Celebrating our collections dating from 780AD to the present day
By Katherine Slay, Archive Assistant, and Graham P, Project Volunteer. Graham P, one of the volunteers working on the railway employee cards project, listed all the cards where the surname began with the letter ‘F’. He did an extensive analysis of the results, and also picked out some noteworthy entries. Extracts appear below; the longer…
Continue reading ➞ The Railway Card Project: F surname cards
By Imogen Russell, Searchroom Assistant Bognor Observer, Wednesday 11th October 1933. This year marks my tenth anniversary of working at the Record Office and for this blog I thought I'd review one of my most memorable cataloguing projects. I could have chosen AM 760 – letters of Admiral Sir George Murray, the subject of previous…
By Katherine Slay, Archives Assistant In our latest blog post, Katherine Slay gives brief stories of three employees of railway companies in the south-east of England, drawing on the information on their railway employee cards. Edwin Charles Cox was born in 1868, and joined the Operating Department of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in…
Continue reading ➞ The Railway Card Project: C, D and E surname cards – Rising through the ranks
By Dr David Muggleton of the University of Chichester My introduction to the collected story of the A.O.F.B. was through the 2005 self-publication by David Woodhead entitled Of Fripp and Froth Blowers. David went on to become Chairman of the tribute organisation, Friends of the Froth Blowers, but had initially been sceptical as to the authenticity…
By Alice Millard, Research Assistant Anyone who has ever had a long phone conversation, sat in a meeting, or attempted to put off doing homework will have whiled away some of that time doodling. But, have you ever thought of people doing the exact same thing hundreds of years ago? The term 'pen trial' is…
Rationing began in the early stages of the Second World War, but it's impact was immediate and long lasting. What restrictions were there on meat, petrol, sugar, fabric, and - most important of all - tea? And how long did it last?
By Alison Merriman, Archivist to the West Sussex Federation of Women's Institutes To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the West Sussex Federation of Women's Institutes, Alison delves deeper into the origins of the WI - an organisation that has been present in West Sussex ever since its arrival in England in 1914. To illustrate her…
Continue reading ➞ Looking back at the Women’s Institute in West Sussex
By Dr Caroline Adams Tickets for our 'Elizabethan Chichester' Tuesday Talk on 29th October at 7pm, can be purchased by ringing reception on 01243 753602 In August 1591 Queen Elizabeth I came to Chichester on her summer progress. This talk (on Tuesday 29th October) will look at the Chichester she would have seen: a walled…
Continue reading ➞ Tuesday Talk Taster: Elizabethan Chichester
You may not have considered that the sleepy South coast of West Sussex had to confront fascist activity head on during the decade prior to the Second World War. Yet, we recently stumbled across some records held in the archive which tell a very different story, and prompted further exploration into what else we hold…
Something light and fluffy this time, a diary entry of sorts of trip north west to some colleagues, catching the last of the good weather and enjoying endless amounts of cake!
