In 1915 on the first anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, the then Bishop of Ely gave an extremely belligerent speech given his clerical office. The article is an extensive one so I’ve only transcribed the comments of The Mayor and the Bishop of Ely as public figures. From the British Newspaper … More Bishop of Ely says “Peace now would be a crime” – August 1915
A striking historical event took place in Cambridge shortly after the early exchanges of cannon fire in the First World War, at a time when the real pressures of war were beginning to be felt. It was a meeting of the Union of Democratic Control. This was the first public meeting of the organisation since its … More Peace activism in wartime Cambridge. Spring 1915
Summary A gem of a find itemising some important contributions by Cambridge firms to the war effort, and some unfulfilled dreams of overhauling and modernising Cambridge. Not an easy transcription due to the blurring of some of the text, which is from the British Newspaper Archive. At the annual meeting of the Cambridge Chamber of … More How Cambridge helped win the First World War – with some interesting lists. 1919
Eglantyne Jebb’s brother in law, Charles Roden Buxton (who married Eglantyne’s sister, Dorothy), delivered this lecture on Terms of Peace over the First World War, at the Cambridge Suffrage Summer School at the Teacher Training College, now Hughes Hall, Cambridge. He was the briefly the radical Liberal MP for Ashburton in 1910, for Labour for Accrington … More Eglantyne Jebb’s brother-in-law calls for a peace treaty for WWI in 1915 – very similar to, but pre-dating President Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points.
Cambridge historian Fonz Chamberlain wrote about Queen Victoria’s 1843 visit to Cambridge, which he summarised here. Since Fonz posted the blogpost, the British Newspaper Archive has made leaps and bounds in scanning millions of pages in their archives (£requires subscription) and since then, the incredibly detailed account of the visit has been scanned. Because it … More Queen Victoria visits Cambridge in 1843 – before the railway arrived
Mr Deck came up in a talk at the Mill Road History Society this evening, so I started trawling through the British Newspaper Archive to see what it threw up. This reminiscence from 1924 of a Victorian New Years Eve on King’s Parade tells us that Mr Deck was originally from Bury St Edmunds, up … More Isaiah Deck, a chemist of King’s Parade provides New Year’s Eve fireworks
Summary: Cambridge legend in her early campaigning years as a suffragist a year after the outbreak of the First World War – this lecture taking place at what is how Hughes Hall, Cambridge. What follows is Clara’s first lecture. “Two interesting lectures on “The War and the Women’s Movement” were delivered by Mrs C.D. Rackham … More Clara Rackham on Women and WWI: First lecture – 1915
Posting this short article from the British Newspaper Archive in support of the Window on the War exhibition at Great St Mary’s, Cambridge in 2018. It’s difficult to get across to contemporary audiences just how different things were on the outbreak of the First World War. As far as the UK was concerned, we were not … More Cambridge women get organised for the First World War
Summary: The case of Daisy Hopkins – a seventeen year old girl who was thrown into Cambridge University’s private jail – The Spinning House – caused uproar in Cambridge. Did Cambridge University have powers to detain people who were not members of the university? In particular women they thought were sex workers? The full judgement … More Daisy Hopkins and the Spinning House Case – ruling from the Lord Chief Justice. 1891.
Transcript of the front page of The Vote magazine of 1931 – the organ of the Women’s Freedom League. From the British Newspaper Archive. “The return of Mrs. Leah Manning—an old member of the Women’s Freedom League for East Islington with an increased Labour majority is not only a triumph for her party, but further … More Leah Manning MP elected for Islington East, 1931
