Every Family has a story to tell……….Welcome to mine
From Orchard Fields to Flanders Fields: The Story of Thomas Wootton Thomas Wootton was born on March 26th, 18921, in the village of Byford, Herefordshire, the sixth oldest of eight children born to John and Frances Wootton. Raised on the family farm at Lower House, he attended Byford School from 1898 to 1906. A quiet … Continue reading The Farm Boy Who Went to War
From the Fields of Herefordshire to the Trenches of France When I think of the First World War, I don’t just picture the vast battlefields or the rows of white crosses that stretch endlessly into the horizon. For me, it is much more personal. Many of my ancestors fought and died on the battlefields of … Continue reading The Forgotten Faces of the Somme
From the Banks of the Thames to the Mud of Passchendaele: The Life and Loss of Harry Joseph Keyes Before the mud, the gunfire, and the chaos of the Western Front, before the thunder of artillery at Ypres silenced his young life, Harry Joseph Keyes was a boy growing up in the heart of working-class … Continue reading In the Shadow of Passchendaele: Remembering Private Keyes
The Chiddicks Family Tree 