Family History Advice Sessions

EAST RIDING COUNCIL'S Archives and Local Studies Service, based in the Treasure House, Beverley, is continuing to host family history advice sessions on designated Saturdays throughout the year.

Volunteers from the East Yorkshire Family History Society are on hand to give members of the public free advice on family history matters. Sessions are open to all levels, from a beginner wanting to further research their family to those who may simply have come up against a blank wall.

The next session is on Saturday, 10 September, from 10am–12noon.

Booking is essential. To book or for further information, call (01482) 392790.

Related information: People searching for their family roots in Paull will be interested in the Heritage Open Days taking place at St Andrew Church, Paull over the weekend.

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The Great War record of the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry remembered

A photo from the album

WHENEVER THE FIRST WORLD WAR is mentioned, thoughts almost instantly turn to the trenches and the horrors of the western front. However during this time, British forces where also fighting in other parts of the world.

In fact, many of the soldiers from the East Riding in the First World War spent most of that conflict fighting in the deserts of Egypt and the former British Mandate of Palestine rather than the quagmires of northern France and Belgium.

The East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry formed part of the Western Frontier Force, which was sent to Egypt, in 1915, to suppress the pro-German ‘Senussi Uprising’. They later saw action at the first, second, and third battles of Gaza.

It was not until the final months of the war, in 1918, that part of the regiment was regrouped into a machine gun corps and deployed to northern France.

In memory of these forgotten East Yorkshire soldiers and to commemorate Armed Forces Day, on Sunday, 3 July 2011, the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service has received a photo album, showing scenes from the yeomanry’s time in Egypt, to add to the archive's collection on this regiment.

The photo album is now available to researchers at the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service, in the Treasure House, Champney Road, Beverley.

Sam Bartle, collections officer, said: “Very often, we forget this part of the First World War and this photo album serves as a reminder that East Yorkshire soldiers were out there in Egypt, fighting for King and Country. As the album doesn’t contain pictures from any of the battles, these images give us a feel for what life was like in between the fighting.”

A small display of copy images from the album has also been prepared and can be viewed in the exhibition gallery from now and throughout Armed Forces Day.

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A Bridge Across Time

Paddle Steamer 'Lincoln Castle' in British Rail livery

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS the River Humber has presented a barrier to be crossed, with ferries been the main way of crossing until 1981 with the construction of the Humber Bridge.

The Humber Bridge has dominated the landscape for the past 30 years and local people have perhaps begun to take it for granted.

It is also all too easy to forget the old paddle steamer ferries, which carried people across the Humber in the mid-twentieth century, particularly now that the last surviving steamer ferry in this region, the Lincoln Castle, has recently been scrapped.

The East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service, through the "Film and Sound Archive Presents…" series, will remind people how remarkable a feat it was to build the Humber Bridge, when it shows a repeat screening of ‘Crossing The Humber’ this May.

The screening will be a compilation of archive documentary footage, which looks back to the nostalgic days of the Humber ferries during the 1960s, and also at how the Humber Bridge was built.

Sam Bartle, collections officer, said:

"The plans to construct the Humber Bridge ultimately spelled the end for the ferries, which simply couldn’t compete with a faster and simpler method of getting across the river. “It was a sad loss, but the ferries and the bridge each have their place in the history of the River Humber, and our show is a nostalgic celebration of both."

‘Crossing the Humber’ will be screened on Tuesday, 24 May, at 6.30pm, in the Treasure House Education Room. Tickets are priced at £3, with booking essential as places are limited.

To reserve a seat, call (01482) 392790, or visit the archives and local studies search room at the Treasure House, Beverley.

Photo made available by kind courtesy of degakh under Creative Commons Licence : Creative Commons 2.0

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