The Hampshire Family Historian | Vol.49 No.3 | December 2022

Local Group Programmes

would remain with them for the duration of the war and because she had no official status it was necessary for the Dutch resistance to supply stolen food coupons. Even so, in the winter of 1944 food was in short supply, while the bitter cold meant Riek had to unravel her own jumpers to provide clothing for the little girl. When the war was over, she was re-introduced to her parents. This was done with commendable sensitivity as to her, Riek and Repco were her parents. Later on, her father nominated them for the Yad Vashem award given to non-Jews who helped save Jewish lives. This was granted in 1973, however, they were reluctant to accept it and it was not until 1979 that they did so. The two families remain in contact. Margaret’s talk was on Richard Aylmore, who was part of the doomed expedition that set out in May 1845 to find the North-West Passage. Richard was a gun room attendant aboard HMS Erebus under the command of Capt. James Fitzjames and Sir John Franklin, the leader of the expedition. It looks very likely she is related to him, though finding the connection to her own ancestor has been problematic. For years the events around Erebus and Terror were shrouded in mystery with only a few tantalising clues left by the crew to suggest what may have happened. Only in 2014 when the wreck of Erebus was discovered, followed by Terror two years later was further light shone on these events. What exactly happened to Richard will probably never be known but he was posthumously awarded the Arctic Medal in 1857, which was given to those involved in polar exploration between 1818 and 1855. The fluff was provided by my own talk on a branch of my in-laws who lived in the back-to-back houses of Birmingham’s jewellery quarter in the 19th century. Ostensibly gold cutters, I found out they were in fact trapeze artists who spent their adult lives in the music hall and circus under the name of Vol Becque, along with their children who followed them into show business. One outcome was to discover that another member of the group also had in-laws who were living in the same street at the same time and in the same profession of goldsmith! – Tony Painter Tony used his experience as a geographer working for the military survey to show how maps have been used over the centuries. Maps have been made for many different reasons, the earliest to reflect religious beliefs, the latest for leisure and tourism. In between come maps for land valuation, military purposes, exploration, trade and finally power and politics. In fact, there is a map for every occasion! Tony also covered what maps sometimes did not include, either through error or deliberate choice, perhaps to avoid sensitive information. They also change over time with Tony giving us several (and sometimes humorous examples) of place names that are now considered inappropriate language. Today we use maps for family history and many of you will have come across the Alan Godfrey Maps based on the OS 25-inch series, or the OS maps available on the National Library of Scotland website. So, if you do want to get ahead in family history – get a map! Forthcoming Meetings: (August) Social Event: Skittles Night Fun and rowdy, but you had to be there! (September) The History and Mystery of Maps

Christmas Party

December 8th

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