Hello and welcome to Family Tree Talk, your favourite
family history podcast, as Nathan says, and I
hope it is as well. My name's Helen Tovey, I'm
editor of Family Tree and with me is... Nathan
Ward, hello there. Hi Nathan. Hiya Helen. You've
been busy, haven't you? Er, not necessarily busy,
but I've been making discoveries. Well, that
counts as the same thing in my book. Okay, cool.
So last time we spoke, I, well, what was I doing?
I was dabbling in the 1841, wasn't I? So I'd
managed to get a few people on there and I was
going to go back and add the other people in
that household or link them to the 1841 and see
where that took me. Did I do that? Did I do it?
I might have done a little bit of that. And it
was straightforward, it was good. So Ruth Ann
Ward got on there and then a couple of her relations
got on there, William Oliver. And that was okay,
but I didn't actually take my research any further
on this front because following up from a couple
of weeks ago, we talked about my grandad and
I said he didn't go to war and you were like,
he's got to have gone to war, blah, blah, blah.
He has to, it'd be the right age. So that sent
me off talking to my mum, my auntie and my uncle,
asking what he did in the war. I was like, did
he go to war? What did he do? And then they're
like, oh, no, he didn't go to war. And they said,
oh, he might have been in the home front, but
we can't remember. But he actually, I'm very
excited about this. I don't know how the reveal
should go. But anyway, he works for English Electric.
You know, he was an electrician. He worked for
English Electric. And he was actually helping
develop the aeroplane, the English Electric Lightning.
Wow. So he didn't go to war because he was busy
making the next generation of fighter planes.
Amazing. So I have aeroplanes now in my family.
It might not be RAF, but it's cool. It's very,
very cool. Yeah. Your wish has come true. You've
wanted a kind of aeroplane connection for a while,
haven't you? I really have. You've got one. I
was so giddy when I found out. I literally have
been like, I'm going to go buy an Airfix model
of this aeroplane and I'm going to get a t -shirt
with it on because my grandad built that. I think
you definitely should do both those things. So
tell me a bit more then, because I don't even
know what plane or anything you're talking about.
What have you managed to find out? Right, so
obviously English Electric was this company that
did electrical stuff, but they also built a lot
of car things and aeroplanes. And he was involved
in the development of the English Electric Lightning,
which it was a British fighter plane. And it
actually didn't go into service until the 1960s.
But they were developing it during World War
II. I think its first flight or something was
like 1948 or something like that. I read somewhere.
Oh, the first flight was 1954. I've just seen.
But it was in development whilst World War II
was going on. And I think it was the first. I
better be careful what I say now because I'm
going to get this wrong. Anyway, it could get
to Mach 2. So it was a very, very fast plane.
It was like the next level. That's extremely
cool, though, that your grandpa was involved
in this. It's really cool. Did you know where
the premises were, where kind of the airfield
or the factory or all of that, where that was?
You're such a historian, Helen. I got utterly
lost in the fact that it was an aeroplane and
then just wanted to go buy lots of stuff related
to the aeroplane. Well, I think your shopping
list of Airfix model and T -shirt, I love it.
You've got to do that. But then I think also
if we could potentially find out where this company
was operational back in the 1950s, then you'd
be able to find an old map, find out where it
was, and then you'd be able to take yourself
off on a jolly to go and actually see the landscape
today and imagine it all. Yeah, and I don't think
there was an airfield where he was based because,
again, surprisingly, it was local. And so I think
he worked in Farsley. And oddly, every year in
Farsley, they have this little festival where
they bring out loads of vintage cars, loads of
really cool cars, and there's often lots of James
Bond -related stuff there as well because I love
that stuff. So I've been to it a few times, but
it turns out that English Electric... worked
on all these cars and that's why they have this
festival to like celebrate the fact that this
is where they came from I've been to it a couple
of times didn't even know it was about that I
just thought it was a James Bond show whatever
so yeah very cool so the next time you go to
that little festival it's going to mean so much
more to you isn't it yeah and I'll be wearing
my t -shirt with the lightning on it and you'll
be telling absolutely anybody who will stand
still for two seconds all about it won't you
yeah definitely You see this, my grandad made
that. Yes, yes. That's very exciting progress.
So all your wishes hang on true as well. You've
got colour, haven't you? And got you more interest,
not just names and dates. You've got a whole
story there to investigate. Yeah, flavour and
texture and stuff. And unfortunately, I've not
actually been back to my mum's little family
history chest. But there is definitely some guides
and manuals in there, like English electric ones.
So now I'm suddenly going to be like... Is this
aeroplane related? It probably isn't. I imagine
it'll all have been top secret at the time, but
I'm intrigued to look and see what's in there.
But it's just awesome. It was quite good. And
then, like, me doing that, then had my auntie,
uncle and my mum lost in conversation about various
bits and bats from the past that they'd forgotten
and everybody sort of got really excited about
it. It was quite cool to see. Brilliant, yeah.
Yeah. And also, because you're artistic, you'd
probably be... find if you could get blueprints
of the plane that's just such a so visual and
interesting aren't they well that's one of the
t -shirts I've seen it's like is it yeah it's
like a schematic here's your type thing yeah
and it looks really cool so yep I'll be having
some of that but then during the course of this
conversation the Concorde story came up again
So it's been hell fast that there's someone involved
with the Concorde and it's not my granddad. My
mum says it's my Uncle Alan and I don't even
know who, not my Uncle Alan, her Uncle Alan.
I don't even know who that is. So that'll be
my next task for my aeroplane development program.
I love it. I love it. I literally have had to
fight the urge to tell you this before the podcast.
Like anytime I've seen you, I'm like, I want
to say something about the aeroplane. Yeah. It's
like having this. Oh, it's very, very good. You
start a whole project on it. So it's, do you
sometimes find this, you're doing your family
history, like lots of the stuff that you do can
just get attached to the tree and it's general
kind of the leaves and branches of the tree and
it's building the tree. And then sometimes you
have to go, this is a project and it needs its
own new folder and it needs lots of in -depth
stuff getting stashed. in the project folder.
I mean, it's getting that way now, isn't it?
Like this aeroplane I'm now obsessed with. I've
seen it before. I've seen it loads of times as
well, but never been that interested in it. And
now I'm like, oh yeah. So I could just have a
whole little project. It's like being at school
again, a little history project about this aeroplane
and where it came from. But then if I can tie
it in with the Concorde as well, I can have a
whole aeroplane theme in my museum of family
history. Yeah, I'm definitely, slowly but surely,
getting a bit weirder with everything. I do actually
want to do my Carve the Ghost Stories project
as well, which is kind of related. It's local
history, I guess. But I'm getting sucked into
that idea. I like it. I like all these projects.
I'm liking you having an amazing bookshelf. And
on there, you've got your models, you've got
a diorama with the ghost story, with a map of
where people can go on the ghost tour. Yeah.
Yeah. I'm into it. It's weird. Equally, maybe
I'm just using these as an excuse not to go further
back in the 1841. No, I think family history's
got to be a mixture. It's not just that tree.
It's family history, isn't it? There's a magazine
which we love and work on day in, day out. It's
called Family Tree. It is all about the big,
broad history as well as the little skeleton
tree, isn't it? I guess so, yeah. I think it's
taken me my time to get to the history aspect,
though. I've sort of... let my tree dictate what
happens because that's where they are at that
particular time. I've not been actively interested
in the history. Now it's creeping in. I think
that's inevitable, isn't it? Because you can't
do any history if you don't know where the people
are and when they were alive and where they were
living. You've got to build that first and then
you see where the history will come next depending
on what they did in their lives and when they
were doing it in their lives. Then you get immersed
in those little history rabbit holes. I guess
so, yeah. I just didn't expect it to actually
happen to me. I thought, I'll just chart these
bits back and that'll do. Now I'm like obsessed
with airplanes. I mean, I was already obsessed
with airplanes, but now I'm really obsessed with
airplanes. But it's just nice sharing, isn't
it? It's like even like the ghost thing, it sounds
a bit whimsical and silly, but it is locations
that my ancestors have been to, family members
have been to. And I know loads of people that
would actually probably get a bit of a kick of,
hearing the ghost stories of Calvary because
loads of my friends were brought up here and
they all loved all that stuff. That doesn't sound
whimsical and silly. I think it's amazing. These
things are some of the things which are just
at the heart of family history because, as you
say, those ghost stories, we might, depending
on our attitude to ghosts today, some of us might
believe them and some of us might listen to them
a bit tongue -in -cheek. Some of them might...
Love them to see what actual historical facts
we can piece together about these ghost stories.
But even the fact that the story's been handed
down, the facts of the story, kind of incidental.
That story was important to that community. So
that ghost story matters to that community in
the past and matters to the community today.
And I think we lose out massively if we don't
pass on this cultural heritage. I think England's
really... We're kind of sometimes a bit diffident
about our cultural heritage. Other countries
are much more proud. We're quite a complicated
country. Sometimes we're maybe a little bit worried
about being show -offs or, you know, we worry
that we don't want to be arrogant or all these
things. And so maybe our folklore just takes
a bit of a hitting and we don't pass it on as
well as we should do. Yeah, definitely. Nobody
wants to be Saxon, do they? I don't know. But
it doesn't have the same mystique as a Viking,
does it? We don't put it on that pedestal at
all. No, no, that's very true. Very, very true.
Weirdly, I don't know why, but yes. Yeah. Maybe
we should start a movement. Mm, Saxon revival.
Yeah. No, but then that might get really wrong
and get really, like, political and... I think
we just need to enjoy the folk stuff. OK. Keep
it young. Yes. But I think if I took my DNA test
again, I probably would have some Saxon heritage
in there. I don't think it's going to make a
difference if you take another test. I want to
pretend that we're going to start the podcast
from the beginning again. I'd really like to
find out if I'm a Saxon. Yes. Or you should start
this again and be like, I really want to find
out if I'm from Pudsey. Yes. Yes, a result. Oh,
it's going to be great. I'm a bit worried. What
if I'm not from Pudse? No, you are. Well, in
close time you are, aren't you? You've ruined
the podcast now. No, I haven't ruined the podcast.
The new one. So the ghost stories, I think, don't
dismiss the ghost stories and then also don't
dismiss the aeroplane thing because all of us,
like what we do in our daily lives, our work,
that uses up decades and decades of our life.
So learning that about anybody, what they did
in their working life, is a huge window into
what their life is like. So these are really
valuable things to learn about your individual
ancestors and all the community that you all
lived and live in. Yeah. And as you said, you
know, when you said about the ghost stories,
you knew other people who'd be interested. And
so when you're down the pub, you can be telling
the ghost story and there'll be people there
who haven't done any family history and you'll
be able to say, well, my great -great -grandpa
was alive when the headless horseman, whatever.
So he might have witnessed this or whatever.
And they will go, I don't know who my great -great
-grandpa is. And you'll go, oh, well, let me
help you. And then before you know it, you can
get them to do some family history. Seems to
be the way. Yeah, yeah. Get everybody. Yeah,
no, it's nice. It's good. It doesn't make a difference.
I've set the issue that they won't have to worry
whether they're a Viking and do a DNA test. They
can just launch into their family tree. Yeah.
Or I can ask them if they want to be a Saxon
instead. You can, yes. I'm going for this. This
is my new soapbox. It is really cool. I love
it. And I've now got a real big soft spot for
this aeroplane that I've not given a monkey's
about for years. It's nice. And then to think,
I've spent time with my granddad and I never,
ever knew this. And I know as a kid, I probably
wouldn't. I did love aeroplanes as a child, but
I don't think I would have. grasp the concept
of just what he'd done if he'd actually spoken
about it which he never did but now I'm like
oh my god it would have been amazing to talk
to him about that do you know what we often all
of us we all say oh I wish I wish I'd asked whoever
about whatever topic and that's people people
have been saying it forever and they're going
to say it forever on into the future and we always
kind of blame ourselves we all say oh I didn't
think to ask them How are you to know what to
ask? So I think the takeaway bit for me hearing
you say that, because it is really sad that your
grandpa didn't, the opportunity didn't arise
for you to talk to your grandpa about that, because
that would have been a really exciting chapter
in his life. I would be really proud if I had
been part of that work and really found it fascinating
and everything. So the takeaway is, I think for
all of us, don't wait to be asked. Just not...
we don't have to be overbearing and boorish and
people like banging on and on about the past
but maybe just like drop little bits here and
there to the younger people in our family trees
our children our nieces and nephews cousins whatever
just gently filter things through and if we've
raised the topic and kind of said about whatever
from the days of yore when we were kids and younger
working adults and things then they can pick
up that sometimes we'll kind of Drop some bait
and nothing will happen. But then sometimes they
will ask more and we'll have raised the conversation
because they don't know that one day they're
going to wish they'd asked us. Whereas we know
that we wish we'd asked people and we know the
chances of them wishing it in the future are
high. Yeah. It's still going to be a tricky one
to push through, isn't it? Because it's like
natural modesty. You don't want to be banging
on about yourself. Yeah, true. Yeah, you just
don't think you're that interesting, do you?
No. No. And also sometimes, like I definitely
do have some favourite stories that definitely
do get met with kind of patient people trying
not to roll their eyes. You say, don't roll my
eyes. Don't worry, they try to keep their eyes
from rolling up. But yeah, I plough on. But I
can't resist telling them the story again, just
in case it's going to get forgotten. I've just,
I'm being a bad lad. I've gone to the internet.
And it turns out there was an airfield in Farsley.
I had to say, I'm not trying to sound smug, but
I'm not surprised because we have a different
attitude to airfields nowadays than airfields
in the past. That's bonkers. Nowadays, it's a
massive commercial concern leading a massive
runway, isn't it? Whereas in the past, we were
a military society through those wars while the
aeroplanes, they're completely... contemporary
the wars and the airplanes that rapid development
like hand in hand i love it though it's good
it's crazy i can't believe it apparently from
world war one this airfield yeah now it's actually
located there's a school now where it used to
be yeah that's weird it's really cool so how
have you found that just by googling or have
you found an old map i used the internet yes
So just, I'm not, Googling's not bad. It's good.
Yeah, I Googled it, yeah. Yeah. So the next thing
would be to go on the National Library of Scotland's
map website and get maps from the early and mid
-20th century. You're able to see the little
airfield. That is quite cool. It's very cool.
It's told me that there's a couple of squadrons
that were based there as well. Oh, it's getting
cooler and cooler by the minute. Yeah, it is
cool. Yeah. Oh, wow. So, yeah, I could just get
lost in this aeroplane for a bit and actually
do no real family history research. Stop saying
it. It is family history. And also, potentially,
if you wanted to, you can just set up your project
folder and just keep what you find to yourself.
And that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that.
Or if you were minded to, you could put a blog
somewhere. You could put some of your notes on
the Trambutee podcast notes page about what you're
finding about this aeroplane. And then somebody
at some point will be Googling. the, what's it
called again, the English Electric Lightning
Plane and then they'll come across your notes
and then they'll want to get in touch with you
and share research about the plane because they
too have an ancestor who worked on it. Yeah.
It's pretty nice. Or they'll prove me wrong and
it actually is all a lie. That's what I'm terrified
about. Now I've put it out there. Actually, no,
you didn't really work on it. Actually, they
just invented like the light bulbs for it or
something like that. I think that's okay. It
all helps. It still works, doesn't it? It's still
part of the aeroplane. Yep, definitely part of
the aeroplane. Yeah, it's cool. I also need to
find out this Concorde thing. And I think that's
really interesting as well, like how much, when
you mentioned about chatting about your grandpa's
aeroplane endeavours. how much that got the whole
family involved in chatting and brainstorming
and dredging up things they thought they'd never
knew, things they thought they'd long forgotten.
That's cool. Yeah, it's quite cute, like, listening
to them all, like, chatting away, because they're
all sort of, like, almost struggling to recollect,
and then one of them says something, and it's
like, oh, yeah, they did this and they did that
and that happened, and obviously, like, the war
years, they weren't even alive, so they're recollecting
memories of things that have been told. Like
you say, you've got to get this out of them while
you can because there ain't that many people
left in my family. Yes. Share this information.
Yes, I mean, it's twofold, isn't it? You've got
to get the facts out of the older people because
they're kind of a precious repository. Their
heads are... precious repository of info but
also it's just so fun like what could just be
an ordinary boring conversation going oh isn't
it hot today and um how's your work been over
the last week like those conversations are all
right and then suddenly everyone doesn't mind
how hot it is or what how their work was they're
all in this shared endeavor of racking their
brains trying to find out some family history
it's brilliant yeah it definitely is but it's
terrifying as well like If I hadn't asked the
questions, all I'd be left with are the little
notebooks and things, which I don't think are
going to have any information about aeroplanes
on them. But that information could quite easily
have been lost. Oh, yeah, he was just an electrician.
And then there'd be nothing else about it. I'm
sure there would have been some sort of official
secrets act or whatever if he was working on
military planes. I don't know. But it's terrifying,
isn't it? That information would just be lost.
It wouldn't be part of his profile. I wouldn't
have it on Ancestry. So no, he worked on this
aeroplane. So it's worth asking the questions.
And you often hear when people are talking about
their ancestors, the inherited qualities that
people have. So whether it's really good with
his hands, if he's actually making parts for
an aeroplane, or loads of attention to detail.
fastidiousness and good at turning a concept
into a reality there's loads of complicated things
those qualities he would have had even if he's
making the light bulb could you make a light
bulb no no it's hard isn't it i i can't either
um so anything it's all complicated clever stuff
it is yeah so helen what have you been up to
now Well, in recent times, I have had a very
exciting time. Went up to Glasgow for this amazing
symposium and I met loads of those lovely people
who we see on screen and I saw them in real life.
That was good fun. Yes. Learning about all sorts
of different things like family history, planning
skills and family history, business skills and
using AI in family history, all sorts of things
like that. And that was organised by... And the
APG, which is the Association of Professional
Genealogists. And so they're an international
organization. So there are lots of American and
genealogists there. Genealogists from all over
the world. Good fun. So I've been doing that.
I've been busily writing notes about all sorts
of helpful things that they suggested. So yeah,
I look forward to putting those into practice.
And then on my own family history, I suddenly
realised we've got some really cool courses coming
up this summer. And I thought, right, I need
to prep for them because whenever we do a course,
it is one of those things where I do do the course
along with the customers because then I can see
what it's like being a customer. And then I can
kind of relate to the customers. Yeah. And so
we've got a really cool course on using AI to
help solve brick walls. So then I dusted off
a massive, massive brick wall, which I've had,
I found the date of the file. The last date I
properly worked on it was in 2023. Wow. But it's
all in the project folder. It's good to go. Yeah.
Nice. I know. That's why I'm a big fan of these
project folders. And although I have to say 2026
is the year of really bad note keeping for me.
Back in 2023, I was doing better. Yeah. And so,
and I have accumulated a lot of information and
I think that it's going to make it an ideal project
to use AI for to help me analyse what I found
and to try and start making some progress on
solving the brick wall. Yeah, that'd be cool.
That'd be interesting to see if it actually does
help you. I think it will definitely help me.
Yeah. What I need to do is try and control the
AI a little bit so that I keep saying, keep it
succinct. I need a short answer with an actual
task to do. I don't need reams of stuff that
I haven't got time to wade through. Yeah. Would
you like this information? Would you like that
information? This sounds like your character.
Maybe we'd like to do this instead. Stop it,
AI. Yes. Yes. So I've been doing that. So that's
somebody I've mentioned before in the podcast.
It's my Janet McLaren. So the one who's dad.
allegedly was at the Battle of Culloden, got
captured and then jumped off the wagon down the
side of the gorge of the cliff or whatever and
escaped, never to be seen again. And we were
like, yes, go, go Captain McLaren, don't get
captured by the horrible British, horrible British
soldiers. So anyway, but we all like to think
we're related to him, but we haven't got any
proof that would stand up even for a one minute
conversation in court. Right, and that's what
you're going to use AI to find? Yes. All right.
So what I did was then I collected all the Janet,
so I know I've got an ancestor called Janet McLaren,
born in, I think it's, I can't remember, I can
look it up again, 1783. And I know I've got her,
so that's fine. But whether her dad is the dad
that we all want him to be is another question.
So I collected all the Janet McLarens to make
sure I've definitely got the right Janet McLaren.
There's 83 of them. That's why I think AI can
help me. I'm like, come on, 83 is a lot of Janet
McLarens to win. That is a lot, yeah. That's
going to be a good challenge for the LDA. Yes,
it is, yeah. That's cool. So that's one thing.
And then the other thing is a course which is
not happening yet, but I'm so excited about this.
It's a really novel course. So it's an online
course. You can join wherever you want in the
world. But the thing is why I'm talking about
it now is because everybody who goes on the course
is going to get sent a box, an actual, not a...
not a digital box or anything else, an actual
box. And inside the box, when you open up the
little lid, it has a little magnetic closure.
Open up that. Inside there, there are letters
and ribbons and wax seal stamps, just how you
know it's proper history with, you know, red
candles so you could make up a seal on the letters
you have, and little cute bags to put treasures
in. And with Jana Helstein, then we're going
to be using this time capsule, using this box
of goodies, to get people to just start noting
down the things about their life that they want
to be kept, to treasure their life, to get passed
on for the future. And again, it's not a thing
to bang on about yourself. It is to talk about
your own life. But there's loads of things we
would love to know from our ancestors. It could
be a recipe we want to know. It could be something
we wished we knew, how they got through a tough
time. It could be... um a mistake they make sometimes
you make a mistake and you just feel such a twit
don't you but everybody makes mistakes and so
it's nice to know you're not alone it's just
part of being a human and they got up dusted
themselves off how do they cope with it you know
the difficult messy bits of our lives so all
of that make a time capsule and in there you
can also put um funky little things so you could
put one of your running medals anything you know
things which are meaningful to you and meaningful
to what your life's about so that's going to
be fun yeah that sounds great It kind of ties
into what I was saying earlier about not knowing.
It totally ties it. You need one of these time
capsules. You really do, Nathan. Yeah. I'll have
to see if I can bag one. You could join on the
course as well. So that's kind of my world at
the moment of just lots and lots and lots of
things. I haven't done what I said I was going
to do, which is my photo inventory, which I've
really, really got to do that. I've got a September
cutoff date for that. But it's hard, isn't it,
that juggling thing? It is, but to me, that project
sounds more like a wet weather slash winter,
autumn sort of thing, when it's cold, sorting
out your photographs. It's too warm to be sat
in front of a computer now and doing that sort
of inventory thing. Do you know the reason why
I like doing it in the summer, and I have done
it in the past in the summer and the winter,
is because obviously, clearly, you can scan an
old photo, put it on the scanner. But I'm such
an impatient person. And while that photo is
scanning, I'm literally like my foot's tapping.
My breathing is getting a little bit tense. Whereas
if I take a photo, an old photo in daylight,
I can do it quick, quick, quick, quick. Yeah?
Okay, yeah. So I'm just too impatient for that
winter scanning thing. And you like the good
light. Yeah, I like the good light. So that's
why I know I've got to do it through the summer.
Nice. I've just learned how impatient person
I am. I don't think it's going to change. I thought
it was fair enough. Fair enough. But you're right,
though. It would be a perfect winter project.
Yeah. I'm just feeling the heat right now. It's
hard to concentrate on a lot of stuff, isn't
it? That's my excuse. No, it is very hot. We
were thinking the other day, we were all trying
to remember what it was like back in the 70s,
so you wouldn't have been born when it was the
last heat waves in the 70s. It did feel very
hot at the time, but there's another patch on
what this is. Really? I mean, it's Gloucestershire.
I think it was like 35 or 36. And then we're
topping out there all the time now. Shocking,
isn't it? It's absolutely terrifying. We had
a massive thunderstorm this morning and it was
like torrential. And I'm going to talk about
running. I went running and it was amazing. It
was like absolutely torrential, thunder and lightning.
And bear in mind, it's been like 31, 32 degrees
every single day for the last three or four.
It's just been awful for running and the temperature
was like perfect for running. The rain didn't
deter me at all. I was absolutely drenched. It
was great. But the downside is it's a little
terrifying. But the interesting point is that
you talking about that and writing it down somewhere
in a little journal and saying about what it's
like going running in 2026, this is like sometimes
you occasionally get a reader who writes in,
about maybe their granny's diary and they kept
a diary all through the 1920s or something, which
at the time was just felt very inconsequential.
Just their diary about what they bought when
they went food shopping, that sort of thing.
But suddenly you just add on the perspective
of time and then it becomes really interesting
and it's not just a little standalone fact, it's
a case study of what it looks like when the weather
suddenly is getting drastically warmer. Yeah,
social history. It is, yes. I'm not sure anybody
would want to read my run diary, though. It would
be very, very boring. Pretty much like talking
to me all the time, to be honest. Do you include
the temperature in your run diary? No, I don't
actually have a run diary. I've got Strava. I
think you can include weather. I will generally
just comment or put a picture of myself looking
soaking wet. Warm today. I wore a vest. Very
fascinating. Yeah, whatever. Do you know what?
We have had a lovely message from a podcast listener.
Do you want me to read it out? Please do. So
his email is very exciting for lots and lots
of reasons. So John likes writing in and he says,
first of all, he'd like to say how much he enjoys
the weekly. podcast he's a regular listener and
he always tries to guess how many times nathan
you're going to use the word scary or terrifying
and it makes him smile because we've all been
in that situation before i don't think you've
said that at all today actually oh i'm a bit
terrified to say if i have oh no you've john's
been doing his family history since the 1990s
before the internet So it was all local libraries,
archives, trips to London and microfiche readers.
And he even bought a microfiche reader to have
at home. Wow. Anyway, this is something which
is encouraging for me and you. He says, the thing
with family history is, as you know, you can
drop it for a year or two because no one's going
anywhere. Your ancestors are still there and
you've still got to find them. So I think that
is a nice feeling because I don't want to drop
it for a year or two. But it is really nice that
don't worry if you can't do everything all at
once. Just concentrate on what you're working
on and then concentrate on the next bit. Because
it's just, we all wish we had more hours in the
day to find out more, don't we? Yeah, that is
quite a calming thought actually, isn't it? It
is quite calming. You start treating it like
a job, don't you? And you forget that actually.
It's a hobby, you're meant to enjoy it and it's
there for you. Yes, and you don't have to be
in a panic that if you haven't done it yet, you
can't do it. It's like, just concentrate and
enjoy. Enjoy the process, enjoy the bit you're
in. And then John goes on to say that he retired
a couple of years ago. He's really got back into
the hobby and he's even had a DNA test. And from
there, even though like you, he is a bit scared
of it, or he says very scared of it, DNA's helped
him get in touch with a cousin in Australia and
he's found other cousins in New York and California.
And that's just so fun finding those family connections
around the world. And he also has a brick wall
for his great -great -grandfather. It's almost
like a checklist of bingo of all the things that
we have in our family history, don't we, Rose?
Lots of things that we managed to find, and then
there's other things, which are some ancestors,
and so frustrating, and you just can't find out
anything about them. Then he has a different
great -great -grandfather, and this is a funny
story. So his different great -great -grandfather
is George Groves, and he can find out everything
about George Groves, including the many years
that he worked at Highgate Cemetery in London
as a gardener or gatekeeper. And he spoke with
somebody at the cemetery who explained that his
ancestor actually lived in one of the lodges
on site. And he was invited in to meet the archivist.
And he had a great day and he got given details
of his great -grandfather's pay packet and the
locations of the graves and information about
where the lodge once stood because it was obliterated
by a bomb in the Second World War. And one of
John's family stories was that his grandmother
could remember as a little girl visiting her
granddad George at the lodge, and she remembers
seeing the veg he grew. Anyway, John had a lovely
day then. Later on, he was searching online in
the newspapers and found a letter to the Times
where someone was complaining about someone growing
veg in the cemetery grounds. And he even spoke
to one of the gardeners during his visit. And
the date of the letter ties in with John's grandmother
as a little girl. And he likes to think that
the gardener being complained about in the letter
in the Times was his two times great grandfather,
George. Isn't that cool? That would be cool.
It's really cool. And I love it because at the
time, that was probably quite frustrating for
George. He's busy there trying to grow his veg.
And he probably wasn't, when the person said
that he spoke to the gardener, if the person
is that cross and hot under the collar, they
wrote into the Times. I imagine the conversation
on the day probably wasn't the most joyful conversation.
He might have been being ticked off a bit, mightn't
he? Yeah. But it's still so fun. I love those
insights that John's pieced all that together.
That is really cool. It's very, very funny. It's
funny, isn't it, how it's a mixture of a handed
down story which suddenly a newly digitised record
online suddenly went, wait a minute, this isn't
just a random old story from Granny. I think
we've got some evidence for it here. Yeah, that's
brilliant. That's quite exciting. It's really
exciting. Yeah. I'm now worried and terrified
as to what I say repeatedly on this podcast.
Well, I think we probably all say loads of things.
I think maybe we'll play bingo next week. We'll
come up with a checklist. Things to look out
for that Nathan and Helen say. We could play,
you know, so what episode are we on now? We're
on episode 83. I think we need to start doing
some celebratory things. We could maybe, in the
coming weeks and months, we could do, when we
do our 100th episode, we've got to do something
fun for that, haven't we? Yes. Dress up like
Saxons for the day. We could do that. Yes, that'd
be really good. And we can invent a family history
bingo game where us and anybody who listens to
the podcast could just go through their family
history and see if they're suffering from all
of the hazards. Or those things as well. Yeah,
definitely. Yeah. That sounds like a great idea.
If anybody has anything they think would deserve
to go on a family history bingo card, then...
don't hesitate to email in. And it can be just
classic things that we all suffer from. Yeah.
Multiple Maryanns, that's got to be in one. Yes,
yes. Yes. And lots of David Davies all in a row.
Oh, my gosh. Yeah. All of those sort of things.
So, Nathan, what are we going to be doing over
the coming week? Oh, I am going to probably actually
get a little bit more lost in this aeroplane.
I think you should get totally lost in it. Yeah,
I got lost in the actual aeroplane itself. But
as you've just quite quickly highlighted, I wasn't
really interested in the social surroundings
of it. So the fact that there was an airfield
in Farsley is really exciting. So I'm going to
do a bit more digging and find out, well, try
and find out exactly what they did in Farsley.
Because in my head, I was like, they won't build
a full aeroplane because there's nowhere to fly
it. But now my perception's totally changed because
there was an airfield. I want to sort of see
if I can... Find out a little bit more about
what was made and where. So that'll be my task.
Brilliant. Brilliant. I can't promise that I'll
be able to do it, but I'll give it a whirl. Yeah,
no, that sounds a really, really fun project.
Failing that, I'll just go on the internet and
buy lots of model aeroplanes. Yes, I think you
should do that as well. Yeah. Yeah, that sounds
really good. What are you going to do? I'm going
to carry on with my Janet McLaren. I'm just going
through it so that when we get to August, which
seems a while away, but if weeks will rattle
by and it'll soon be here, then I'm all ready
to see ways in which I can use AI to help me
get some clarity on all these Janet McLarens
I found. And then I'm also going to, I am going
to do my photo thing. Yeah. Because so far my
uncle hasn't complained at me for not giving
him the albums back, but it's just going to happen.
And I don't want to put him in that awkward position.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so I'm definitely, definitely
doing those two things. Definitely. Okay, I'll
hold you accountable next week. Okay, okay. Thanks
for listening, everybody. We hope you have a
really good week. As ever, please do email in
if you have any comments or anything you'd like
to raise and we love hearing from you. And yeah,
have a good week, Nathan. Thank you, you too.
And happy researching, everybody. Bye then.