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Funny where life takes you…

Stories from beyond the family trees

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A trailblazing free-thinker

Vera Conway Gordon (1874-1955) a suffragist, novelist, community leader, advocate for women's rights, and trailblazer for social progress

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Religion & Social Reform, Women's Lives April 9, 2024June 24, 2026 14 Minutes

A Good Friday sacrifice

Percy Henry Gordon (1885-1912) on Good Friday 1912 a young hero sacrifices his life to save a little girl from drowning in Rochester, Kent

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England March 29, 2024June 24, 2026 4 Minutes

Two Million Steps: Surviving the Long March of 1945

Ted Mayhew (1919-1982): In January 1945, Ted Mayhew and fellow POWs embarked on a gruelling evacuation march westward amid Europe's harsh winter conditions

Natalie Mayhew ⚕️ Health, Medicine & Mental Health, Germany & Poland, Second World War March 22, 2024June 24, 2026 11 Minutes

A woman before her time

Meta Brevoort (1825-1876) an intrepid Victorian mountaineer and the first female climber to wear trousers

Natalie Mayhew Alps & Switzerland, Art, Sport & Performance, 🌐 Migration & Emigration, New York, Women's Lives March 22, 2024August 9, 2026 13 Minutes

Smokes, skies, and simple pleasures

Black and white photo of an elderly bricklayer at work

Charlie Mayhew (1902-1969) one man's quest to escape the mundane confines of a working-class life

Natalie Mayhew England, Poverty, Hardship & Resilience February 29, 2024June 24, 2026 14 Minutes

A Soldier’s Return – the Long Road Back

Ted Mayhew (1919-1982): His post-war struggles reveal the challenges faced by returning POWs, seeking reintegration while coping with trauma and change

Natalie Mayhew ⚕️ Health, Medicine & Mental Health, England, Second World War February 22, 2024June 24, 2026 8 Minutes

A ‘blue on blue’ disaster

Black and white photo of Winston Churchill and other military personel

A tragic wartime incident during a military demonstration when a pilot mistakenly fired on spectators, causing the deaths of dozens of Army and Home Guard officers and men

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Second World War February 14, 2024June 24, 2026 8 Minutes

Echoes of Christmas

Live candles, each with a flame, clipped to a Christmas tree decorated with baubles and dried fruits.

During the 1960s, spending Christmas at our family home in Fulham was rare as my mother’s mental illness usually manifested itself in autumn and culminated in her being admitted to hospital around December, so my brother Nick and I were often sent down to stay in our grandmother’s house on the Dorset coast near Portland. … Continue reading Echoes of Christmas →

Natalie Mayhew England, Recollections January 3, 2024June 24, 2026 8 Minutes

Music and records

This story is not about a human ancestor, but about something else very close to my heart: popular music. Nowadays, anyone with access to the internet can listen to their choice of music instantly via a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music, or via YouTube. Long gone are the days when the only way … Continue reading Music and records →

Natalie Mayhew England, Recollections December 12, 2023June 24, 2026 9 Minutes

Off and on the beaten path

The turquoise waters of Lake Louise with mountains in the background

Reflections on the relative wilderness and popular destinations in and around the Banff National Park, Canada

Natalie Mayhew Canada, Recollections November 26, 2023June 24, 2026 12 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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