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Funny where life takes you…

Stories from beyond the family trees

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Category: Britain & Ireland

Staying in and ‘Coming Out’

A pale lady is seated alone in a schoolroom holding a black-edged letter, obviously downcast and presumably musing sadly about home and family, as suggested by 'Home, sweet Home', the music on the music stand. Three pupils play happily in a sunlit background.

Lil Coolidge (1857-1906): Jan 1877 to Jun 1880, the rocky and twisting road to finding love

Natalie Mayhew Domestic Service, England, Women's Lives July 30, 2022June 24, 2026 8 Minutes

A doctor’s wife

photograph of the Old House, Dorking, now a Grade II listed building

Lil Coolidge (1857-1906): Jun 1880 to May 1896: happiness and tragedy in a small country town

Natalie Mayhew Business, Trades & Professions, England, Women's Lives July 30, 2022June 24, 2026 7 Minutes

Things are never so bad

Lil Coolidge (1857-1906): Jul 1896 to Oct 1906: doing the best she could

Natalie Mayhew ⚕️ Health, Medicine & Mental Health, England, Guernsey, Women's Lives July 30, 2022June 24, 2026 8 Minutes

He Answered the Call

Alfred John Payne (1899-1916) He was a son, a brother, and an underage soldier of WW1

Natalie Mayhew Childhood & Family Life, Continental Europe, 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, First World War July 16, 2022June 24, 2026 8 Minutes

“Tail End Charlie”

Historic black and white photograph of the rear turret of a Lancaster bomber with the rear gunner in post

The remarkable life of a child born from a First World War love-affair

Natalie Mayhew Childhood & Family Life, England, Second World War May 31, 2022June 24, 2026 9 Minutes

From the Goal Line to the Front Line

The story of Chelsea goalkeeper William Krug who joined the 17th Middlesex (1st Football) Battalion at the start of the Great War.

Natalie Mayhew Art, Sport & Performance, 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, First World War, France May 23, 2022June 24, 2026 8 Minutes

One purple moment  

Man on horse-drawn cart throwing coins to crowd on cobblestone street

Harry Mayhew (1886-1933): a teapot full of gold coins leads to mishap and courtroom chaos

Natalie Mayhew England, Poverty, Hardship & Resilience January 26, 2022June 24, 2026 9 Minutes

Tragedy at sea

Matthew Saumarez (1718-1778): a tragedy at sea and a case of mistaken identity.

Natalie Mayhew 🔍 Mysteries & Brick Walls, England, Guernsey, Seafaring & the Navy January 21, 2022June 24, 2026 3 Minutes

Peter Mayhew (1929-1980)

Group of people working in film editing cutting rooms

Peter Mayhew (1929-1980): A film editor and father, remembered for his extraordinary life and contributions

Natalie Mayhew Art, Sport & Performance, England December 31, 2021June 24, 2026 1 Minute

The Tooting years

Postcard image of a man with two young boys walking along a seaside promenade in 1936

Peter Mayhew (1929-1980): an unconventional family history begins in 20th century Tooting

Natalie Mayhew Childhood & Family Life, England, Second World War December 30, 2021June 24, 2026 6 Minutes

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Funny Where Life Took Them
Some of the surnames on this site — click one to find stories behind it

Bailey Baker Banfield Banfield aka Wackrill Barrett Baynes Booth Bovill Bowes-Lyon Brevoort Bristow Brock Carson Chaldecott Collingwood Conway-Gordon Coolidge Cooper Cotton Courtauld Daley Dibben Dowman Down Earle Finch Fitzgerald Gordon Hall Harvey Hill Irving Kirby Krug Lane? Levens Mayhew Mayo Napier Obee Payne Poulton Rose Saumarez Sheldrake Todd Twohey Wackrill Whetten

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