These kick off with Frank Meeres presenting on Richard Caister, “The Good Vicar” on Wednesday Sept 23rd. Future events include; Bullards Brewery, the grand tour and Norwich and the plague, these can be accessed via the following link:
https://norfolkrecordofficeblog.org/history-talks/
Margaret is another person I didn’t know anything about. She was famous for being a lepidopterist and an adventurer which is a unique mix. But what is a lepidopterist? Where did she travel to? What did she collect and where is her collection held now? She travelled the world on horse back at great risk to herself but who was her guide and companion for 27 years? She is also famous for the diary she kept between 1878–1939 and for her carefully drawn sketchbooks of larvae and pupae, many previously un-described, which are held in the Natural History Museum. To find out more please select the following links, in the second link you will also find a short film about her:
https://peoplepill.com/people/margaret-fountaine/
https://norfolkwomeninhistory.com/1851-1899/margaret-fountaine/
You may recall that in April I included a request from the Heritage Centre for History Groups to start collecting information and photographs relating to the Coronavirus Pandemic. These records would display how we responded and lived through the crisis to future generations. A member of our group, David Woods, has taken some excellent photos of the crisis and I have included some of them below.
There is a statue of Maharaja Duleep Singh on Butten Island in Thetford. I have never heard of him, so who is he? Why is there a Sikh statue in Thetford? He was the last Sikh ruler, removed by the British and exiled to Britain in 1854. Where did he live on the Norfolk/Suffolk border? Which member of the royal family was he a firm favourite of? What was the Koh-i-Noor diamond and where does it reside today? Sikh pilgrims visit the statue every year. To find out more please select the following links:
On Saturday, it was 75 years since the Japanese surrender and the end of the Second World War. It is wonderful that we commemorate these occasions and long may it continue! The following link has 11 photos depicting some of the celebrations. You can feel the release of the anguish of six years of war in the smiles! Please select the following link:
