 18th JUNE 1815 - 200 YEARS AGO, THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO WAS FOUGHT Driven by his desire to make France a European empire, the defiant warlord Napoleon Bonaparte established himself as ruler and First Consul in 1799 after carrying out a coup against the government of the First Republic of France (the 'Directory').
The French Republic was officially recognised and the Peace of Amiens signed and plucky Bonaparte later declared himself First Consul for life and Emperor in 1804. Of course, Napoleon wasn’t going to stop there though - he had much higher ambitions and his main desire was to make France the most powerful country in Europe by conquering other countries, including Britain.
In 1803, Britain declared war on France and the ensuing 'Napoleonic Wars' were fought between France and various Allied coalitions over the next 11 years. Eventually, the Allies successfully invaded in 1814 and forced Napoleon to abdicate at the Treaty of Fontainbleau.
Napoleon was then banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba, and after 25 years of war the European powers began restoring peace in their individual countries. However, peace did not last long in Europe and Napoleon escaped from Elba, making it back to France on the 1st March 1815 and resuming his title as Emperor. The unpopularity of Louis XVIII and the bad economic and social climate of France helped his popularity and he was able to restore his Grand Army, releasing those who had been captured during the years of fighting. Once he was back in Paris he began building up his army in preparation for an invasion of Belgium with the goal of capturing Brussels.
Leaders met at the Congress of Vienna and the 7th Coalition between Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia was formed on 25th March - the Allied powers of Europe immediately declared war on France and began to mass hundreds of thousands of troops on the borders of France. Only the armies of Wellington and Blücher, Commander of the Prussian Army, were in place in Belgium. Napoleon once described Britain as “the most powerful and most constant of my enemies.” The Duke of Wellington had never been beaten by the French and had a reputation as a talented coalition general. Napoleon decided to attack before his enemies reached full strength and swiftly moved 124,000 troops to the Belgian border with the plan to surprise the two armies in an offensive attack on the Allied troops gathering in Belgium. He aimed to divide the armies before defeating them separately, forcing Wellington's army to retreat back to the Belgian coast in the west and the Prussians to retreat to the east. |
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Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901)
Was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India.
Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke of Kent and the King died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died without surviving legitimate issue. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the Sovereign held relatively few direct political powers. Privately, she attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments. Publicly, she became a national icon, and was identified with strict standards of personal morality.
She married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children and 26 of their 34 grandchildren who survived childhood married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.
Her reign of 63 years and 7 months, which is longer than that of any other British monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history, is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover; her son and successor Edward VII belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father.
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In the United Kingdom, Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June and therefore the date of the festival is never fixed. Many countries around the world celebrate Fathers Day, though not neccessarly on this date. Father's Day is one of those days where everyone gets a chance to honour his or her own father in a special way. This holiday has an interesting history which started many, many years ago. However, the holiday remains a very special day for those with fathers in their lives.
Sons and Daughters celebrate the occasion by honoring their father and expressing affection for them by presenting popular gifts like cards, flowers, chocolates and neckties. Young children often give handmade gifts to their Dad.
Earliest History of Father's Day
Scholars believe that the origin of Father's Day is not a latest phenomenon, as many believe it to be. Rather they claim that the tradition of Father's Day can be traced in the ruins of Babylon. They have recorded that a young boy called Elmesu carved a Father's Day message on a card made out of clay nearly 4,000 years ago. Elmesu wished his Babylonian father good health and a long life. Though there is no record of what happened to Elmesu and his father but the tradition of celebrating Father's Day remained in several countries all over the world.
Present Day
Father's Day is a celebration of fathers inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting.
After the success obtained by Anna Jarvis with the promotion of Mother's Day in the US, some wanted to create a similar holidays for other family members, and Father's Day was the choice most likely to succeed. There were other persons in the US who independently thought of "Father's Day", but the credit for the modern holiday is always given to Sonora Dodd.
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D-Day 6th June 1944 - We Shall Remember Them!
The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II.
The landings commenced on Tuesday, June 6, 1944 (D-Day), beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time (GMT+2). In planning, D-Day was the term used for the day of actual landing, which was dependent on final approval.
The landings were conducted in two phases: an airborne assault landing of 24,000 British, American, Canadian and Free French airborne troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France starting at 6:30 AM. There were also decoy operations under the codenames Operation Glimmer and Operation Taxable to distract the German forces from the real landing areas.
Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces was General Dwight Eisenhower while overall command of ground forces (21st Army Group) was given to General Bernard Montgomery. The operation, planned by a team under Lieutenant-General Frederick Morgan, was the largest amphibious invasion in world history and was executed by land, sea, and air elements under direct British command with over 160,000[6] troops landing on June 6, 1944. 195,700Allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000 ships were involved. The invasion required the transport of soldiers and material from the United Kingdom by troop-laden aircraft and ships, the assault landings, air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire-support. The landings took place along a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.
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60 years of The Queen's reign
The Queen came to the throne on 6 February 1952 and her coronation took place on 2 June 1953.
She celebrated her Silver Jubilee (25 years) in 1977 and her Golden Jubilee (50 years) in 2002.
Jubilee Weekend
The central weekend, 2-5 June
Communities all around the country will be celebrating over an extended bank holiday weekend, and there will be many ways to get involved in local events.
Events are planned across the UK over the next four days to mark 60 years since the Queen came to the throne. Last-minute preparations are under way for the many street parties, outdoor concerts and fairs being staged for the royal celebration.
Family History UK would like to congratulate the Queen on her 60 years on the throne.
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Families from Cutty Sark's history traced for reunion
Descendants of shipbuilders, sailors and captains who worked on the Cutty Sark are to gather on board the famous tea clipper in the largest reunion of families who have been involved in the vessel's history.
It is almost 143 years since Sophie Kennedy Clark's great-great-great grandfather saw the completion of his most famous ship.
Hercules Linton's design for the Cutty Sark allowed the tea clipper to become the fastest vessel of its time, capable of even outrunning the more advanced steam ships that had begun to take to the seas.
Now his descendant, an actress and model who appears in the latest Johnny Depp film Dark Shadows, will set foot on his ship for the first time to take part in the largest ever reunion of the families of the men and women who built and sailed the vessel.
Researchers have traced 400 living descendants of crew members, captains and shipwrights who worked on the Cutty Sark and at least 170 of them will be brought together for the first time on board the vessel at an event to mark the completion of an five year restoration of the ship.
"It is going to be like a giant family gathering of people I didn't know existed," said Miss Kennedy Clark, 20, who has modelled as the face of Burberry and has appeared alongside David Tennant in the TV drama Single Father.
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VE Day - End of the war - Rejoice!
After five years, eight months, and five days of massive devastation, the end of the European phase of World War II was celebrated.Victory in Europe was commemorated with celebrations all around the world in recognition of the unconditional surrender of all German forces signed in Reims, France, the previous day.
Rejoicing at end of war in Europe
The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, has officially announced the end of the war with Germany.
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 The London Daily Mirror, May, 8, 1945
On March 7, 1945, the Western Allies—whose chief commanders in the field were Omar N. Bradley and Bernard Law Montgomery—crossed the Rhine after having smashed through the strongly fortified Siegfried Line and overran West Germany. The German collapse came after the meeting (Apr. 25) of the Western and Russian armies at Torgau in Saxony, and after Hitler's death amid the ruins of Berlin, which was falling to the Russians under marshals Zhukov and Konev. The unconditional surrender of Germany was signed at Rheims on May 7 and ratified at Berlin on May 8.
May 8 marks the formal celebration of the Allies' victory in Europe during World War II
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Banns of marriagea proclamation of intended marriage , repeated three times at weekly intervals in the parish churches of both the bride and bridegroom. To dispense with banns required a marriage licence. Both banns and licences were valid for 3 months. In 1753 , Hardwicke's Marriage Act brought Banns Registers into regular use, sometimes in separate books, sometimes in the parish marriage registers.A comparatively small number of Banns Books survive, the requirement to register banns continued until 1812. A banns record by itself is of course no guarantee that the marriage itself actually took place. People could always change their minds at the last minute, or parents might have stepped in to stopped minors marrying, or previous spouses have come forward to prevent a bigamous marriage, the list goes on. Marriages are sometimes said to take place " by certificate", before 1837 that would likely mean that one party came from another parish and had to provide written evidence[a certificate] that the banns had properly been called in the other parish too, and no objection made. After 1837 it may refer to a Registrar's certificate issued after notice of the intended marriage had been posted for the requisite 3 weeks in the RO, and when the marriage subsequently took place in a church. 
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The records of more than 27 million people in England go online at www.1911census.co.uk today, three years earlier than planned. We here at FHUK - Family History UK website (together with others in the industry) and its FHUK members have previously pressured the government for early release - we can now see the results on www.1911census.co.uk .
Find My Past
The National Archives are hoping there will not be a repeat of the great website crash that accompanied publication of the 1901 records. Lets hope so folks!
Millions of people are expected to click on for a peek at their families' past and a taste of other people's lives, from the great and the good of nearly a century ago to the great-grandparents of 21st-century celebrities. The actual 1911 census was carried out on April 2nd, 1911.
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Find My Past - 1911 CENSUS FOR WALES GOES ONLINE
* Online access to the records of 2.4 million people living in Wales in 1911
* Major new family history resource
2.4 million people were recorded living in Wales in the census taken on the night of Sunday, 2 April, 1911. Today, after nearly 100 years, the Welsh census records are available to the public at Find My Past at www.1911census.co.uk.
Due to public demand for access to the 1911 census, the records have been released as soon as each region's records have been digitised. Following the initial release of 1911 records in January 2009, the records of people living in Wales in 1911 are being made available today for the first time.
The 1911 census records contain details about the lives of the ancestors of many of Wales' famous sons and daughters, such as Richard Burton, Dylan Thomas, Kylie Minogue and Tom Jones.
Find My Past
The census covered Wales, England, the Isle of Man and the Channel
Islands, as well as recording those aboard Royal Naval and Merchant
vessels at sea and in foreign ports and, for the first time in a
British census, full details of British Army personnel and their
families in military establishments overseas. It is the most detailed
census since UK records began and the first for which the original
census schedules have been preserved - complete with our ancestors' own
handwriting - providing a fascinating insight into British society
nearly a century ago.
www.1911census.co.uk is easy to access and enables the public to view
high quality colour images of their ancestors' original handwritten
census returns. Transcribed text versions of the records ensure they
are fully searchable by name or address.
Public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for
family historians, has resulted in the records being released earlier
than the scheduled 2012 date. To make this early online release to the
public possible, the 1911 census team worked around the clock for two
years - scanning on average one census page per second. In line with
data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to
infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until
2012.
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Tens of thousands of Jewish genealogical records will be made public
under initiatives by the Manchester Council of Synagogues and the
city's Jewish genealogical society. People will be able to access the
records over the internet through a pay-as-you-view facility.
The genealogical society has released 300 new digital records from the closed Prestwich cemetery.
It is hoped that these will be added to the council of synagogues'
ongoing project to create a super-database. A five-year council of
synagogues' project includes digitising the last of 28,000 ageing
records from burial societies and creating a website to host the data.
The £50,000 cost has come from the city's burial societies and
synagogue funds. It is hoped to recoup outlay from paid inquiries.
The council is also considering whether to join forces with the
genealogical society and Manchester Jewish Museum to input combined
records on to the museum's website.
Council of synagogues' chairman Shimmy Lopian said a joint venture
had not yet been agreed. "I think pooling resources would be a positive
thing, and we may join together in the future."
Genealogical society chair Lorna Kay is frustrated that the records
are not being made public immediately. "I have a huge backlog of
genealogical inquiries from the US, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand.
We're turning down money as we speak."
The genealogical society has moved to premises at the Jewish Museum, where its records will be kept
From The Jewish Chronicle
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