Coventry Evening Telegraph – Wednesday 30 May 1945 Birmingham Trip in Stolen Motor Lorry Receiving a telephone message from the Birmingham police that a lorry from Coventry had collided with a trolley-bus pole there, and they were detaining a youth who was in the lorry at the time, Detective Dickens […]
Old British News
75 posts
Chichester Express and West Sussex Journal – Tuesday 09 July 1872 THE CHARGE OF PERJURY. In the charge against the men, Basschell and Leggett, adjourned from the last court on a question of jurisdiction, the clerk to the magistrates informed the bench that he had taken the opinion of Mr. […]
Berkshire Chronicle – Saturday 03 September 1898 Continental Cottage Garden Society The sixth annual show of vegetable marrows and sunflowers in connection with the above society was held on Saturday afternoon at the “Warwick Arms.” There was a large entry, and some very fine specimens were shown, though not quite […]
Norfolk Chronicle, Saturday, 3 August 1811 Singular Genealogy. — All the persons named in the following genealogy were living at Faversham, in Kent, 1760, excepting only the former wife of the elder Cashick. Old Harwood had two daughters by his first wife, of which the eldest was married to John Cashick, […]
FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT ON THE NORTH KENT RAILWAY. Also on this page: The State of Rail Safety in the UK During the 1850s Importance of Historical News Articles for Historians and Genealogists Free to use British Newspaper Research Service COLLISION OF TRAINS. Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard – Saturday 04 July 1857 […]
Tavistock Gazette – Friday 22 October 1875 Tavistock Football Club. — At a meeting held at the Queen’s Head Hotel, on Monday last, Mr. G. Gibbings in the chair, it was resolved: — That the club be called the “Tavistock Football Club.” That the annual subscription be 3s. That the […]
Western Times – Friday 06 December 1940 This news article provides an interesting snapshot of wartime Britain, revealing how the upheaval of daily life affected young people. It offers a glimpse into the juvenile justice system of the time and the community’s efforts to address and correct youth crime amid the broader […]
I was looking for some news reports of my Grandfather and his family the other day. I knew he lived in Newton Abbot in Devon, South West England. He was born in the 1890’s, died in the the 1970’s and spent his life in South Devon. So he was educated […]
The job of clearing Britain’s cities and towns of unexploded devices after the war has taken many years. Indeed even today we see still hear of exploded bombs more than 70 years on. There have been many, dangerous, weird and wonderful stories of the discovery of such devices –but this […]
Whilst doing more family research I sadly discovered that my great, great grandmother (Emily Cave (nee Windebank)) committed suicide in 1892 after drinking the contents of a bottle of Carbolic Acid. I found out about this after conducting routine research through the London newspapers. London Evening Standard – Wednesday 14 […]
2nd November 1936 – regular television broadcasting commenced from make-do BBC studios at Alexander Palace in North London. The corporation had already tackled the question of whether to employ the mechanical system invented by John Logie Baird or the fast progressing EMI electronic system. By 1936 it became clear that […]
What became the amazing Princetown Railway over Dartmoor from Yelverton to Princetown was fraught with danger during it’s creation. During it’s building phase there were news stories of danger caused by the weather or those constructing it. Exeter and Plymouth Gazette – Friday 29 December 1882 reported an event of […]
The horrors and cruelty that prisoners of war endured at the original Princetown Prison on Dartmoor are recalled in this brief item in the Western Times – Saturday 30 August 1845. “Dartmoor – It is reported that the Prince-town Prison – those fearful dungeons which proved the grave of so […]
British Newspapers from centuries ago were full of reports, much the same today, of people disappearing or dying in suspicious in unresolved circumstances. The police on the river Thames during Victorian Times were kept particularly busy. 21 year old James Rossiter, was living with his mother in the overcrowded and […]
One of the many thrills of living the life of a Victorian must have been the development of the ability to record sound and therefore to mechanically (later electronically) reproduce the human voice. Several ideas and inventions were put forward including this one from Charles Sumner Tainter in 1888 reported […]
Gang trouble, particularly in Birmingham, started to appear in the newspapers in the early 1870s with reports of “slogging gangs” causing huge disturbances with considerable violence. The media were describing them as large bodies of “roughs”. In 1872 about 400 of them made their appearance “to great consternation of the […]
The late 1800’s and Edwardian era were a time of great technological adventure and ‘world firsts’. Here The Hartlepool Mail are reporting that the forthcoming eclipse will be filmed using a process of moving pictures. Eclipse and Cinematograph For the first time in the history of eclipse observation a cinematograph […]
In a divorce report in 1905 Edwardian readers discover that Christopher Gibson was seriously let down by his trusted friend. Victorian and Edwardian Newspapers were full of contemporary scandal and stories of this nature. They are a great resource for historians looking for names of relatives mentioned in the news. […]
The Morning Post on Tuesday, the 7th of October 1845 was reporting a significant number of accidents involving children. It highlighted only too well the plight of youngsters during this era and how their lives were quite frequently endangered by the lack of care, attention or action from adults around […]
Richard Bettison was my great great grandfather. He was born and brought up just outside Liskeard in Cornwall where, apart from a brief spell in the 1870s when he was in the Durham area, he spent the best part of his long life. My great grandmother Lily was his daughter […]
With only months to go before the start of hostilities, life in Britain is very much business as usual on the 8th of June 1914. There is concern about events in Albania, continuing frustration with the Suffragettes, ongoing industrial infighting but no hint to the catastrophic events in the coming […]
Here is a case I have been researching for a great many years. The appalling although not uncommon activity of women who would ‘look after’ children for a fee (and we are not talking about nannies here). Now a lot of archive (including news reports) relating to the case of […]
In 1885 a man awaited execution at Exeter, Devon, for the murder of his employer, Emma Keyse. The accused was small-time thief, bragger and womaniser John Lee. The case was shocking enough and received fairly extensive news coverage. But the man at the gallows (which he attended three times and […]
Reynolds’s Newspaper – Sunday 01 May 1859 – is convinced it is on to a strange occurrence that has again come to light. Victorian Newspapers thrilled audiences with tales of mystery and darkness. In this particular case the newspaper is urging the police to take seriously a confession and information […]
Born in the late 1700s in Trinidad, Peregrine Clarke came to England as a servant. Described in the media as a “handsome young man of colour” he seemed to be quite a charmer. He did have quite an extraordinary life. His time in England ended suddenly when found guilty of […]
The British media, particularly during the height of the Victorian and into the Edwardian eras, was very keen to publish and shed light on the state of pauperism. Looking through and comparing newspapers of the same dates, some publications released figures and data that varied considerably depending on the newspaper […]
Retailers in Victorian Britain, much like today, faced a range of rules and regulations. Many shopkeepers were good honest people and an equal amount were to say the least somewhat dubious not only with the content of the products they would sell but also the dubious manner in which the […]
As I previously reported, highway robbery was very much a part of life. Today we refer to it as “street crime”. When there was no street lighting and roads, alleys and lanes around our country were very poorly lit, these were places to steer clear of after dusk particularly. The […]
London football giants, West Ham United, faced a strong and equally well supported Plymouth Argyll in February 1923. It was a much anticipated game in which one of these teams lost by two goals. So, who were the real victors and who were crying in their beer? Here is the […]
With the First World War showing no signs of ending, life on the home front is further exasperated with shocking domestic stories that continued to fill the pages of our national press. In Aberdeen in mid 1916 a labourer called George Simpson is brought before the courts after beating his […]
British Newspapers quite frequently covered stories from the former British Colonies. Much of the reports, like the domestic ones, were fairly routine yet quite revealing for today’s researchers. It wasn’t unusual to read court reports, criminal activity and other news from the former British Empire. In 1826 this story from […]
Resolving Victorian murder cases were notorious and haphazard. Detectives and experts were left with little in comparison to available knowledge and technologies today. There was no proof by fingerprinting and it was very difficult to tell the difference between human and mammal blood. Of course there was no DNA. Looking […]
Meanwhile it’s another day in Clerkenwell County Court for Judge Edge. The Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser (Wednesday 30 November 1898) report an amusing interlude: The Judge and the Carpenter. Amusing Interlude at a County Court. Before Judge Edge, at Clerkenwell County Court, a man named Matthews appeared on a […]
Inquisitions, although a bit gruesome and quite depressing at times, were widely reported in local and national newspapers much as they are today. These reports give us an insight into an aspect of life and the manner in which these proceedings were conducted. The example here is taken from February […]
Do you keep your Christmas or birthday cards? Well, if you don’t maybe we should all keep them, just in case! In 1930 The Hull Daily Mail reported a person with relatives in England and America who had died in the United States intestate with a sizeable amount of money […]
Robberies on tracks and roads were commonplace as we well know. Indeed after dusk the highways were places to avoid where possible. Newspapers were full of stories of highway robberies and many generations later films and television dramas immortalised these violent criminals to almost heroic proportions. In 1836 two children […]
Some readers may find the following editorial and historic news report disturbing. The acquisition of dead bodies in modern times might well sound quite revolting and hugely inappropriate. But up until the first half of the 19th century, such was the demand by Physicians and doctors to teach students of […]
At Llangollen Petty Sessions in late August 1893 local life was being dealt with. Although these really were ‘petty’ sessions they of course are very common throughout the entire British Isles. They do provide the historian with more names and dates. The reporting of localised parish news and what was […]
A phrase we frequently come across is ‘uttering’. Many were found guilty of uttering a forged note or even a coin. Forgery per se is not a crime. The crime is uttering, i.e. using as genuine a fabricated writing falsely intended to pass as genuine the writing of another person. […]
In January 1819 The Morning Post in London reported a particularly unpleasant assault that occurred in Hatton Garden. A chicken seller from *Saffron Hill and an accomplice were found accused of biting the nose off Matthew Donovan (* “In 1850 it was described as a squalid neighbourhood, the home of […]
In May or June 1899 this man appeared on the Dorchester Prison Admission records. He is the only entry in the book who is unidentified. Judging by his dress and appearance he came from a fairly well-to-do background – as such he stands out somewhat compared with the rest of […]
By the 1880’s photographic technology was being used in some prisons and then added to criminal admission records. Here, two brothers from Bridport in Dorset are imprisoned for stealing a rabbit in 1887. They are reported in the local press, jailed and photographed for posterity. Both John and Ben Down […]
From the very moment motor vehicles hit the roads of Great Britain the media seem to be hugely cautious of this new invention. The slightest accident would be duly reported and hugely illustrated where possible. Many of its readers were highly sceptical of these dangerous machines on the mainly untreated […]
Its easy to assume that the Workhouse was an ‘essential’ relic of the Victorian era. We all have images in our minds of Charles Dickens and poor old Oliver Twist. Most of us who have been conducting our family history will have discovered that as least one or even more […]
August 1st 1914 The Hull Daily Mail is reporting the crushing drama now facing all Europe. “A Reuters Rome message stated this morning: The Messagro semi-officially announces that the German Ambassador last night informed the Italian government that Germany had sent an ultimatum to France and Russia – Press Association. […]
The lives of Victorians were, it seems, constantly at risk due to the lack of many safety regulations and health rules that we take for granted today. Even behind closed doors in the relative safety of home was considerable danger, either from the lack of knowledge in regards to food […]
On July 26th 1913 Bentfield Charles Hucks (25 October 1884 – 7 November 1918) was promoting his aviation exhibition in the Cheltenham and Gloucester area. Bachelor Hucks was an aviation pioneer in the early 20th century. As well as test flying numerous aircraft types, he was the first Briton to […]
The Edwardian era that characteristically did not begin and end with the reign of Edward VII is generally regarded as Britain’s calm before the storm. I would say that this much lauded brief spell began a few years before Queen Victoria’s death and ended abruptly at the outbreak of the First […]
This is one of those stories that made me chuckle. It is regarding a balloon flight over Paris in October 1878 when a lady, one of the passengers, in “an interesting condition”, gave birth and then tipped a doctor who just happened to be on board! Here is the editorial […]
In the course of doing historic research I generally find I can usually detach myself even from the most appalling events and situations frequently reported over the centuries. It’s only when a direct blood relative suddenly appears in the Victorian news that I get a feeling of genuine sadness. This […]
In the course of conducting my research over many years I have come across some most extraordinary items of news. But what we might find odd and strange today was in a way perfectly normal a couple of hundred years ago. One such example was the rather horrific although seemingly […]
Morning Post – Wednesday 28 December 1831 The case of the John Chapman an occasional body-snatcher. Marlborough Street – Carriage robbery. “John Chapman, a fellow well-dressed, who was a few months since convicted at Kingston for body-snatching, was yesterday placed at the bar for re-examination before J.E. Convant Esq., charged […]
Last May I found a little piece about a highly confused family history situation that arose in Norfolk in 1811 (here). Just as I thought the genteel and rather pleasant pastime of genealogy could not possibly get any more confusing I have today come across another mind-bending situation published in […]
As winter approaches we should all take care of our health. Thank goodness ‘The Hereford Journal‘ – Wednesday 17 October 1792 was there with a few timely tips to get us through the rough weather ahead. For the Cure of a Fever, which at this time is very prevalent. Take […]
This is Miss Queenie F. Newall, of Cheltenham, who won the Ladies’ National Archery Contest at the 1908 Olympic Games at White City in London. The contest for the National Round, 48 arrows at 60 yards, and 24 at 50. The result was: Miss Newall 132 hits, 688 points, gold […]
Sometimes this researcher accidentally comes across an old British news article that’s really from another world. Illustrated Police News – Saturday 31 October 1896 was reporting the dreadful scene on a London omnibus whereby a lady fell into shock at the sight of the knees of a collection of boys […]
Today voters are going to the polls for local elections in England, Wales and Scotland – and to elect mayors in London, Liverpool and Salford. In 1890 there seemed little interest in such events. In fact this researcher rummaged through the archive and found very little to stimulate even the […]
When they write the story of Queen Victoria the picture portrayed is generally that of a slightly stubborn, rather unhappy widowed monarch. In a way she had much to be miserable about. After giving birth to 9 children, the love of her life dying in 1861 and then seemingly spending […]
I think we forget how immediate news media is today. Here is an edition of The Western Times – Monday 15 April 1912. The editorial feels quite eerie. Whilst Devonians were having breakfast reading their daily ration of news, meanwhile in the Atlantic the worse shipping disaster in history is […]
November 1931 and The Hull Daily Mail were warning its readers of the perils of the dreaded Friday 13th. You have been warned!
As we all know RMS Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 causing the deaths of 1,514 people. However on the 16th April 1912 The Western Times, in a remarkable editorial blunder, was reporting ‘Good News’, Titanic and all on board are safe. “An enormous load of anxiety has been lifted from […]
I found this White Star Line advertisement in The Western Times – exactly 100 years old. Here they are promoting their premium ships, Olympic and Titanic. Three weeks later the sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,517 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. Meanwhile Olympic‘s […]
It’s 1950 and Mr. Clifford Gwilliam, the manager of the Theatre Royal, Exeter (Devon) is confidently reassuring audiences at nearby Ottery St. Mary British Legion that he thought television was a “passing phase”. By the middle of the 20th century the British cinema and filmmaking industry was heartening audiences and […]
The 50th Jubilee of George III on the 25th October 1810 was a comparatively low-key affair. Two issues overshadowed the possibility of extensive celebrations – the overall mental and physical health of the monarch and the serious illness of the king’s favourite daughter, Princess Amelia who was to die shortly […]
Following the industrial revolution and certainly by the 1850’s pauperism in Victorian Great Britain was at an alarming level. By 1875 one person in six was designated a pauper. From the 1840’s onwards populations of British cities had swollen to an alarming level as thousands left the traditional agricultural life […]
There is no doubt that some Victorians were a tad mad, unquestionably overzealous and darn-right eccentric. One such gentleman was Henry Tracey Coxwell (born 2 March 1819, Wouldham, Kent died 5 January 1900, Lewes, Sussex). Mr. Coxwell was an English aeronaut. His obsession with ballooning knew no bounds, although by […]
Only 8% of Anderson Shelters constructed in Nottingham in 1940 had been ‘satisfactorily fixed’ as this report from the Nottingham Evening Post of Monday 15 April 1940 explains (click the image to read the full story). Anderson air-raid shelters were designed to accommodate up to six people. The main principle […]
As the Victorian age was slowly coming to a close the brave and exciting Edwardian era was to bring a brief and thrilling period for invention and development. Experiments in wireless broadcasting were already underway, cable telegraph transmissions throughout the Empire were already established, the motor car was beginning to […]
The 23rd October 1880 and one of the leading pen companys are giving good advice to writers whilst promoting their range of products. Macniven and Cameron were a long established company that finally closed in 1964. Macniven and Cameron Ltd., later known as Waverley Cameron Ltd.,was a printing and […]
The Victorians were famously highly inventive. Many business people were keen to add to the community. In 1851 Hodges Distillery Fire Brigade was founded. In 1862 Mr. Frederick Hodges erected a 125 foot iron lookout for fires in the immediate area. Mr. Hodges’ fire service was in fact so advanced […]
The Penny Illustrated Paper on the 17th January 1863 is a reporting a most dreadful matter at The Bank of England. It appears that there has been forgery undertaken involving £10 paper and “fifties”.
The mid 1800’s was boom time for railway companys in Great Britain. Just as today with new technologies businesses were fighting to stay ahead of the game despite endless reports in the press of accidents across the railway system. Travelling between Birmingham and London in 1840 took a staggering eight […]
I have been doing some of my own family research and I have just learned that an unrelated person sharing a family name (Churchward) was found shot dead in a field in Devon in 1886. This though is not (as far as the press is concerned) a dastardly murder but […]
The original Victorian Opera House in Malta’s capital, Valletta was constructed in the 1860′s. These are extracts from The Builder, 2nd May 1863. The New Opera House, Malta was designed by the British architect, Edward Middleton Barry (7 June 1830 – 27 January 1880). Barry’s portfolio to date up to […]
These past few weeks have been the busiest for Old British News with the redevelopment of the site, the transcribing and uploading of a massive new database. I have processed thousands of lines of searchable archive consisting of the names, dates and places of those sentenced to death in the […]