Have you ever given any thought to the origin of the name of road you live in? A little research may reveal fascinating stories behind the naming of a particular road, even if at first sight the name seems mundane. Names such as “Station Road” are obvious in their derivation, as, more gruesomely, are the occurrences of “Gibbet Hill” which one occasionally comes across. They derive from physical features which are, or once were, a prominent local landmark. Nearer in time, Kingsbury in NW London, an area long covered in suburban housing, has an “Aerodrome Road”, deriving from the old Stag Lane Continue reading On The Street Where You Live
All posts by Alan M Lindfield
Serendipity – The Corporal of Abu Klea
While most material uncovered by family historians is the result of painstaking research, once in a while the odd gem comes to light purely fortuitously. This happened to me a few months ago when I was in the Public Record Office examining Lin(d)field military records. I was idly browsing among the military reference books while awaiting the arrival of some documents when I spotted a small thin volume entitled The Abu Klea Medal Roll. This immediately caught my interest, because although territorial recruitment was still in its infancy in 1885 (the year of the battle), I knew that a significant proportion of the British force involved in it was made up of the Royal Sussex Regiment, and it was therefore just possible that a Lin(d)field could appear on the roll. I was therefore highly gratified (and excited) to be rewarded with the mention of a Corporal H J Lindfield, not as it turned out a member of the Royal Sussex but of the Medical Service Corps, (a forerunner of the RAMC), so presumably a medical orderly. Why my excitement? Most people today have never heard of this battle and its significance has been long forgotten, so some explanation is necessary. Continue reading Serendipity – The Corporal of Abu Klea
Researching our Military Ancestors
In the previous issue of LONGSHOT a suggestion was put forward that some research should be done on the various Lindfield)fields who down the years have served in the armed forces. This immediately caught my attention, since I was already interested in this field as a result of my plans to research the army career of my great-grandfather, who served during the second half of the 19th Century. In the light of this wider interest in our military ancestors, I have therefore broadened the scope of this research to include other members of the family who have served in any of the armed forces and whose military documents can be traced. Since my immediate period of interest was in the Victorian Army, this seemed the logical starting-point for this new project. Continue reading Researching our Military Ancestors