Category Archives: Uncategorized

On 12th May 1869, Chief Inspector Adolphus (‘Dolly’) Williamson was promoted to Superintendent and head of an expanded Detective Department at Scotland Yard. At the same time, the man who was to become Williamson’s deputy, Inspector George Clarke, was promoted … Continue reading →

I apologise for the shortage of new blog posts in the last six to seven weeks.  However, don’t blame me, blame Billy Hughes. This year I somewhat over-enthusiastically committed myself to preparing two new talks within a month.  One of these was on … Continue reading →

My paternal grandfather, Charlie Payne, is the subject of a book that I am currently writing on the First World War (working title: ‘Charlie’s War‘).  In addition to his wartime correspondence, Charlie left a number of diaries, one of the … Continue reading →

Having other commitments last night, I have only just been able to watch a recording of BBC2′s “Murder on the Victorian Railway”.  If I had known nothing about the case, I think I would have enjoyed it enormously.  It was … Continue reading →

Those of us interested in period crime, its detection and its social consequences, have seen something of a resurgence in media interest in the last couple of years both from the fictional perspective (e.g. in  the current ‘Ripper Street’ series) … Continue reading →

Continuing with my historical blog posts, today’s offering covers a short-lived enthusiasm for cycling by an Edwardian ancestor. With the development of pneumatic tyres and increasingly mass-produced bicycles, cycling became an important mode of transport and a popular outdoor pastime in … Continue reading →

The winter of 1916/1917 was , in its time, one of the coldest on record. While those soldiers already on the Western Front in France and Belgium, faced the worst conditions, life was not that easy for the recently-conscripted men, … Continue reading →

Almost as soon as the First World War Armistice of 11th November 1918, had been resolved, one of its main elements had to be implemented: the occupation of the German Rhineland by the Allied forces.  Amongst those who started the … Continue reading →

A very happy New Year to the readers of this blog. Some of my earlier blog posts have highlighted aspects of the career of Detective Chief Inspector George Clarke who, between 1862 and 1878, served in the small team of … Continue reading →

It is my good fortune to have some documented records for several of my ancestors which have provided me with information about their Christmas-time experiences.  Amongst two of the more interesting accounts are those of my great-great-grandfather George Clarke in … Continue reading →