably the most well-known of these. I also enjoyed reading about Arisaig House in Scotland where the US spy Virginia Hall finished her training for the Special Operations Executive (SOE).
My aunt and uncle met at Bletchley Park, so I found that chapter to be especially fascinating. Anyone who has an interest in history will enjoy this book, but if you know that your relation served in one of these locations then it will be a great read.
Practice landing craft for D-Day in Braunton, Devon, and US soldiers visit a pub
This month’s reader review comes from Rosemary Wilmot, Evesham, Worcestershire
Rosemary has been researching her family tree for the past 44 years, and featured in Gail Dixon’s ‘Eureka Moment’ article in September 2020
JOIN US… Send us an email if you’d like to join our reviewing panel wdytyaeditorial@ourmedia.co.uk
The Oxford Dictionary of family names of Ireland
Kay Muhr and Liam Ó hAisibéil Oxford University Press, 848 pages, £125
The detailed introduction to this book is an important study in the etymology of Irish family names, but also opens the door to understanding the impact of migration and incursion into, and colonisation of, Ireland. The evolution of a name from its Gaelic, Scandinavian, Norman, English, Scottish or Huguenot origin to contemporary anglicised version tells something of the experience of the Irish people. For the casual reader, dipping in to discover that the surname Brennan is derived from the Irish for ‘little raven’, the dictionary will also be a useful and amusing resource.
However, the criteria for inclusion is that the name appears at least 100 times in the 1911 census of Ireland. The exclusion of some names may well pose a problem for genealogists, whose focus will be on variant spellings in use in the 19th century, that are small in number by 1911. For example, the book reports only two variant spellings for the surname McDonagh, McDonough and McDonogh; however, sources for 19th-century Ireland include many other variant spellings that the researcher needs to be aware of.
Still, this is a small complaint from a pedantic genealogist. Overall, the depth and academic detail found in The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names of Ireland make it an interesting and valuable publication for Irish family history.
Nicola Morris is an Irish genealogist and the director of Timeline Research (timeline.ie)
MEET THE AUTHOR
CLIFFORD ISMAY discusses Understanding J. Bruce Ismay, the chair of the White Star Line who survived RMS Titanic
How are you related to Joseph Bruce Ismay?
The relationship isn’t particularly close. I’m his fifth cousin once removed.
How did you get into researching him?
When I was about eight years old, there was a movie on the TV about the Titanic. I remember sitting watching this black-and-white film, and my father was there, and I was in awe when I saw this huge ship sailing across the ocean. My father said to me, “You know, we’re related to the people that owned that ship.”
Of course, Bruce never actually owned the Titanic, but it was good enough for the mind of an eight year old. We never actually knew what the connection was. My father started to delve into it many years ago, but unfortunately he became terminally ill and he never completed his research. So I said at that point, “One day I’ll do this for my father.” Many years later, with the advent of the internet, I had the time to do it and, as my wife will testify, I became very, very interested in the connection.
I spent a lot of time on the internet and in the local archive offices. I also spent a lot of time trailing around the local churches looking at gravestones. Looking through parish records, I eventually managed to put everything together. Also I found a very good website called the Ismay One Name Study (ismay.one-name.net).
Why did you decide to write a book about Joseph Bruce Ismay?
Bruce is infamous for surviving the Titanic while so many others didn’t, and he still has the reputation today of being “the coward of the Titanic”. Years ago when I used to meet people and they asked my name as you do, they’d often say, “Oh, are you related to the coward of the Titanic?” Of course my answer would be, “No, but I am related to Joseph Bruce Ismay.”
So I decided to look into why people were calling Bruce the coward of the Titanic, and I found that only half of the story about him was out there. I think one movie depicts him dressing up in women’s clothes to get into one of the lifeboats, and another film shows him on one of the first lifeboats that left the ship. “Is this true?” I thought to myself. I realised that it wasn’t, and that Bruce was actually instrumental in helping to save a lot of lives before he left the Titanic. Most people are unaware of the true story, for one reason or another. So I decided that I wanted to get it out there.
Clifford Ismay’s Understanding J. Bruce Ismay: The True Story Of The Man They Called ‘The Coward Of Titanic’ Will Be Published By The History Press On 7 April (256 Pages, £15.99; tinyurl.com/history-press-coward-titanic)
DIGITAL PICKS
Rosemary Collins highlights three digital resources that caught our eye this month
PODCAST
Uncovering Family History
Podcast services
Free
Australian blogger and family historian Victoria Kennedy presents this podcast sharing stories and research tips. She discusses her own ancestors, including criminals, convicts and a First World War soldier, as well as advice on getting started with your tree.
WATCH
Sharing Shetland
tinyurl.com/yt-sharing-shet
Free
Shetland Family History Society has uploaded all of the talks from its November 2021 virtual conference to YouTube for those who missed it. Speakers include Prof Jim Wilson on ‘Genetic Insights into Shetland Family History’, Jon Sandison on ‘War Casualties and Remembrance in Shetland’, Emma Maxwell on her site Scottish Indexes (scottishindexes.com), and Susan Cooper and Alan Beattie discussing ‘Sharing Shetland Surnames’.
WEBSITE
The Genealogy Corner
thegenealogycorner.com
Free
Genealogist Daniel Smith-Ramos runs this frequently updated blog that features lots of fascinating stories from his research. Recent topics include discovering a family mystery in the 1921 census, finding a link to two of the celebrities featured on Who Do You Think You Are?, researching Italian heritage, and Smith-Ramos’ “personal manifesto” explaining why he does genealogy.