At the outbreak of the First World War, German immigrants, who for decades had been respected members of their community, became enemies almost overnight. Their livelihoods, shops and houses were destroyed by violent crowds. Yet German people had settled in Britain over many centuries. They were courtiers, merchants, engineers, and skilled workers such as the … Read more
When access to Bushy Park in Richmond was withdrawn for local residents in the eighteenth century, a local shoemaker, Timothy Bennet, campaigned successfully to get it re-instated. Bennet threatened to take the Park Ranger, George Montagu-Dunk, the 2nd Earl of Halifax, to court if access for residents was not restored. He argued that local people … Read more
There was no conscription in Britain at the beginning of the First World War. However, by the end of 1915, 528,272 men had been either killed, wounded, or were missing in action. In response, the government introduced The Military Service Act. It became law on 27 January 1916 and all unmarried men aged 18-41 were … Read more
Jayaben Desai, living a quiet life in Willesden in the 1970s, would not have been tipped by many at the time as an influential political activist and defender of rights. And yet, circumstances, together with her sense of justice and her determination to see justice done, took her into national and international headlines as one … Read more
The story of William Cobbett is important both to Farnham, who celebrate him as their most famous son, and on a national and international level for his roles as a journalist, radical and political reformist. Born in Farnham in 1763, he was the son of a farmer and innkeeper. He was in the army between … Read more
