If any proof were needed that the past has pulling power, talk to members of the Consett and District Heritage Initiative.

The idea was to celebrate times gone by and to generate interest in the work of the group.

Displays were set up by Friends of Lanchester Fort, Leadgate History Group, Durham Vintage Collectors, Consett Library and Beamish Museum among others.

Among the most popular themes at the event were those linked to lead mining and Consett and district’s heritage and history.

“We were delighted by the interest shown which augers well for future activities being organised by the Heritage Initiative. There’s clearly massive and growing interest in the past,” said organiser Alan Swinburne.

He and his members are now organising a second event that will take lace at Beamish Heritage weekend on July 31 and August 1.

A new chapter is about to be written about the heroes of Fromelles.

The Time Machine has followed this story from the beginning when the bodies of  World War 1 soldiers were discovered in a mass grave at Fromelles in northern France in 2009.

Now an exhibition, organised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which tells the story of the 250 men is to open at the Imperial War Museum London on July 1.

‘Remembering Fromelles: A New Cemetery for a New Century’ charts the construction of the Commission’s new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, the first to be built in 50 years.

It explains the poignant story of how 250 Australian and British soldiers came to be found, excavated and then reburied in a fitting and final resting place.

Using artefacts found at Fromelles, personal recollections of those who worked on the project and photographs from each stage of the recovery process, the exhibition charts the construction of the cemetery and sheds new light on a forgotten story of the First World War.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Fromelles Project Manager David Richardson said: “This has been an incredible project to work on over the past two years.  The building of a new Commission cemetery is something I never thought I would see, but as it nears completion, its tranquil beauty is, I believe, the finest honour we could have paid these men.”

Remembering Fromelles: A New Cemetery for a New Century also details the painstaking and complex work to identify the soldiers.  Many of the DNA testing techniques, which were used alongside historical and archaeological evidence, have set new standards in the field of forensic investigation.

The exhibition opens as the Fromelles project reaches its conclusion, with the dedication of the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery taking place on 19 July 2010.  Echoing the traditional design of cemeteries built after the Great War, this new cemetery will give the soldiers of Fromelles the dignity in death denied to them for nearly a century.

Helen Steed, a relative of one of those soldiers identified at Fromelles said:  ”I have been overwhelmed by the determination shown by so many people to recover my grandfather and his comrades, and have them properly buried in a new, purpose-built Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery.”

The exhibition, which is free of charge to visit, runs until January 2011.  It is accompanied by a book of the same title which serves as a commemorative publication to these men and the sacrifice which they made.

Consett’s past is to be brought back to life at the weekend.

From 10am to 3pm memorabilia, old photographs and reminiscences will be in excellent supply at the event taking place at Park Keeper Cottage at Blackhill.

Organisers are hoping it will kick-start a resurgence of interest in preserving the area’s special local history.

Heritage Initiative member Brian Harrison said: “This locality has a very special history and we want to build up an archive in the cottage premises at Blackhill that will be on show on a semi-permanent basis.

“We are currently unpacking the artifacts and material that has been kept in storage from the Shotley Bridge Heritage Centre and we want people to share their memories with us. We can make copies of old photographs if anyone wants to bring them along on the day. There’s a great deal of interest in the past spurred on by TV programmes such as ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and we want to capitalise on that for future generations,” he said.

Above right – the RFC in Consett circa 1914

People on the family and local history trail are invited to step back in time at a special event next month.

The Derwentside Local and Family History Fair will be attended by over 20 groups and organisations offering expert help to uncover the past.

The fair is being organised  by Annfield Plain Family History Society and guest organisations will include the Durham University Library, North East War Memorials, the Chester-le-Street Heritage Group and Beamish Museum.

Society secretary John Milburn said: “There’s never been more interest in researching the past thanks to TV programmes about tracing your family history and the release of huge amounts of information. A lot is now available on the web if you know where to look.

“We have experts from all over the north east attending the fair and they will be able to help anyone wanting to know more about their roots or that of their local communities.

“This is the first fair we have held but there is a lot of interest being generated,” he said.

So start digging out those old photographs and documents and you could be amazed at where they will lead.

The history fair takes place Craghead Village Hall on April 10 from 10am to 2pm.

Further information is available from the family history society at annfieldplain_fhs@yahoo.co.uk or from John on 0790 3772 965.

Turning back the clock: Annfield Plain Family History Society members (l-r) Judith Owens, John Milburn and Jim Padgett prepare for their local history event.

The names of 75 WW1 Australian soldiers killed at the Battle of Fromelles in 1916 have been confirmed.

While they could not be named individually, three British soldiers were confirmed to be among the 250 men recovered from the mass graves at Pheasant Wood and 128 were confirmed to have served the Australian Army.

The remaining 44 are, for the time being, classified as ‘unknown’.

Veterans Minister Kevan Jones said: “Identification is a challenging task and this has been no exception. We are disappointed that there was insufficient evidence to name British soldiers but I would like to thank the families for the support that they have all given to this project.

“What is most important is that these men have all been laid to rest with the dignity and honour they deserve. The identification process will remain open for another four years, and I hope that families will continue to make contact.”

The number of soldiers that have been identified exceeds the most optimistic forecasts.

Each of the 250 sets of remains that were found have been analysed using all available historical, anthropological, artefact and DNA evidence. For those who have been identified so far, DNA proved to be a key piece of the identification puzzle.

A Joint Identification Board, with members representing the British and Australian Governments, considered the available evidence including DNA from the soldiers’ remains and from the families who came forward.

The Board will reconvene in May to consider additional family samples that have only recently been returned from Australia. Additional testing will ensure that as many soldiers as possible are identified before a commemorative ceremony on July 19 that will mark the official opening of the new cemetery.

The full list of names of Australian servicemen who have been identified is available on the Fromelles Project web site www.cwgc.org/fromelles

The remains of 250 World War 1 soldiers killed in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles were recovered last year and reburied with military honours at a new military cemetery constructed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The story of a post office worker, decorated in WWI was just one of the many intriguing tales that unfolded as medal enthusiasts looked into the past of the region’s war heroes.

The medals had been passed down to Julia and, keen to learn more, she took them along to experts Kevin Storey, Roy Tate and Michael Foster who were on hand at the Durham County Council run museum.

“The medals were passed down through my family and because I was keen to research the family history my mother (pictured) gave them to me. My grandfather was with the Northumberland Fusiliers but we knew he was linked to the DLI. The experts were able to confirm that the regiments were, more than likely, decimated and those left of the Fusiliers were placed with the DLI.

“We were able to find out the medals were given as a result of a battle at Villers-Bretoneaux, which occurred near the Somme in April 1917. We previously hadn’t known this and I have since been able to download the medal card from the National Archives, which will hopefully enable me to find out more,” she said.

More than 100 people turned up to the first of three ‘Medals day’ events taking place at the museum in Durham.

Visitors can also get hands on with the museum collections on Thursday, February 18 and Saturday, February 20, during the half term school holidays, between 1.30 and 3.30pm.

For more information log on to: http://county.durham.gov.uk/sites/dli/Pages/MuseumEvents.aspx

History lesson: Audrey Wright (left) and daughter Julia Mann look at family medals with Mike Foster at DLI Museum.

* Roy Tate and Michael Foster are members of the Northumbria Medal Society and have studied medals for 30 years and 20 years respectively.
Kevin Storey is secretary of the Durham Light Infantry Association and has also studied medals for 30 years.

These three free genealogy charts are great for printing and framing as last minute gifts, or for collecting information from relatives during holiday get-togethers.

Among them you’ll find interactive family tree chart with a pretty tree background that lets you enter the information in right on your computer, and this fancy fan-shaped chart covered in vining roses.

Not sure which grandmother goes where? Check out these instructions for filling out genealogical forms.

Radio Australia reports:

Vanuatu villagers whose ancestors killed and ate a Scottish missionary in the 19th century have apologised to the man’s descendants at a ceremony on the anniversary of his death. 170 years after people on Erromango killed Presbyterian missionary the Reverend John Williams and his companion, James Harris, some of Mr Williams descendants travelled to the island to take part in a reconciliation ceremony last month.

Some local people felt Erromango had been cursed because of the killings.

Vanuatu anthropologist and the local member of parliament, Ralph Regenvanu, says Reverend Williams has an important place in history as being the first missionary to arrive in what was then called the New Hebrides.

Presenter: Bruce Hill
Speaker: Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu anthropologist and member of parliament

Click on the play button to hear the report or click here to read more

And this year’s Angus & Dundee Roots Festival will be aimed at helping people throughout the local area find out more about their family’s history.

During the week of the Festival, which runs from Saturday, September 26, until Sunday, October 4, a variety of events will be taking place to assist family historians from near and far to discover more about their Angus and Dundee ancestors.

With events including genealogy workshops, guidance from local archivists, lectures from genealogy experts and a local history and genealogy fair, the Angus & Dundee Roots Festival will provide a wealth of opportunities for genealogists to find out more about their family in days gone by.

Read the rest of the report here

brightsolid is an online innovation business owned by DC Thomson, Dundee-based publisher of comics such as the Beano and is one of the largest privately owned media and publishing groups in the country. A key part of brightsolid’s strategy is building businesses that link “people and places” on the internet.

Friends Reunited is the original social network with 20.6 million members. It was launched in 2000 to put old school friends back in touch with each other and swiftly became a British media phenomenon. Sister site Genes Reunited was launched in 2003 and is currently the UK’s largest family history website with 9 million members worldwide and over 500 million names listed.  Together with Friends Reunited Dating, the group attracts three million unique users per month.

The acquisition of Friends Reunited Group would create Britain’s leading genealogy business by bringing together Genes Reunited and findmypast.com (which operate the official 1901 and 1911 Census websites respectively in association with The National Archives) and ScotlandsPeople in partnership with General Register Office for Scotland, the National Archives of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon.

Chris van der Kuyl, CEO brightsolid, said: “We see the acquisition of Friends Reunited Group as an exciting opportunity to provide new focus for and build on the iconic status of the Friends Reunited brands. Between them these brands attract over three million unique users per month. This also marks another step forward in the future strategy of brightsolid, widening its offering to the consumer marketplace, in particular by creating Britain’s leading genealogy business.”

Andy Baker, MD Friends Reunited adds: “We are delighted that brightsolid can see the great value and future potential in the Friends Reunited Group. brightsolid is an innovative online group and by bringing our companies together this way we can build the Friends Reunited business to offer something new and different to our customers.  We look forward to working with Chris and the team to develop the business further.”

brightsolid is led by digital media entrepreneur CEO Chris van der Kuyl, who joined in October 2007. The broad reach of its online innovation means The Friends Reunited Group will also benefit from brightsolid’s resilient data centre and managed hosting services.