Author Archives: Pauline Williams

Occupations and recipes – family traditions

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Following on from a successful February Writing Group meeting when we wrote short narratives inspired by a photo from our collection, in April we wrote about a family member who interested us in some way. As is often the case, the stories were wide ranging both in their content and style. Combining the outcome of this session with the research for my presentation for GSQ on occupations reminded me once again that it takes all sorts to create a family … Continue reading

Every picture tells a story

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They say that every picture tells a story. My picture, the only one I have of my grandfather and his sisters, and its associated story was one of those featured at the February Writing Group meeting. The simple caption ´Arthur Stirland, front centre, with sisters Edith and Emily, with their respective husbands Albert Hall and Joseph Evans – taken c. 1915-1919‘ does not do justice to the narrative that I wrote: My paternal grandfather, Arthur Stirland, sits front and centre … Continue reading

Finding my grandmother Lizzie

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My previous post was about my dad, Joe Stirland. One of the images included in that post was my mum and dad’s wedding photo from August 1946 (see my post of 21 September 2020). I had copied this photo from my mother’s collection on one of my trips back to England. As is typical of group wedding photos, the groom’s parents are placed on ‘his’ side, whereas the bride’s parents are placed on ‘her’ side. When the post was being … Continue reading

Remembering my dad – Joe

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This blog post is scheduled for 21 September; in 2020 my dad, Charles Joseph Stirland, would have been 99 years old, but sadly he didn’t make it much beyond his 65th birthday, passing away in March 1987. His recorded cause of death was cancer of the stomach, but as a former underground coalminer, he had his share of lung-related health issues. My sister and I, who both live in Australia, made it back to England in time to see him … Continue reading

Convict Stories – Life after Transportation

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For many years Australians regarded convict ancestors with distaste and did their utmost to distance themselves from this part of their ancestry. However, many convicts had a huge impact on the development of Australia; the punishment that was meted out to them, not only in England, but also in Australia, was often incredibly harsh. From my recent research into the lives of three convicts, I think we could argue that these were not all the ‘bad apples’ the English justice … Continue reading