General Chat

Thanks to Brenda for arranging it and it was fab to meet some more faces.

Photos please :-)))))))))))

I found some info about 3 of my 5 police relatives. One of them I had the wrong warrant number [doh!] and another the book I needed was elsewhere in the building and unobtainable. Spent a fortune in the bookshop and found yet another way to get to Kew. nell

I know 2 people who have been to Kew and the book they wanted was unavailable. Maybe they could update their site with things not available. Would save a lot of time and money for people. Hope you enjoyed yourself. I know I was overwhelmed when I first went to a records office which was St. Catherine's House in London many years ago and then more recently at the one in Islington. My mind went blank (not unusual these days) and i didn't look for half of what I intended! Jacky :-)

Jacky Didn't take any photos! Kew is definitely the one place where you need to do your homework thoroughly before you get there. I said at lunch that the frustrating thing is knowing there's lots of valuable info about relatives there, if only we knew how to access it! Still, I feel more confident having been twice now. It's just that so much of what I want hasn't been preserved or isn't indexed as usefully as it could be. Heigh ho! nell

Hi Helen and all who went to Kew today. It was great to meet you all. And despite only finding 1 thing I needed, it was the best find for a long while (excluding the new rellies I have now, of course). Thanks to Brenda once again. Fi

Fi Lovely to meet you too, although we didn't get much time to chat. Sorry you weren't successful in your search - that box you were poring over when I left looked very interesting! nell

I'm back! Commiserations to Anne and Louise who were unable to come, and sorry to anybody I didn't say good bye to. Hope you all had safe and easy journeys home. Nell is dead right about doing your homework properly. I could have looked at a great deal more if I'd lined up all the documents I needed to look at. Still I do now know that drunkenness and fighting were more serious crimes in the Navy of 1804 than neglect of duty, provisions included a live oxen (duly slaughtered a couple of days later) and Guy Fawkes Day was celebrated by firing 19 guns. I just wonder how my 13 year old ancestor coped with it all. I enjoyed myself, hope everyone else did, and am game for organising another day, though not for a few weeks yet.

Thanks Brenda. 19 guns??? That's a bit over the top, isn't it. Couldn't they have just fired one???? nell

Anne Glad to hear your good news! nell

I'd like to say thanks to Brenda, too, as it was a really great day, and I really valued all your help. Kew was a lot more friendly than I'd expected, and even though I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, I found out lots of interesting background stuff while I was searching. I particularly enjoyed looking through original documents, and getting together with the group at lunctime to compare notes! Sad point was when I ordered some records for 'Eric Anderson'. None of them were mine, but one was for a soldier of the same name who'd died, and included letters to his Mum informing her and saying what a good soldier he'd been. That made me quite tearful. Recommend Kew to anyone......especially if you have Brenda and others to help you out!! Thanks to you all Best wishes Natalie

Natalie Sorry you didn't find what you wanted, but at least now you know where to look! Lovely to meet you. nell

Big thanks to Brenda for putting up with our continual questions and for organising things. It was really great going with a bunch of friendly people who made the experience less scary. Had some success as I found the army record for one of my rellies who I didn't know had been in the army and also found another couple of potential connections. All in all a really nice day and well worth the visit. Would definitely go again. Karen