Monday 30 March 2009

Relatives who fought and died in World War One

Lucy is going on a Selby High School trip to the Battlefields of WWI in May and so I spent yesterday afternoon trying to track down the burial places of her great, great uncles. My father showed me how to look up the burial sites of soldiers on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site and we also tracked down the military service records of my grandfather and Chris' grandfather on the National Archive web site

Chris' grandmother, Beatrice Gresham (nee Long) had two older brothers who died in 1916. Henry Archibald Long was 31 when he was killed in action on the Somme. His body was never found and he has no grave but his name is inscribed on the Thiepval Memorial. He died on 15th August 1916 and his younger brother, Guy Steer Long was killed in action 13 days later on 28th August. He is buried in Villers-Bretonneux Military Ceremony near Amiens (See picture Source: CWGC web site).

Both Chris and I had a grandfather who served in WW1. Chris' grandfather, Arthur Gresham Modlock was a Captain in the Royal Field Artillery and was awarded the Military Cross for his heroic service in the defence of the Messines Ridge in 1917. We even managed to find his citation in the London Gazette in May 1918.

My grandfather, George Bowcock was a Private in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was awarded a number of campaign medals. George Bowcock was a butcher by trade which is presumably why he found himself in the Medical Corps.
Source: www.cwgc.org

Saturday 28 March 2009

University of Hull Open Day

It doesn't seem very long ago that I was pushing a pushchair around Bracknell but time has marched on and we have started looking at Universities because Alice and Rose will be filling out their UCAS applications in the Autumn.

I started my research a few weeks ago and found that www.opendays.com does all the hard work and provides easily searchable information on University Open Days. The University of Hull seemed to be about the first and since it is one of the closest to home we decided to book a place and take the girls and some of their friends. We went to talks on Chemistry and Engineering. Hull is ranked 11th for Chemistry in the Guardian league tables and 8th for Engineering (general) and is ranked 5th overall. We were all very impressed with the campus and the departments but it was our first Open Day.

Sunday 22 March 2009

Mothers Day, Jade Goody and smear tests

I had a vague plan to spend today being selfish and just doing what I wanted to do but being a mother doesn't allow you to cut off entirely from the responsibilities of the role.

I woke this morning to the news that Jade Goody had died from cervical cancer at the age of 27 (Radio 5Live 8am alarm) and wondered what advice I should be giving my daughters about having smear tests. Apparently in England screening starts at 25 but in Scotland and Wales it is 20 but this is under review. I recall my first test in the Doctors Surgery on Kings Parade, Cambridge when I was an undergraduate and either 20 or 21 so the advice on age of first testing must have got older rather than younger. I've never had any reason to think about it before. For myself, I've had a letter from my Primary Healthcare Trust sitting in my 'Home Pending' file since January reminding me that my next, 3 year appointment is due on 13th January 2009 so I'll be joining the queue at the surgery over the next week or so.