Jane Austen: Behind the Bonnets
Many will have seen the films and luscious TV adaptations of Austen's works - beautiful costumes, affluent country houses, the carriages. And at the centre of it all, an attractive…
Follow the Drum: Christmas 1916
Christmas 1916. The third Christmas of the War. In this article we consider daily life in the Borough at the time of the third Christmas of the War. It was…
The Battle of the Somme [Part 2]: contemporary sources
On the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme we take a look at the contemporary sources available in the Information and Reference Library. We examine how The Times…
Follow the Drum: Bernard Freyberg VC
Now, God be thanked Who has matched us with His hour… Peace by Rupert Brooke, 1914) Patricia Moloney, Heritage Assistant, considers the life of Bernard Freyberg, renowned military leader who counted…
Follow the Drum: Go on the Die Hards!
The gripping story of the Middlesex Regiment at Neuve Chapelle continues as the local men face going over the top. The detail of this part of the battle is based…
Follow the Drum: Go on the Midds!
Using eye-witness accounts from some of the archive material that we hold, this month’s blog looks at the important role played by the Middlesex Regiment in a key battle of…
Planning an Invasion: Bushy Park’s D-Day contribution
Felix Lancashire, Archivist at Richmond Local Studies Library & Archive, relates the story of Camp Griffiss, Bushy Park, and its role in the planning of the D-Day landings in 1944. 71…
Follow the Drum: Spring 1915
Springtime on the Front As spring develops on the Front, Pte W. Boddy (8th (King’s Royal) Irish Hussars), a Richmond resident, writes enthusiastically about a slight improvement in the weather…
Follow the Drum: Experiencing the trenches
Life on the Western Front Local families would have been able to construct a picture of life in the trenches for their family members through their personal correspondence (though military…
Follow the Drum: The Terriers far from home
The latest post from our Follow the Drum series looks at how local soldiers of the East Surrey 6th Battalion coped with life away from home in January-February 1915. Local…