For Anzac Day this year I’m focussing on Ypres, a city in Belgium that’s on the French border. A prosperous place that in 1914 had a population of around 18,000 people.

Just for reference, Ypres is the Belgian version of the name, while the Australian Diggers knew it as as “Wipers”. And nowadays it is often known by it’s Dutch version, “Ieper”, which is pronounced as “ee-per”.

From November 1914 through until November 1917 Ypres was devastated by war and as you would expect, deserted by its inhabitants. Over that 4 year period, there were over 38,000 Australians who were killed or wounded in the Ypres battles, while the total number of casualties for all sides climbed into the many hundreds of thousands.

Captain Frank Hurley was an Australian official military photographer who was in Ypres during 1918 and captured many unforgettable images of the destruction and the lives of the Australian soldiers during the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle of Passchendaele). The photograph at the top of this post is one of his very well-known ones. The State Library of New South Wales has a large collection of his war photographs (and diaries) online, so if you’re interested feel free to click here to view them.

Anyway this year I’m remembering my great grandpa, Otto Rafael Winter. I have written about him before, including his service with the Australian military, but this time I’m highlighting a family heirloom.

The postcard pictured below is one of the very few heirlooms that exist from my Winter family, and it’s a postcard that Otto sent from Ypres, Belgium (one of the places he was deployed to) to his parents-in-law, John and Margaret Daley, in South Australia.

The postcard itself is a photograph of what the city of Ypres looked like after two years of war: bombed out buildings and crumbling ruins. But on it he’s drawn little arrows, with a notation on the back written by his daughter saying “Otto was sheltering in building arrowed”. He’s also written a date of 1916 on it, but I’m unsure of when the postcard was actually sent.

A transcript of the what he wrote is as follows:

Dear Mam, and Dad!

Just this old card to you, to wish you and Dad the very best of health as it leaves me at present, thanks very much for the nice cake, and pudding, and the nice socks as you have sent to me.

Good bye and God bless you,
I remain you son, Otto xxxxx

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To me it’s not ‘just’ a postcard. It’s a tiny picture into what his life was like during the war, and what he saw. It also a little memento that shows me how much he cared for his parents-in-law. Firstly taking the time to write to them. Thanking them for the parcels of cake, pudding and socks that they’d sent. Calling them mam and dad. And signing off as “I remain your son”. That shows he cared, right?

Otto was a merchant seaman from Finland who jumped ship in Australia, and made it his home, so much so, that in 1909 he chose to become an Australian citizen and was naturalised.

He met a local girl, Irene Daley. Married her in June 1915 and their first child was born a few months later.

With the war dragging on much longer than it was expected, the call for more volunteers came and Otto signed up in January 1916, and by May 1916 he was in Belgium. A tunneller, he was in Ypres in March 1918 when he was poisoned in a mustard gas attack and was sent to an Australian military hospital in France to recover.

Otto was lucky. Not only did he survive the mustard gas, but also the rest of the war despite other injuries. In June 1919 he made it home to his wife and family, and lived on until he was 81.

Lest We Forget! 

While much of the world is seen as a ‘man’s world’, there’s no doubt that women have had a huge influence in just every field in history, you just don’t tend to hear about it.

I could have written about queens, warriors, suffragettes, and other well-known females who did make an influence on the world, however for this article I have opted for female inventors – most of who you won’t have heard of before – but whose inventions are largely everyday items, and in doing so have helped change the world we live in.

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Caller ID and Call Waiting
Can’t say I’d thought about someone ‘inventing’ caller ID and caller waiting, but obviously someone did, and that was Dr Shirley Ann Jackson. It was her research from the 1970s that was responsible for it, and her breakthroughs in telecommunications also enabled others to invent the portable fax, fibre optic cables and solar cells.

Car Heater
In 1893 Margaret A. Wilcox invented the first car heater, which directed air from over the engine to warm the chilly toes of the upper class 19th century motorists. You’ll now think of this every time you turn on the car heater, while also being incredibly thankful as you thaw out on those cold mornings.

Central Heating
Back in 1919, Alice Parker invented a system of gas-powered central heating. While her design was never built, it was the first time an inventor had conceived of using natural gas to heat a home, and inspired the future central heating systems.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ruth Wakefield and her husband bought an old toll house outside of Boston with her husband. They converted the toll house into an inn with a restaurant. One day in 1930, Ruth was baking up a batch of Butter Drop Do cookies for her guests, and the recipe called for melted chocolate, but she had run out of baking chocolate, so she took a Nestle chocolate bar, crumbled it into pieces and threw it into batter, expecting the chocolate pieces to melt during baking. Instead, the chocolate held its shape, and the chocolate chip cookie was born.

Circular Saw
In the late 18th century, a religious sect known as the Shakers emerged. Shakers valued living communally (albeit celibately), equality between the sexes and hard work. Tabitha Babbitt lived in a Shaker community in Massachusetts and worked as a weaver, but in 1810, she came up with a way to lighten the load of her brethren. She observed men cutting wood with a pit saw, which is a two-handled saw that requires two men to pull it back and forth. Though the saw is pulled both ways, it only cuts wood when it’s pulled forward; the return stroke is useless. To Tabitha that was simply wasted energy, so she created a prototype of the circular saw that would go on to be used in saw mills. She attached a circular blade to her spinning wheel so that every movement of the saw produced results. Because of Shaker rules, she didn’t apply for a patent for the circular saw she created.

Country Women’s Association of Australia (CWA)
The Country Women’s Association is the largest women’s organisation in Australia. Formed in 1922 with with branches in New South Wales and Queensland, South Australia followed in 1926, By 1936 there was a branch in each State and Territory of Australia. The formation of a federal body happened in 1945. During the Depression years, the CWA helped those in need with food and clothing parcels.

Dishwasher
Not so much of a surprise that a woman invented it really, but the reason behind it sure is. Josephine Cochrane, who received the patent for the first working dishwasher, didn’t spend that much time washing dishes. In fact the reason for her invention was frustration over her servants breaking her heirloom china after fancy dinners.

Disposable Nappys
The first disposable nappy (diaper if you’re in the US) was invented in 1946 by Marion Donovan, a professional-turned-housewife who wanted to ensure her children’s cloth diapers remained dry while they slept. Donovan patented her design (called ‘Boaters’) in 1951. She also invented the first paper diapers, but executives did not invest in this idea and it was consequently scrapped for over ten years, until Procter & Gamble used Donovan’s design ideas to create Pampers.

DNA Double-Helix Structure
It was Rosalind Franklin, a British molecular biologist, who was instrumental in the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1951. She was one of the key biologists who in 1953, published papers in the journal Nature on the structure of DNA, which resulted in National DNA Day being created.

The Fire Escape
The first outdoor fire escape with an external staircase was patented by Anna Connelly in 1897, and in the 1900s, her model became part of many mandatory building safety codes across the United States, and later the world.

Home Security System
Marie Van Brittan Brown invented the first home security system in the 1960s. She worked as a nurse and came up with the idea of a home security system after seeing the rising crime rates and slow police responses in her neighborhood in Queens, New York City.

Kevlar
Stephanie Kwolek was one of the first women research chemists, and in 1965 she created the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness and is five times as strong as steel. Kevlar is the best-known member of this family, and is a material that is used in over 200 items, including protective vests as well as in boats, airplanes, skis, safety helmets, hiking and camping gear, suspension bridge cables – and much more. A life saving invention for sure.

Liquid Paper
Bette Nesmith Graham, was a typist, artist, and became the founder of Liquid Paper. After getting frustrated making typos on her typewriter that she couldn’t fix, she tapped into her artistic background and created her own solution using fast-drying white paint and a watercolor brush. “Mistake Out,” as it was originally called, began in the 1960s with orders shipped from her house. In 1979 she sold the Liquid Paper company to the Gillette Corporation for $47.5 million.

Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels originated in the UK during the Blitz (1940), when many people lost their homes and therefore the ability to cook their own food. The Women’s Volunteer Service for Civil Defence (WVS, later WRVS) provided food for these people. The name “Meals on Wheels” came around as they were delivering meals to servicemen. The concept of delivering meals to those unable to prepare their own evolved into the modern concept that delivers mostly to the housebound elderly. Meals on Wheels was founded in Australia by Doris Taylor in 1953. Where would so many be without meals on Wheels? It is a fantastic concept, that helps out so many every single day.

Monopoly
A man named Charles Darrow is often credited with creating the most popular board game in history, but the rules were actually invented by Elizabeth Magie. She patented “The Landlord’s Game” in 1904. The game of Monopoly that we know today was produced in 1935 by Parker Brothers, who discovered that Darrow was not the sole creator and had, for just US$500 bought Magie’s patent.

Pertussis (Whopping Cough) Vaccine
Pioneering female American doctor, medical researcher and an outspoken voice in the pediatric community, Leila Alice Denmark (1898-2012) is credited as the developer of the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine in the 1930s.

Scotchgard
Scotchgard the stain repellent and durable water repellent was co-invented by chemists Patsy Sherman and Samuel Smith while working for 3M, and came about as an accident. She says “we were trying to develop a new kind of rubber for jet aircraft fuel lines, when one of the lab assistants accidentally dropped a glass bottle that contained a batch of synthetic latex I had made. Some of the latex mixture splashed on the assistant’s canvas tennis shoes and the result was remarkable. Patsy Sherman and her colleague, Sam Smith observed that the spill would not wash off nor would solvent remove it. The area resisted soiling. They recognised the commercial potential of its application to fabrics during manufacture and by the consumer at home.” Wile Scotchgard was first sold in 1956, Patsy Sherman and Samuel Smith obtained a patent for in in 1973.

Square-Bottomed Paper Bag
While Margaret Knight didn’t invent the paper bag , she did invent the “square-bottom” paper bag. She realised that paper bags should have a square bottom so that the weight was distributed across the base, allowing the bag to hold more things. In 1870 she created a wooden machine that would cut, fold and glue the square bottoms to paper bags. While she was working on an iron prototype of the machine to use for her patent application, she discovered that her design had been stolen by a man named Charles Annan, who had seen her wooden machine a few months earlier. She filed a patent interference suit against Annan, who claimed “that there was no way that a woman could have developed such a complex machine”. She used her notes and sketches to prove otherwise, and was granted the patent for the device in 1871.

Windscreen Wipers
Another of those ‘everyday’ things we take for granted is windscreen wipers, and we have Mary Anderson to thank for that. She is credited for inventing the first functional windscreen wiper in 1903. While two other inventors, Robert Douglass and John Apjohn, also patented windscreen cleaning devices in the same year.

Written computer program
A science and mathematical whiz from a young age, Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Byron, is credited as being the person to have written instructions for the first computer program in the mid-1800s. During a nine-month period in 1842-43, Ada Lovelace translated the memoir of Italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea. She not only translated the original French text into English, but also added her own thoughts and ideas on the machine. Her notes ended up being three times longer than the original article. Her work was published in 1843, in an English science journal. This is recognised by many as the world’s first written computer program.

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So as you can see, women are behind so many incredible inventions, many of which really did change the world. The above list is only a few of the long, long, list of amazing achievements that women have been a part of, and for Women’s History Month I wanted to share them to highlight their inventions.

Feel free to comment below and add others who are totally worthy of a mention.

St Patrick’s Day. It’s always a day to make you think of all things Irish, wear green wigs, drink green beer and for those who research your family history, a day to think of the Irish ancestors.

This year I’m giving you tips on where to look for the ultimate advice and links for Irish research.

CYNDI’S LIST – free
www.cyndislist.com/uk/irl
Cyndi’s List is one of the ultimate research sites. However it’s not a place to type in name and see what comes up, as it is a website of websites. Think of it as a giant yellow pages of genealogy websites – every country, and every topic to do with genealogy, all nicely categorised. For Ireland there’s almost 4300 links, making it the ultimate portal for Irish genealogy links. And they are nicely divided into topics and counties, making your search a whole lot easier.

FAMILYSEARCH – free
www.familysearch.org
While there’s not a whole lot of Irish records on FamilySearch itself, the site is still incredibly useful, as they have a number of tutorial videos to watch – all free. From introducing key websites, to highlighting various records. it’s  great way to learn about Irish genealogy and the records involved.

GENUKI – free
www.genuki.org.uk
This is a site that I find not many people know about, yet it has a HUGE amount of information. Again, it’s not a ‘type-a-name-in’ website, but one with a lot of information and links giving you further places to look.

FINDMYPAST IRELAND – $$
www.findmypast.ie
Findmypast Ireland is a pay site, but it also the online data site with the most Irish records – over 195 million of them! From directories to BDM records, from military to catholic records, from family histories to migration, from wills to court records – there are a whole lot of records here, and they may well list your ancestors. Click here to see the full list of Irish records.

If you’ve not looked at Findmypast Ireland before, check it out with a free 14 day trial. After that for the “Pro Subscription” is €19.95 for 1 month. These records are also available in a World Subscription.

IRISH ANCESTORS – free
www.johngrenham.com
John Grenham is the author of Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, which is commonly known as the bible for Irish research, and his website is an absolute treasure trove of information … and it’s all free! You’ll find a Surname search, Placename search, County sourcelists, the Irish abroad links, Passenger lists, Roman Catholic parish maps, Civil parish maps, Poor Law Union maps – and so much more. Hint, follow hist blog too.

IRISH GENEALOGY NEWS – free
www.irishgenealogynews.com
If you are researching Irish ancestors, you NEED to follow Claire Santry’s Irish Genealogy News blog. She really does keep you informed on ANY Irish genealogy news – the records, the products, the accessibility, the archives, the events, the websites and more.

IRISH GENEALOGY TOOLKIT – free
www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com
This is another of Claire Santry’s websites, and is perfect for the beginner. She writes “No matter where in the world you now call home – whether it be the Canadian Rockies, the Australian Outback, one of the world’s great emerald cities such as Liverpool (UK) or Boston (USA), or the beautiful craggy coast of Donegal – you’ll find page after page of relevant advice on this website plus the very latest information on genealogical resources in Ireland.” Here’s are just some of what of the research topics, historical themes and areas of help you’ll discover here on Irish Genealogy Toolkit: Irish emigration, Top 10 free websites, Historical Irish newspapers, county maps, court and prison records , free charts and forms, census records, Starting your Irish research, and Finding their place of origin … with plenty more to discover.

These are only a small sampling of what is out there for Ireland. But for anyone wanting to get going – these are good ones to start with, as well a giving you links to the major archives and libraries which have enormous collections, which will help you take your research further.

Saturday the 9th of March 2019 is an important day for us genies. Why? Because it is GENEALOGY DAY.

No I did not make it up. There really, really is an official “Genealogy Day” and it’s held on the second Saturday of March each year!

Don’t believe me? Well, here you go …

Genealogy Day was created in 2013, by Christ Church, United Presbyterian and Methodist in Limerick, Ireland to help celebrate the church’s 200th anniversary. For this day, Christ Church brought together local family history records not only from its own combined churches, but also from the area’s Church of Ireland parishes, including the Religious Society if Friends in Ireland (Quaker) and the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon).

The people in attendance could then use the amassed marriage and baptism records dating back to the early 1800s, such as Limerick Methodist Registers and Limerick Presbyterian Registers, to find out about their great-great-grandparents. The idea proved so popular that the day was repeated for the next two consecutive years and has inspired many people to take a look into their family tree to find out a bit more about where they come from.

It is no secret that genealogy or family history, is one of the fastest growing hobbies around. Everyone knows someone who’s doing it, if they aren’t themselves. With the massof genealogy records going online, combined with DNA testing and genealogy on TV, doing your family history has finally become an accepted hobby. Dare I say, it’s even becoming cool!! So it is nice to see it recognised with it’s own actual “Day“.

But what are some suggestions for Genealogy Day? Well for me it’s not a case where do I start, but rather where do I stop. I’ve come up with (actually limited it to, is more correct) 25 suggestions, but seriously I could keep going  …

1. Enter more names into your family tree. Do you have lots that you’ve found, but just have got around to entering into your genealogy program? Ok, well maybe that’s just me then.
2. If searching is more your thing, why not instead of heading to the usual sites you visit try a different one. I have lots of “small sites” with fantastic records listed in my Discovering Links series – and they’re all free.
3. If it’s a nice day, take a trip to a cemetery (or two or three), and go gravewalking.
4. Visit a relative, and ask them a few questions about their past. But be sure to take notes, or record it  by audio or video.
5. Start (or continue) scanning your photos and documents. The pile will eventually go down, I promise.
6. Filing. I know it’s not a fun job, but it’s even less fun when you can’t find that record that you know you have … somewhere. So spend an hour and do a little filing. You’ll be thankful for it later.
7. Create a timeline of one of your ancestors, and see where you have gaps. It’s quite fascinating to see.
8. Find a comfy chair and read a genealogy magazine or two – or a genealogy book.
9. Watch a Google Hangout on Air, or listen to a Podcast.
10. Visit your local genealogy or historical society.
11. Explore the FamilySearch site beyond just the searching (check out the Wiki, the Photos, the Indexing, the Family Tree, the free tutorial videos and more).
12. Help someone with a query – RAOGK.
13. Do some transcribing. You might head to the Trove newspapers for that, or the NAA Soda site, FamilySearch Indexing or a number of others.
14. Start a genealogy blog.
15. If crafting is more your thing, create a heritage scrapbook page or two, showcasing your family history.
16. Create a catalogue of all books, CDs, programs, maps, microfiche etc. that you have that are genealogy-related.
17. Start (or continue) writing your own life history. Remember that is just as important as the long-ago past.
18. Sadly your photo collection hasn’t sorted itself, so why not get a start on it.
19. While we’re on the topic of photos, why not create show off your ancestors with a “photo wall”
20. If you are into social media, check out all the genealogy-related Facebook groups/pages there are now (13,200 at last count). And if you are a tweeter, type #genealogy in the search box, and see what you come up with. It’s a great way to find new people to follow.
21. Go ahead and order that DNA kit that you’ve been wondering about for a while.
22. Drag out the old photo albums and spend time reminiscing.
23. Get the kids (or grandkids) and create a paper tree with leaves, and write names on the leaves.
24. If you’re into crafting, create a scrapbook page or as a memorial to an ancestor
25. Listen to a genealogy podcast, or watch a genealogy video on YouTube. there are literally 1000s to choose from.

That’s just a few suggestions, and there’s literally hundred more that I could write, and I’m sure each of you will find your own way to celebrate. So Happy Genealogy Day for Saturday.