A Family History Of...

The Strike's Long Shadow | The General Strike (Part 4)

29 min · 18. maj 2026
episode The Strike's Long Shadow | The General Strike (Part 4) cover

Description

In the wake of defeat, one man does what he’s always done: he keeps going.  In the long aftermath of the 1926 General Strike, the banners are folded away, but the hardship isn’t over. As unemployment bites and the Means Test humiliates families across the country, Will Lawther steps once more into the halls, meetings, and street corners where miners gather to make sense of a world that suddenly feels smaller. Joined again by historian Jonathan Kindleysides (Beamish Museum), host and genealogist Jen Baldwin explores how Will rebuilt his life after defeat, rising from local organiser to national union leader, and eventually to a knighthood that never quite pulled him from his roots. This final chapter follows a man shaped by struggle, anchored by community, and defined by the dignity he fought for long after the General Strike ended.  Host: Jen Baldwin  Researchers: Jen Baldwin and Barry Kline  Oral History Credits: Northumberland Archives  Guest: Jonathan Kindleysides (Beamish Museum) Editor: CM87Edits  Script Editors: Niall Cullen, Madeleine Gilbert, and James Plumb  Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb  Designer: Michael McCosh  Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

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23 episodes

episode Three Brothers, One War | The Somme (Part 1) artwork

Three Brothers, One War | The Somme (Part 1)

Three brothers headed for the trenches. On the cusp of the First World War, their family changed forever.  In the Leicestershire market town of Hinckley, the Attenborough brothers are swept along the tide of global conflict. Each serving with different regiments; each caught up in attrition warfare in distinct ways. To tell their story, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin is joined by Harvey Henson, Somme specialist and Communications Coordinator at the Commonwealth War Commission. Together, they’ll delve into the moment when headlines of war reached Hinckley and begin to trace the transformative impact of conflict on this ordinary family.   Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin  Guest: Harvey Henson (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)  Editor: CM87Edits  Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert  Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb  Designer: Michael McCosh  Social media: Sarah Cornes  Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

29. juni 202632 min
episode A Family History Of... The Somme | Trailer artwork

A Family History Of... The Somme | Trailer

One family. A battle that would shape generations. History remembers battles. Families remember absence. Over the course of a single year, three telegrams arrived at the Attenborough family home on Druid Street, Hinckley. Three brothers - Walter, Arthur and Richard Attenborough - were swept into the upheaval of the First World War, serving in different regiments as the conflict intensified from Loos to the Somme. Across four episodes, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin is joined by Somme expert and Commonwealth War Graves Commission Communications Coordinator, Harvey Henson, to explore the devastating impact of the war's early years on one working-class family, and how their story survives through the historical record.  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

24. juni 20262 min
episode What Naval Records Reveal | Gallipoli (Part 4) artwork

What Naval Records Reveal | Gallipoli (Part 4)

Gallipoli may dominate the history books. But the records tell the rest of the story.  Gallipoli is one of those moments in history that can seem enormous when we look back at it now. But when we delve into the naval records of the men who actually experienced it, something surprising happens – it barely interrupts the page at all.  In this bonus episode, host and expert genealogist Jen Baldwin steps back from this defining First World War campaign to explore what family history records can reveal when we look beyond the big moments we already know. Through the wider context of Gallipoli, this episode dives into the careers, continuity, expertise, and everyday labour that kept the Royal Navy afloat during wartime.  As more naval records become accessible online, Jen explores how they help family historians and researchers alike. Moving past the headline news and reconnecting with Navy ancestors in ways that simply weren’t possible before.  Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin Editor: CM87Edits Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb Designer: Michael McCosh Social media: Sarah Cornes Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

22. juni 202616 min
episode Aftershocks of the Campaign | Gallipoli (Part 3) artwork

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Gallipoli is over. But its effects ripple on. After the chaos of the Dardanelles, HMS Prince George limps into Malta, a harbour strained by wounded men, damaged ships, and the unrelenting work of repair. For Nelson Langsford, the danger gives way to a different kind of pressure, as engineers and dockyard crews work around the clock to keep the fleet afloat. Joined by naval historian Charlotte Ward‑Kelly, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin explores how these quieter weeks appear, and often disappear, in the records. Back home, as Nelson moves from frontline service into instruction and training, his story shifts again. This final episode traces how one man and his family carry the aftershocks of Gallipoli forward, shaping work, identity, and remembrance long after the guns fell silent. Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin Guest: Charlotte Ward-Kelly Editor: CM87Edits Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb Designer: Michael McCosh Social media: Sarah Cornes Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

15. juni 202631 min
episode Into the Dardanelles | Gallipoli (Part 2) artwork

Into the Dardanelles | Gallipoli (Part 2)

The battle for Gallipoli begins.    As war comes knocking, Nelson Langsford moves from routine service into active conflict aboard HMS Prince George. Tasked with carrying troops and patrolling hostile waters, the ship turns toward the Dardanelles, a narrow strait Britain hopes to force open and end the war quickly. But it won’t be that simple.  Joined by naval historian Charlotte Ward‑Kelly, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin delves deeper, uncovering what it was like to experience this gamble far below deck. As mines detonate, shells strike, and ageing battleships strain under impossible pressure, survival in the engine room comes down to seconds, skill, and instinct.  In this episode, one ordinary man witnesses naval confidence collapse, the strategy shifting, and the Gallipoli campaign taking its most fateful turn.  Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin  Guest: Charlotte Ward-Kelly  Editor: CM87Edits  Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert  Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb  Designer: Michael McCosh  Social media: Sarah Cornes Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

8. juni 202629 min