Tom Freemantle Perry

Tom Freemantle Perry

A while ago I put together a thread on Twitter that explored the remarkable life of Tom Freemantle Perry, a Southampton boy who fought with the ANZACs during the First World War. I first stumbled across Tom by chance when I encountered a newspaper article about him and as I…continue reading →
Southampton Old Town Walk

Southampton Old Town Walk

I recently took some family members on a 'guided tour' of Southampton's Old Town. They seemed to enjoy it and it turned out to be a lovely walk that took in some of Southampton's most historic sites. In this post I am going to attempt to take you on a…continue reading →
In Jane Austen’s Footsteps

In Jane Austen’s Footsteps

Jane Austen was born in Steventon, Hampshire, in 1775. She moved to Bath with her family in 1801, but the sudden death of her father in 1805 left Jane, her sister, and her mother, in a precarious financial position. The three women arrived in Southampton in 1806 and they moved…continue reading →
Postcards from the Blitz

Postcards from the Blitz

Ronald Sidney Hunt was born in Witham, Essex, on 22 November 1902. By 1911, he was living with his parents, Sidney Frank and Florence Emily, at 5 Queen Street in Godalming, Surrey, where his father was a cabinet maker. His parents would later operate a newsagent's and picture framing service…continue reading →
The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech

The Southern Railway company began construction on Southampton's new Western Docks in 1927. Around four hundred acres of land was reclaimed and an entirely new quay was created. This quay was nearly two miles long and it meant that the new docks could accommodate the world's largest liners. It secured…continue reading →
The Saints Skipper’s Saturday Night Scrap

The Saints Skipper’s Saturday Night Scrap

John 'Jack' Farrell joined Southampton St Mary's Football Club from First Division Stoke in May 1895 and he made his Southern League debut in a 1-0 loss to Millwall on the opening day of the 1895/96 season. From that day forward Jack Farrell cemented himself as an important part of…continue reading →
Waterloo

Waterloo

On 18 June 1815 a battle was raging in present-day Belgium. At Mont-Saint-Jean, some fifteen miles south of Brussels, Napoleon Bonaparte's French army came up against a coalition under the command of Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington. Napoleon had escaped from exile on Elba one hundred and twelve…continue reading →
The Battle of Cobden Bridge

The Battle of Cobden Bridge

Cobden Bridge was originally built by the National Liberal Land Company and it was opened to the public in 1883. The company, who had just constructed the brand new Bitterne Park housing estate nearby, named the bridge after Richard Cobden, a liberal politician who had died in 1865. Connecting at…continue reading →
Southampton and the King of Siam

Southampton and the King of Siam

The year was 1897 and the King of Siam had decided to embark upon a tour of Europe. He was the first Siamese monarch to do so and it came just four years after the Franco-Siamese War in which his kingdom had to cede land to the French empire. It…continue reading →