Wendy Percival

author of the Esme Quentin mysteries

Typewriter header.jpg

Welcome to my blog!

Thanks for dropping in. Scroll down to read the posts below, where I share the intriguing - sometimes shocking - discoveries I make as I explore my family history.

I hope you enjoy reading them!

Click here to follow this blog

Search

Poor old George

May 25, 2018
1 min

Poor old George

I'd always known the story of my great uncle Tom, (Thomas Diggory) and the disabling leg wound he'd received during WW1, in March 1917. (You can read a full account here on my Family History Secrets blog). But I recently I learned that his elder brother George (pictured left at his wedding to Ethel Price in 1921) had also sustained a leg injury during the WW1. His records show that he suffered a gunshot wound on 29th September 1918 while he was serving with the Lincolnshire R

Clue in the postage stamp?

Apr 16, 2018
1 min

Clue in the postage stamp?

While the year may have been missed off Tom Diggory's postcard (see Secrets on a Postcard) during the franking process, I wondered if I could glean anything useful from the stamp itself which might help establish a date. I posted a close-up photo on Twitter and it was suggested the card was posted somewhere between 1904 and 1910. That would tie in with the half-penny stamp's image of Edward VII who died in 1910. The card wouldn't have been sent as early as 1904, as Tom would

Trails lead to secrets!

Apr 16, 2018
1 min

Trails lead to secrets!

One of the things I love about family history is where a trail can lead. Another is discovering how things join up and make sense of what you already know. And one of the best ones is when the trail leads to the discovery of secrets...! Here's Tom (my great uncle, Thomas James Diggory) on the left in his footman uniform. Sadly I don't know who he's standing next to, or where this photo was taken. Was it at Wergs Hall, where he was employed on 1911 census? I've been finding ou

Following the clues

Apr 3, 2018
1 min

Following the clues

It's clear from studying the postcard written to my great-uncle, Tom Diggory (see Secrets on a Postcard and Message on a Postcard ) that it throws up a number of clues which, if followed, might add something to Tom's story. Some I've already high-lighted, such as who was, W Bright, the sender, and what was Tom doing in Scotland? Having found the possible identity of W Bright, I might find the answer to the second question if I learn more about Craigo House. Ada and Annie, as

Message on a postcard

Mar 29, 2018
1 min

Message on a postcard

As I mentioned in my previous post about the postcard I found (see Secrets on a postcard), on the reverse of the photograph, there was a message to my great uncle, Tom Diggory from someone called W. Bright. I've been trying to find out a little more, using clues from what was written. Frustratingly, Bright is a common name and with few clues, it's not proving easy to pin him down, especially as I can't even be sure that W stands for William. However, I did find one possibilit

Secrets on a postcard

Mar 19, 2018
1 min

Secrets on a postcard

While sorting through some old postcards the other day I came across this photograph (undated) of the forge in The Wergs, near Wolverhampton. But the photograph is only half the story as on the reverse is a message written to my great uncle, Tom Diggory (born 1893) from someone called W. Bright. The postmark might have given us a date, had it not been stamped right on the edge, meaning, frustratingly, the year is missing. But there are clues that this would be prior to WW1.