The voyage of the Thetis 1848

It's finally happened - I have finally published a page about the voyage of the Thetis from London to Sydney in 1848, its precious cargo of 24 Wing emigrants and what became of them in Australia. Who gave birth on board? Who returned to Wing? Who was shot to death? Find out here.

As a side note, our Wing folk weren't the only precious things on board. The 17 Jun 1848 issue of the New Zealander includes the calamitous news that the Thetis was carrying English newspapers up to 8 February on board, but with "a most unpardonable disregard to the interests of the colonies to which they were consigned made away with the papers thus confided, handing them over to the passengers of homeward bound ships which they spoke somewhere about the equator. This is abominable, as Parliament was to reassemble on the 3rd, and but for this nefarious deprivation we might probably have learnt the issue of the second reading of the bill for our new constitution." Strong words indeed!

WW1 newspapers

I've recently been going through the WW1-era editions of the Bucks Herald. Some interesting changes in reporting during this time:

• Any marriages of servicemen may include their regiment - handy!
• The annual Flower Show/Fete at Ascott began to feature more war-related demonstrations (eg Red Cross), and was cancelled from 1916 since the August Bank Holiday was cancelled.
• Oh, the woe - each year a letter to the editor would appear from the Master of the Hunt at Ascott asking farmers to take down wire so this year's hunts could proceed without injury. Once we hit WW1, the letter always included specific comment that the huntsmen now serving at the front were extremely keen to see that the hunts continue for the amusement of those at home (oh yes, I'm sure this was foremost in servicemen's minds) and so the horses and hounds didn't rust (I'm paraphrasing here).
• Reports of military tribunals begin to appear - I'm sad (I'd say devastated but in the context of the overall tragedy of war that seems very selfish of me) that generally these don't name names, however in a number of cases the descriptions of the men seem specific enough that it might just be possible to identify one or two. 
• There's many war-specific committees being established, including the Bucks Women's County War Agricultural Committee which was responsible for getting women to sign up for land work. Reports were periodically published stating the numbers signed up in each parish.

 And in other news, I've just published a page of some very early international immigrants to Wing found in 15th century  tax and fealty oath records.

Russian immigrants

I've had an email regarding Ivan Vassilevitch Arjenovsky, 1900-1963, who has a gravestone in Wing. Does anyone know anything more about the Arjenovsky family, or any other Russian immigrants to Wing for that matter?

Yoohoo across the pond!

If there's anyone else out there descended from any of the Wing families who travelled to Australia on the Thetis in 1848, please do get in touch! Or, indeed, anyone descended from any convicts from Wing who were sent to Australia.....

A few of you have popped up lately, so it would be nice to hear from anyone else.