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Wendy Percival
Jun 30, 20233 min read
Today's the day!
Yes, it’s finally here. The fifth Esme Quentin Mystery, The Scourge of the Skua, is published today! The story begins with the discovery...
Wendy Percival
Apr 22, 20223 min read
Royal Associations
On the occasion of the Queen’s birthday yesterday, I’m sharing a tentative Royal connection I discovered several years ago while...
Wendy Percival
Feb 25, 20224 min read
Nob Thatchers & Bottom Knockers
Later than advertised.... as they say in the world of TV... due to a 5 day power outage (along with our internet connection) due to Storm...
Wendy Percival
Jan 7, 20222 min read
Lost in the 1921 census
Have you dipped into the newly released 1921 census yet? Be warned! It can get addictive – not to mention expensive, even with the 10%...
Wendy Percival
Oct 29, 20211 min read
A Halloween Story!
With Halloween this weekend, it seemed appropriate to revisit a blog post I published last October about the 4th Esme Quentin Mystery,...
Wendy Percival
Jul 9, 20212 min read
One mystery solved... and tennis
I’ll get to tennis in a moment. First, an update and an exciting discovery… While digging around for information on my gran’s singing...
Wendy Percival
Jun 25, 20212 min read
Ancestors in the “beautiful game”
They say, if you can’t beat them join ‘em. So, as the whole of Europe is currently fixated on the European Football Championships, I...
Wendy Percival
Apr 30, 20213 min read
Scandal at the Post Office
How ironic that the very week I’d been researching a branch of my family who’d been postmasters (see Elusive Ellisdons), the next episode...
Wendy Percival
Mar 19, 20213 min read
Propaganda & Mystery
I found an odd – and slightly disturbing – postcard amongst my family history collection this week while searching for something else. I...
Wendy Percival
Feb 19, 20213 min read
Flat on his back & plastered!
If you read this blog last week, posted on my late dad’s birthday and you clicked to read Preserving the Memories, you’ll know that my...
Wendy Percival
Feb 5, 20212 min read
From ankle deep to knee deep
If I was hoping to find some easier surnames to research while wading through the Roberts quagmire (see, The Nightmare of the “too...
Wendy Percival
Jan 29, 20213 min read
Postcard from Auntie Lizzie
Following my recent mystery aunt post (see Who's the Mystery Aunt) I found another postcard sent from an aunt while organising my old...
Wendy Percival
Nov 20, 20203 min read
Illegitimacy & Mystery
I’m currently listening to the audiobook version of In the Family Way, by Jane Robinson. It’s a fascinating account of illegitimacy and...
Wendy Percival
Oct 16, 20203 min read
Mystery and death
Sometimes during family history research you make assumptions – not unreasonable assumptions – but, as we all know, what we discover...
Wendy Percival
Oct 2, 20203 min read
Assaulted in the Line of Duty
This week saw the anniversary of London’s Metropolitan Police appearing on the streets of England’s capital for the first time, in 1839....
Wendy Percival
Aug 28, 20202 min read
Mystery Letters - coincidence or connection?
Today English Heritage is unveiling one of its famous Blue Plaques in memory of WWII secret agent Noor Inayat Kahn, who was brutally...
Wendy Percival
Jul 17, 20202 min read
Politics on a postcard
Sorting through my gran’s postcard collection at the weekend, I came across this one, dated 27th September 1918. Although it shows an...
Wendy Percival
Jul 10, 20202 min read
Masks by the Million
With masks being a hot topic at the moment - sewing enthusiasts making their own and extra clever versions being invented, such the ones...
Wendy Percival
Jul 3, 20202 min read
Any witches in your family history?
I once read a fascinating article in Family Tree magazine (15 years ago, as it turns out!) about someone's ancestor who’d been accused of...
Wendy Percival
Jun 26, 20202 min read
Placing your ancestors
One of the many items on my Family History Projects To Do list, is a One-Place Study, inspired by reading Janet Few’s book, Putting Your...