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SDFHS

Basic sources for tracing World War I soldiers

Posted on 30th November 2013

As the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I approaches, Col Iain Swinnerton, SDFHS Military Adviser, summarises the basic sources for tracing and identifying soldiers who fought in the War The Medal Rolls Every soldier who served in a Theatre of War received at least the British War Medal and the Victory Medal However, you must remember that many soldiers did not go overseas or did not do so until the war was over, when they were sent to join the Army of Occupation in Germany, so... more

Mills on the Yeo and the men who worked them

Posted on 9th November 2013

Colin Dean reviews Mills on the Yeo and the men who worked them This must sound like the title of a serious study – and so it is Author Martin Bodman describes it as a gazetteer of 91 watermill sites in the River Yeo basin in south-east Somerset and north-west Dorset But when you see the colourful cover and the page lay-outs containing detailed maps and photographs of most of the locations, you will be drawn to pick it up And when you discover in the acknowledgements that respected family... more

An evening with Sir Tony Robinson

Posted on 8th November 2013

Barry Brock describes a recent event in Dorchester A trip to the Dorset History Centre on 30 October provided the chance to meet Sir Tony Robinson, ‘actor, TV presenter, historian and Ancestrycouk spokesperson’ This was a ‘meet the customer’ event, organised by Ancestry in conjunction with the Dorset History Centre - a ballot for tickets had been four times over subscribed It may be difficult to think of Tony Robinson as a knight of the realm, especially as the obvious name linked... more

A preview of the November ‘Greenwood Tree’

Posted on 26th October 2013

Bob Barber, Editor of The Greenwood Tree previews the latest issue The November edition of The Greenwood Tree will be reaching members shortly The cover features a snapshot from our Facebook page, recently set up by new website manager, Patricia Spencer You can read more about it on the Research and Society News page at the back of the journal The impact of social media will have important implications for family historians, and our Society And it will certainly be a challenge to see how The... more

Sherborne is now Casterbridge

Posted on 23rd October 2013

Patricia Spencer describes the temporary transformation of the SDFHS centre Arriving this morning for a meeting at our Sherborne Centre we found that the exterior of our building had been transformed into 'The Friends' Alms-House' as it will appear in the new version of Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd which is being filmed in Sherborne this week There is a news report about the filming in Sherborne here on the BBC website Patricia... more