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.

Organised by North Tyneside Council, participants can take a step back in time and explore the fascinating history of the borough, including Roman times, coal mining and shipbuilding.

They will also be able to check out some of the borough’s landmark buildings, learn about fascinating local characters and find out more about the famous Fish Quay.

The Wallsend heritage walk will take place on Saturday March 13 at 11am, while the other two town centre tours will be on Saturday 27 March.

The Whitley Bay walk will begin at 11am and the North Shields tour will start at 2pm. Meeting points will be disclosed at the time of booking a place.

Spaces are limited and pre-booking is essential. The duration of each walk is approximately one hour. For further information or to book a place, please contact TEL: (0191) 643 7409.

The heritage walks form part of the council’s commitment to support town centre businesses.

London Herald front page, November 11, 1989

Germany is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall fell; the day East Germans came in from the cold and walked into west Berlin in their droves.

The fall of the wall created a chain reaction of events that altered the political landscape of Europe and led to the reunification of the country.

Most of us can remember where we were when significant global events happened during our lifetime. I’m not quite old enough to remember anything about the second world war but I do remember exactly where I was when I heard about the:

• Assassination of John F Kennedy November 22, 1963
• Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill January 30, 1965
• England World Cup victory July 30, 1966
• The Moon landing July 20, 1969
• Invasion of Kuwait August 2, 1990
• 911 September 11, 2001

Memories of these momentous world events stay with you all your life. I, like millions of others, experienced these events through radio reports or television footage – history by proxy you might say.

What if you could be there when one of these major events took place? Feel the mood and taste the atmosphere as events unfolded?

There is one major world event that I ‘almost’ experienced first hand, the fall of the Berlin Wall. An event which symbolises the reunification of Germany and a supremely important watershed for eastern and western Europe.

Building the Berlin Wall.

How it happened

The reunification of Germany began in the summer of 1989 when Hungary dismantled its section of the Iron Curtain opening its borders to West Germany.

It provided a route for a mass exodus of East Germans to the west and sparked a chain of events over the next few months culminating in the ‘Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany’.

By November 1989 the wave of refugees had massively increased with people finding their way from East Germany to West Germany via Czechoslovakia. The decision was made by the politburo, led by Egon Krenz, to allow direct crossing between East and West Germany (with controlled permission and identity checks) starting on November 10.

The new regulations were hastily put together and on November 9 a note was handed to Günter Schabowski (Party Secretary for Propaganda) just before a scheduled press conference. He was not told how to handle the information.

The ink was barely dry as Schabowski made the announcement at the end of the conference. Pressed by journalists he made the error of adding that the regulations would be effective “immediately, without delay”.

Tens of thousands East Germans watched and heard Schabowski’s live statement on TV and radio. They immediately swamped the Wall’s checkpoints demanding entry to West Berlin. Faced with massive crowds, bewildered border guards, unable to establish official sanction, had no option but to open the checkpoints. East Berliners surged into West Berlin with little or no border control.

Emotions ran high as West Berliners greeted them on the other side. The east and west borders were now open for good and all celebrated November 9, 1989 as the day the Wall fell.

The following days and weeks saw whole sections of the Wall crumble as people used chisels, sledgehammers and whatever tools they could lay their hands on to chip away and smash off pieces of the Wall.

At that time I was in Oban, a coastal port in the west of Scotland also known as the “Gateway to the Isles”. It’s a beautiful place and I was there with my wife for a well-earned break.

This was before the children arrived and my career as a freelance photojournalist and my wife’s commitment as an Irish dancer with a well known folk band meant we spent little time together. This was one of those rare occasions when we both had some time to ourselves. Of course, when we arrived at our hotel room and flicked on the radio, there was literally wall to wall reports about Berlin.

My knee-jerk reaction was to grab my cameras, notebooks and passport and head off to the nearest airport for a flight to Berlin… However, after close consultation with my wife, who informed me that should I go she would immediately relieve me of a couple of prized anatomical possessions (without anaesthetic), I relinquished the idea forthwith. Alas, my plans to document this historic event were not to be.

That was almost 20 years ago and I remember it well.

A recent ‘Time Machine’ article about the Berlin Airlift prompted one Time Machine reader to contact me and it came to light that they were actually on the spot, in Berlin, when the wall came down.

This unique perspective is a must read as far as I’m concerned so with kind permission here’s a brief account from our fellow reader who was at that time in Germany working for an aviation company.

“Working and living through that period, it was hard to conduct normal activities.

“The emotions of folks both east and west must have been at an heightened state as events happened so quickly.

“Actually, like everyone else we were shocked and stunned that this had happened so quickly. There was no protracted lead-up.

“As far as state of mind is concerned; Being part of the German community, we were excited, incredulous, amazed and bewildered at the speed of events. Overcome by the ‘Ossis’ flooding into the city in their ‘Trabants’… thousands of them, crowding into shops to see the merchandise they had never seen in their lives before. Of course they did not have money to spend.

“We lived in north Berlin, originally in a flat and almost in the forest at Fronau, overlooking the wall, which at that point was a double wire fence with a ‘No man’s land’ in between.

“Later we moved to an apartment in the village of Tegel in a totally German community close to the river Havel on the edge of the forest. This was the French sector.

“The atmosphere was so emotional, families being reunited and events that people really didn’t expect to experience during their lifetime.

“The initial interaction between eastern and western Germans was brilliant, euphoric even. Later, it was realised that life in Berlin would never be the same and some resentments did develop.

“I’ve a piece of the graffiti covered wall at home that I hammered out by the Brandenberg Gate.”

——

Click the audio button below to hear John F. Kennedy’s famous address at The Wall, June 26, 1963

Don’t forget to help spread The Time Machine word to your friends, family, colleagues and online social network, It’s so quick and easy to do. If you have a Twitter account then simply click on the green Tweet button at the start of the page. You can also click on the “Share This” link below to flag up the page via email, Twitter (again), Facebook, Myspace, StumbleUpon, Digg and any of your favourite social media networks. Go on do it now, it only takes a few seconds. Thanks:)

Night Witches.

Russia’s three all-female air regiments flew more than 30,000 missions along the Eastern Front in WWII.

At home they were known as Stalin‘s Falcons, but terrified German troops called them the Night Witches.

Here – with the help of archive images – Radio 4′s Lucy Ash tells their story, and discovers that their extraordinary exploits have inspired others decades later.

Update: You can find out more about the Night Witches here…

Don’t forget to help spread The Time Machine word to your friends, family, colleagues and online social network, It’s so quick and easy to do. If you have a Twitter account then simply click on the green Tweet button at the start of the page. You can also click on the “Share This” link below to flag up the page via email, Twitter (again), Facebook, Myspace, StumbleUpon, Digg and any of your favourite social media networks. Go on do it now, it only takes a few seconds. Thanks:)

Brian Clough interviews Johnny Cash at South Shields in 1987.

So who would Johnny Cash choose to interview ?

What was his advice on drugs and alcohol abuse?

And how did he look upon religion and faith?

Twenty two years ago he sat face to face with country music DJ Brian Clough and talked about his life and experiences.

The interview, the only one granted by the legendary singer before he took to the stage at an open air show in South Shields on September 1 1987 provides a fascinating snapshot of the life of an international icon.

The reel to reel tapes were recently rediscovered by Brian who has put modern technology to work  to restore them to near perfect condition. Add a little re-editing and some of the great man’s music and you have a show not to be missed.

The Johnny Cash interview will be broadcast in two parts on euVue’s showbiz site starting on  Saturday, September 12th the sixth anniversary of his death and followed by a second show on Sunday.

“I was working for a local radio station  and was the only broadcaster given access to Johnny.  The interview was subsequently broadcast a week or so later on the country show for which I was the presenter/producer.”

“As with most broadcasts it was soon forgotten and ‘lost’ along with many other recorded items. I came across the tapes whilst clearing out my music archives recently and listened again after all those years.

“Now, with the aid of  modern technology I have restored the interview to near perfect condition and re-edited and added some of the great man’s music. I think it is a wonderful tribute and commemoration of his life to be shared with his army of fans and music lovers everywhere.”

The complete interview will go live on www.euvue.co.uk at 8am (GMT ) on Saturday September 12. Log on any time after that to hear John R Cash talking about his life, his music and his religion.

“On a personal note I still have to pinch myself when I realise that I was honoured to speak to such a famous musical icon who has left a wonderful contribution not only to country music but to the world. It is an experience I shall never forget,” said Brian.

Tune in on Saturday and Sunday to hear the Johnny Cash interview go out live. But don’t worry if you miss out – it can be downloaded to CD or your iPod to play at your convenience.