Ann Hamilton 1931-2021

Ann Hamilton was the godmother of my wife, who heped look after her and her brother after their mother died when they were infants. I put together this tribute to her, which was printed and distributed at the requiem mass held for her at St Anthony’s church in Rye on September 27th. It brings together reflections from close friends, family and colleagues, with other material published about her. It hopes to provide a flavour of the esteem in which she was held, her impact on the lives of those she came into contact, and just as importantly how she was much loved. A short biographical sketch below has also been included about aspects of Anne’s life not covered in the reflections and other material.

Jack Birtwistle (1922-2014)

This article about John Wynn Birtwhistle (aka Jack) was shared with us by L. Alan Birtwhistle, author of Thirty–one Generations of the Birtwhistle Family: A Family History (2006) who we’ve been collaborating with on stitching together a family tree of the different branches of the Birtwistle and other spellings diaspora (see more here). It was written by his cousin John Michael Birtwhistle:

John Wynn Birtwistle (aka Jack) and his wife Ida Mae (aka Robie, née Robins)

Miss D.M. Birtwhistle Mystery

I.M. Birtwistle, 1943

The photograph above is of my aunt Iris Mary Birtwistle (aka Lilla and IM Birtwistle). She was a poet and gallery owner, who achieved notoriety – in part – for continuing to run her gallery after she had gone blind (see her wiki entry here).

I’ve shared the photograph because it is an example of how searching for one thing can yield another. And in this case that started by trying to find out more about a Miss Birtwistle mentioned in documentary about Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

John Birtwhisle of Dundeugh Coat of Arms?

As part of serialising Thirty–one Generations of the Birtwhistle Family: A Family History (2006) compiled by L. Alan Birtwhistle, we tried to identify who had been granted the ‘John Birtwhisle of Dundeugh’ Coat of Arms mentioned (see Coat of Arms chapter).

Bob Birtwhistle – who is behind the Birtwhistle.info site – is pretty certain that it’s John Birtwhistle 1799-1869. He was the son of Alexander Birtwhistle (1750-1810) and Mary Purdie and, and also Deputy Lieutenant of Kirkudbright.

More photos of Huncoat Hall

David Birtwistle has kindly shared a few photos of Huncoat Hall below from his visit to local area with his wife back in May 2004:

David also sent the following links with more information about the hall. These include the listing on the Historic England site for Huncoat Hall and Attached Barn (Grade II Listed Building) with the following details:

Birtwistle surnames and other spellings

The logo above was created by the late John W. Birtwhistle (aka Jack) for the masthead of the first edition (Volume 1, Number 1) of a family newsletter he published in June 1983. As he explained:

The logo or masthead at the top of the page is designed to show both the variety and unity of the various ways of spelling the name. All five vowels appear as the second letter, and ‘y’ when it is was in fashion before 1600. The ‘h’s placement decides the two major spelling groups today. The consonants are the unifying element in the name with the exception of the second ‘t’ which sometimes fades away. The last two letters are almost always present but often switch position.

Jack included over 100 spellings that were taken from public records. These have been included below and were kindly shared by L. Alan Birtwhistle (Jack’s first cousin once removed) who compiled Thirty–one Generations of the Birtwhistle Family: A Family History (2006).

Edmund Frederick Astley Birtwistle (1924-1986)

Unlike our uncles Michael and David, our uncle Edmund (aka Frog) never received an obituary we can find (even in the Ampleforth Journal):

As a child I had heard stories about his war exploits from my mother and grandmother, which included how he may have been picked up in the North Sea having had to ditch from a plane or possible accident while crossing the channel in patrol boat. That apparently included getting lung damage through the inhaling of diesel fumes, which may have contributed to lung problems later in life. My cousin Hamish had also been told a similar story by his mother, although in the version he’d heard our uncle had ended up in the channel when boat he was in sunk on its way to France.

More on the Cleaver family

Christina Clair Maitland aka Nina was my 2x gt. aunt and I have written about her here, after having been sent photos of her and her family by one of my not so distant cousins.

Nina married Percy Alan Cleaver and George Graham has added some more information about their family on his site including their 3 children:

• Cerise Marie
• Noel Ramsay
• Bernard Box

Noel was Killed In Action in WW2, and Cerise died in mid-60s unmarried. My mother remembers meeting Cerise and her mother (Nina) at their apartment in Palace Mansions near Olympia in London. We don’t know what happened to Bernard.

George has also added information about a few more generations of both Percy’s paternal and maternal ancestors. If anyone has any photographs or portraits then please get in touch.

Ramsay of Barnton Collectible

Mark Mccullough has been in touch about an old silver salt or sugar bowl Dated 1828 with the crest for Ramsay of Barnton House, Midlothian and Sauchie, Stirling. If anyone is interested in owning this heirloom then get in touch and I will put you in touch with Mark.

RIP Claire Louise Alexander

The funeral of my nephew’s wife Claire Louise Alexander (née Wills) is taking place in Plymouth today. She sadly passed away after complications during Chemotherapy. He was a Royal Marine who was killed on patrol in Afghanistan in 2011 (see more here). They are survived by their son Leo, my great-nephew.