Railway Work, Life & Death project – help sought Posted 9 August 2017 by Paul HowesPhoto courtesy: Mike Esbester In 1911 alone over 28,000 employees were injured or killed on British railways. The government department responsible for the railways, the Board of Trade, had been investigating some of these casualties since the 1890s, to find out what happened and to make recommendations to improve safety in the future. These reports are a fantastic resource, giving plenty of detail about who was involved and working practices, as well as what happened. But it’s often difficult to get hold of these reports, or even to find out what they contain. Late in 2016, as a joint initiative of the University of Portsmouth and the National Railway Museum (NRM), the ‘Railway Work, Life & Death’ project started to try to make these records more accessible and see what we could learn from them. A team of NRM volunteers has been working through the Railway Inspectors’ reports for the years 1911-15 (when the reports were temporarily stopped as a result of the war). They have done fantastic work, reading each report, extracting the key information and placing this in a spreadsheet. With the details standardised in a spreadsheet, they become easily searchable, making the information more accessible and useable Dr Mike Esbester of the University of Portsmouth has been leading the project and recently contacted the Guild to ask for our members’ help. The project has just made the first batch of data freely available via the project website: www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk. The Project has catalogued nearly 4,000 individuals involved in accidents over the four and a half year period. Full details for each individual are available to download in a spreadsheet. One of the hopes of the project was that it would be of interest to a variety of audiences – including family historians, social historians and the general public. So, now that they’ve released some data, they would like some feedback. Please take a look and offer any feedback you want to share through their website. Mike will be speaking at our seminar, entitled “Accidents will Happen”, in Abberley, Worcestershire next February.
New educational web pages Posted 7 August 2017 by Paul HowesJust as the Guild has recently placed a good deal of information on DNA studies on the public part of our website, we have today added an additional five pages on the front side to guide people through the thought process of starting a One-Name Study. The sections are: estimating numbers and overall size thinking about variant spellings where and how to start organising the study selecting software We hope these pages are useful for anyone contemplating taking on a One-Name Study, whether they are already a Guild member or not. To see the new pages, click here and then use the links in the left-hand column.
Introduction to One-Name Studies starts 22 August 2017 Posted 4 August 2017 by Julie GoucherThe next Introduction to One-Name Studies course at Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd starts on 22nd August. The course is taught online and welcomes students across the globe. Here are the Lesson Headings: About One-Name Studies Surnames and their History Core Records you will need and Information gathering Analysing and making sense of your data Practical aspects of running your own One-Name Study Those who sign up for the course and are not members of the members Guild of One-Name Studies will get FREE Guild Membership for the remainder of the financial year. Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. Course Length: 5 weeks Start Date: 22 Aug 2017 Cost: £49.99 To book your place on the course, please visit the Pharos Website
West Country Wanderings Seminar Posted 19 July 2017 by Alan MoorhouseWest Country Wanderings Seminar Teign Heritage Centre, 29 French Street, Teignmouth, Devon TQ14 8ST 09:30am for 10:00am on Saturday 11th November 2017 The broad spectrum of events in the West Country that led to the movement of people to and from the area will be covered in this seminar. We have five excellent speakers with good local knowledge who will provide interesting insights. Twitter #GuildWestCountry Programme 09:30 – 10:00 Arrival: Registration and Coffee 10:00 – 10:05 Welcome to the Seminar – Julie Goucher 10:05 – 11:00 The Cornish Diaspora – Kim Baldacchino 11:00 – 11:02 Two Minutes Silence 11:02 – 11:10 Comfort Break 11:10 – 12:05 Farm, Fish, Faith or Family: Motivations for Emigration from North Devon 1830 – 1870 – Dr Janet Few 12:05 – 13.05 Lunch Break 13:05 – 14.00 Tracing the Devon Diaspora Through DNA – Debbie Kennett 14:00 – 14:10 Comfort Break 14:10 – 15:05 Clockmaker, Ship Builder, Empire Maker: A story of a Devon Family – Julie Goucher 15:05 – 15:30 Tea Break 15:30 – 16:25 The Quest for Land: West Dorset Migration to the United States 1820 – 1920 – Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard 16:25 – 16.45 Plenary Sessions and Final Q+A – Speaker Panel 16.45 Close of Seminar Applications to attend are welcome from Guild members, family historians, genealogists, and members of the general public having an interest in the subject matter. The seminar cost including refreshments and buffet lunch is £19.00. Teign Heritage Centre is across the road from Teignmouth station and there is parking in the railway car park which costs £3.90 all day (free for blue badge holders). We would like to ensure that any delegate with a disability can participate fully in this event. Anyone with any special requirements should telephone the Guild Help Desk on 0800 011 2182 or email seminar-booking@guild-dev.org. An accommodation listing is available here. A number of delegates and members of the organising committee will be staying Friday evening at the Premier Inn Newton Abbot and will meet for dinner at the adjacent Grandstand Beefeater restaurant. Full joining instructions are now available here. What delegates said particularly impressed them about the most recent Guild seminar at Chartham on July 15th 2017: As ever, a very well organised event Speakers all excellent Location, venue, keeping to time and organisation Excellent topics Meeting other Guild members Lunch superb Friendliness and interesting presentations All very smooth Well organised throughout, excellent lunch Quality of speakers good Seminar organisation, food and catering Booking To book on this seminar, you can use our our online form¹ in any of three ways: Book online and pay online via PayPal or credit card; For Guild members, book online and pay by direct bank transfer through your bank, quoting the reference number on the form (this is the method which represents the least cost to the Guild); Fill in the booking form online, then print it and send it through the post with your cheque. Alternatively, you can download our booking form flyer, which can be printed, filled-in, and posted, with a cheque to: Alan Moorhouse, [Seminar Bookings], 8 Strachans Close, STROUD, Gloucestershire, GL5 3EB. Bookings close on 29th October 2017. All bookings will be confirmed by email, with full joining instructions, on or shortly after this date. Further information may be obtained by telephoning the Guild HelpDesk on 0800 011 2182, or by email to seminar-booking@guild-dev.org.