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WDYTYA: Layton Williams

Actor, singer and dancer Layton Williams. Born in Bury, Layton starred in Billy Elliot the Musical on London's West End and BBC Three's Bad Education from 2012 to 2014 and in 2023, he appeared on the twenty-first season of Strictly Come Dancing. 

Reviews below - but SPOILER ALERT - don't read until you've watched the programme

The Genealogist 

 ๐Ÿ‘‰https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2025/who-do-you-think-you-are/layton-williams-8356/

Who Do You Think You Are magazine 

 ๐Ÿ‘‰https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tv-series/layton-williams-who-do-you-think-you-are

๐Ÿ“ทWall to Wall/ Stephen Perry via WDYTYA

 

 

 

 

WDYTYA:  Ross Kemp

EastEnders actor Ross Kemp discoveres his great grandfather's adventures in the Merchant Navy

Reviews below - but SPOILER ALERT - don't read until you've watched the programme

The Genealogist 

 ๐Ÿ‘‰https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2025/who-do-you-think-you-are/ross-kemp-8348/

Who Do You Think You Are magazine 

 ๐Ÿ‘‰https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tv-series/ross-kemp-who-do-you-think-you-are

๐Ÿ“ทWall to Wall/ Stephen Perry via WDYTYA

The Family History Show, Aintree Racecourse

We will be at the Family History Show at Aintree Racecourse on Saturday [tomorrow, 3rd May] talking all things Cheshire Ancestry.

Drop by and sell hello,  we are always happy to meet members from near and far

Browse our bargain book box

Have a go at geting your name on our Leaderboard in our genealogical patience game, 'Branching Out'

Full detail of how to attend ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://thefamilyhistoryshow.com/liverpool/

There is a special discount code on tickets for FHSC members, email me on  to find out more 

Free Online Events for May 2025

Happy May Day

 

1st of the month means my usual list of free online events.

As always the link below each event has more information and full registration details, Enjoy and do report back on anything that you attended.

Fri 2 May 2025 18:30 BST

โ€˜Remembering Rebellion in the Tudor South Westโ€™, Online RHS Lecture

by Royal Historical Society

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembering-rebellion-in-the-tudor-south-west-online-rhs-lecture-tickets-1112873668099

 

Wed 7 May 2025 13:00 BST

VE Day 80: How we remember the Second World War

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ve-day-80-how-we-remember-the-second-world-war-hap-summer-seminar-tickets-1304185416689

 

Wed 7 May 2025 15:00 BST

Introduction to family history

by National Library of Scotland

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/introduction-to-family-history-tickets-910360571977

 

Wed 7 May 2025 19:30 BST

MI5 and 10 Downing Street: the first 100 year

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mi5-and-10-downing-street-the-first-100-years-tickets-1224779441279

 

Wed 21 May 2025 13:00 BST

Battlefield wills from the First World War, 1914-22

By Norfolk Record Office

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/battlefield-wills-from-the-first-world-war-1914-22-online-tickets-1249222571339

 

Wed 29 May 2025 18:00 BST

Hunger Strikes and Baby Units: Women and prison health

By Royal College of Nursing Library and Museum

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hunger-strikes-and-baby-units-women-and-prison-health-tickets-1290120237359

 

Events for the first week of June that might interest you

 

Wed 4 June 2025 19:00 BST

A Very Expensive Poison

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-very-expensive-poison-tickets-1224825699639

 

Wed 4 June 2025 19:00 BST

The Weavers' Uprising of 1826

by Bolton FHS

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-weavers-uprising-of-1826-tickets-1128881066659  

 

WDYTYA: Mishal Husain

BBC news broadcaster Mishal Husain uncovered a wonderful story with some unexpected connections. 

Reviews below - but SPOILER ALERT - don't read until you've watched the programme

The Genealogist 

 ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2025/who-do-you-think-you-are/mishal-husain-8346/

Who Do You Think You Are magazine 

 ๐Ÿ‘‰https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tv-series/mishal-husain-who-do-you-think-you-are

๐Ÿ“ทWall to Wall/ Stephen Perry via WDYTYA

WDYTYA: Andrew Garfield

Series 22 opened with an interesting and emotional story with Andrew Garfield, best known for roles in Spider-ManThe Social Network, and Angels in America,

Reviews below - but SPOILER ALERT - don't read until you've watched the programme

The Genealogist 

 ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2025/who-do-you-think-you-are/andrew-garfield-8342/

Who Do You Think You Are magazine 

 ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tv-series/andrew-garfield-episode-summary

๐Ÿ“ทWall to Wall/ Stephen Perry via WDYTYA

FHSC Discussion Groups and more ...

Starting from the end of May, the current sub-groups of the Computer Club are being opened to the whole FHSC Membership as discussion groups. Additionally, we are launching our new 'Zooming in on Family History' chat session.

These groups are designed to allow members to chat about various topics with other members, building on the success of both the Computer Club and Research Buddies.

'Zooming in on Family History' โ€“ is a wide-ranging session whereby members can come along for help with their research, share success stories or just generally meet other members and chat about family history.

The theme of the Discussion groups, the current group leader and the meeting dates are:

Table_re_Discussion_Groups.png

If you are interested in being part of any of the groups, then initially email Margaret Roberts โ€“ to be put in touch with the Discussion Group Leader and added to the mailing list for that group.

Free Online Events for April 2025

1st of the month means my usual list of free online events.

As always the link below each event has more information and full registration details, Enjoy and do report back on anything that you attended.

 

Sat 12 April 2025 14:00 BST

Oldham's Coal Mines an illustrated presentation, given by Kelly Anderson

by Bolton FHS

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mlfhs-oldham-district-branch-monthly-meeting-and-talk-tickets-1295884197519

 

Wed 16 April 2025 19:30 BST

The Many Lives of Anthony Blunt

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-many-lives-of-anthony-blunt-tickets-1224727054589

 

Wed 23 April 2025 19:30 BST

Writing on the Wall: Graffiti and Rebellion in Eighteenth Century Britain

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/writing-on-the-wall-graffiti-and-rebellion-in-eighteenth-century-britain-tickets-1224752219859

 

Wed 30 April 2025 13:00 BST

Once visited never forgotten: St Andrew's Asylum/ Hospital

By Norfolk Record Office

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/once-visited-never-forgotten-st-andrews-asylum-hospital-online-tickets-1254305444349

 

Events for the first week of May that might interest you

 

Fri 2 May 2025 18:30 BST

โ€˜Remembering Rebellion in the Tudor South Westโ€™, Online RHS Lecture

by Royal Historical Society

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembering-rebellion-in-the-tudor-south-west-online-rhs-lecture-tickets-1112873668099

 

Wed 7 May 2025 15:00 BST

Introduction to family history

by National Library of Scotland

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/introduction-to-family-history-tickets-910360571977

 

Wed 7 May 2025 19:30 BST

MI5 and 10 Downing Street: the first 100 year

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mi5-and-10-downing-street-the-first-100-years-tickets-1224779441279

 

WDYTYA 2025 Announced

The BBC has announced the celebrities who will discover their family history on Who Do You Think You Are? 2025

Spider-man actor - Andrew Garfield

Pop star and actor - Will Young

Actor, best known for his role in Eastenders - Ross Kemp,

Actor and comedian - Diane Morgan

Journalist and Today programme presenter - Mishal Husain,

Comedian and actor - Aisling Bea

Best-known for serving as the Maรฎtre d' on First Dates - Fred Sirieix

Actor, singer and Strictly Come Dancing contestant - Layton Williams

AND for once I know them all without having to Google anyone!

Link for full details ๐Ÿ‘‰https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tv-series/who-do-you-think-you-are-2025

Free Online Events for March

 1st of the month means my usual list of free online events.

As always the link below each event has more information and full registration details, Enjoy and do report back on anything that you attended.

 

Wed 5 Mar 2025 19:30 GMT

๐ƒ๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ ๐‡๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง, ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ญ๐จ๐ง'๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐จ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐“๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ค

by Bolton FHS

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/donald-higson-boltons-hero-of-telemark-tickets-1128828609759

 

Wed 5 Mar 2025 19:30 GMT

๐„๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ง๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‚๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ž: ๐๐ฎ๐ž๐ž๐ง ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ?

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eleanor-of-castile-queen-of-hearts-tickets-1088673213889 

 

Sat 8 Mar 2025 10:00 GMT

๐ˆ๐–๐ƒ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“ ๐…๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ง ๐–๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง: ๐–๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง ๐š๐ญ ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ค

by Alfred Gillett Trust home of Shoemakers Museum

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/iwd2025-forgotten-women-women-at-work-tickets-1234954665649

 

Thu 13 Mar 2025 17:00 GMT

๐๐ฎ๐›๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐…๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐‡๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ

by Family Movie Story Books

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/publishing-family-history-books-tickets-1234941375899

 

Wed 19 Mar 2025 15:00 GMT

๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ

by National Library of Scotland

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/introduction-to-family-history-tickets-910360571977

 

Wed 19 Mar 2025 17:00 GMT

๐Œ๐ข๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐‡๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐’๐ž๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ซ

by Anna Maguire

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/migration-history-seminar-2024-25-tickets-1118677988979

 

Wed 26 Feb 2025 14:00 GMT

๐๐š๐ฏ๐ข๐ ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐š๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐–๐ž๐›๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ž

by National Library of Scotland

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/navigating-the-maps-website-tickets-884044299297

February Research Buddies

This month the topic is Nantwich

Please come along to our virtual helpdesk at 2pm on Saturday 22nd 

Do you have ancestors in the town, or are you researching a local family and want some help, perhaps on the other hand you live in the locality and could offer help with photographing gravestones or buildings. This is the chance for members to help each other, I'm sure there are many members out there with knowledge of the area that they could share

Register ro receive the zoom link on Saturday morning ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.fhsc.org.uk/events/research-buddies/228-research-buddies-nantwich.html

 

Free Online Events for February

 1st of the month means my usual list of free online events.

As always the link below each event has more information and full registration details, Enjoy and do report back on anything that you attended.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars

List of events for early 2025

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars

 

Wed 5 Feb 2025 13:00 GMT

From Finbarr to Beauford, the making of Cork City by Howard Clarke

by LAI Genealogy and Local Studies Group

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-finbarr-to-beauford-the-making-of-cork-city-by-howard-clarke-tickets-12034841464799

 

Wed 5 Feb 2025 17:30 GMT

Manchester, Bolton and Lancashire Portraits with Brian Groom

by Bolton FHS

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/manchester-bolton-and-lancashire-portraits-tickets-1128823594759

 

Fri 7 Feb 2025 18:00 GMT

'Dangerous Journeys: Framing womenโ€™s movement in the medieval world'

by Royal Historical Society

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/onlinedangerous-journeys-framing-womens-movement-in-the-medieval-world-tickets-1118707587509

 

Sat 8 Feb 2025 14:00 GMT

Buried Secrets: Looking for Frank and Ida

by Oldham& District Branch of MLFHS

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/buried-secrets-looking-for-frank-and-ida-an-illustrated-presentation-tickets-1134550895269

 

Wed 12 Feb 2025 19:30 GMT

Republic: Britainโ€™s Revolutionary Decade, 1649โ€“1660

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/republic-britains-revolutionary-decade-16491660-tickets-1088578941919

 

Fri 14 Feb 2025 14:00 GMT

The Chevalier dโ€™Eon in the English Law Courts

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-chevalier-deon-in-the-english-law-courts-tickets-1088590516539

 

Tue 18 Feb 2025 13:00 GMT

How have world events and legislation changed women's policing?

by LSE Library

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-have-world-events-and-legislation-changed-womens-policing-tickets-1110099681029

 

Wed 19 Feb 2025 15:00 GMT

Introduction to family history

by National Library of Scotland

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/introduction-to-family-history-tickets-910360571977

 

Tue 25 Feb 2025 15:00 GMT

Researching gender & sexuality

by National Library of Scotland

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/researching-gender-sexuality-tickets-893733981397

 

Wed 26 Feb 2025 19:30 GMT

The story of Europe's medieval Jewish communities

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-story-of-europes-medieval-jewish-communities-tickets-1088667938109

 

Fri 28 Feb 2025 14:00 GMT

A constitutional monarchy? Magna Carta in the 13th century

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-constitutional-monarchy-magna-carta-in-the-13th-century-tickets-1088670014319

 

 

Advanced notice of talks taking place early in March 2025 that may interest members:

 

Wed 5 Mar 2025 19:30 GMT

Donald Higson, Bolton's Hero of Telemark

by Bolton FHS

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/donald-higson-boltons-hero-of-telemark-tickets-1128828609759

 

Wed 5 Feb 2025 19:30 GMT

Eleanor of Castile: Queen of Hearts?

by National Archives (Free to attend but donation suggested)

Link with more details and to register ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eleanor-of-castile-queen-of-hearts-tickets-1088673213889

 

Construction of the new history centres begins

News from Cheshire Archives - 

We were delighted to see that our construction contractor, Kier, started work on site in Chester in November and in January started work at Crewe. We held a drop-in session in November for residents at Hoole Community Centre to share information about whatโ€™s coming and to answer questions they had.

We are holding a drop-in at Crewe Market on Thursday 20 February, from 11am to 1pm. Some of the team will be there, together with Kier, to talk to people about the new centre in Crewe and its construction.

Currently we are expecting the new centres to be open in the middle of 2026. We will continue to keep you updated through this newsletter.

Our photograph shows the Crewe site as construction begins.