The Archives Volunteers have just completed their first piece of work for 2016 – extracting the names of service personnel mentioned in the Parish Notes section of Church News from 1914 to 1920. In all 1204 names were entered onto an excel spread sheet and can now be searched.
However as the work proceeded it became clear that some parishes did not ever record the names of these individuals , others only provided a surname, while some just indicated that a number of men had proceeded overseas. Other parishes regularly recorded those leaving, those returning and those who died. In this latter instance it is possible to follow an individuals involvement in considerable detail.
It is very easy to become side tracked when using Church News as it contains all sort of information, from overseas and other New Zealand Dioceses as well as prayers, reports of organisations and events, not to mention the advertisements.
Three advertisements from May 1916 caught my eye, mainly because they were regular advertisers. The first was for “Lotus” boots and shoes that were available at Chisnall & Stewart’s Cookham House. This building was named by George Gould when he was the local agent for Burrow’s Boot and Shoe Factory of Cookham in Berkshire not far from Maidenhead.
Aulsebrooks Factory on the corner of St Asaph and Montreal Streets was the well known producer of biscuits and cakes. Many families will have an Aulsebrooks tin in their back shed, a reminder of the days when biscuits were purchased in bulk.
L M Gregory of Cashel Street West specialised in artistic novelties and they were clearly taking advantage of the ongoing war to offer allies flags in enamel as well as their regular cups and saucer, rings and repairs
